Our first American butter is a blend but is also the only one we can locate in Dubai at the moment. However, from what we can tell, the US currently has enough on its plate, so keep on fighting the good fight and welcome to The Club.
Once upon a time, before COVID, we could get a decent variety of American butters easily. Then, supply chains got disrupted, price points changed, availability dried up and here we are with our first American specimen.
This isn't really a fair entry as Land O'Lakes itself does good, unadulterated butter but this is, at the moment, the only American butter we can find in Dubai. That being said, this was an infuriatingly welcome addition to our household because the husband despises butter that is either too hard or too soft. Baldilocks is extremely happy with this spreadable butter he can keep in the fridge and repeatedly, loudly commend. It's cool, I remind myself. Not everyone is right.
For those interested in leadership inclusivity and corporate evolution, Land O'Lakes has made some impressive corporate choices over the last decade, retiring their indigenous (and culturally insensitive) Butter Maiden from their logo and promoting an extremely experienced executive to CEO based on her merits and not any of her identities. #BethFord's career includes other entities such as Scholastic, Exxon, Mobile and Pepsi, amongst others (thanks Wikipedia!) and their social media reflects the diversity that is the reality in America's Midwest. Snaps for Land O Lakes, y'all!
Land O Lakes Butter with Canola Oil Appreciation
Butter Break Down
Appreciation Date: 07/11/2020
Country of Origin: USA
Point of Procurement: Carrefour, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai
Purchase State: Fresh
Milk: Cow, Pasteurised; BLENDED
Salt Content: Salted
Milk Fat Content: Not indicated
Ingredients: Sweet cream, canola oil, salt.
Declared Possible Allergens: Cow's milk.
Company Website: https://www.landolakesinc.com
Butter Evaluation
In which we discuss Land O'Lakes' blended butter.
Over the last 10 years, America has had an increasingly bright light shone on its farming practices, particularly bovine milk and meat production. The non-biological inputs in industrial factory farming can be alarming due to the disconnect with companies' marketing campaigns.
My personal trepidation about large scale American butter producers, though, was unfair. Land O'Lakes seems to be doing their level best to increase the quality of (professional and personal) life for the people who produce their dairy products all the way along the supply chain. This some-time librarian appreciates attention to logistics.
Because this is a blend, we will go easy on it. My mother used to blend butter with olive oil when I was younger so as to make it go further and mitigate some of that terrifying saturated fat.
This stuff is obviously meant to live in the fridge. That being said, it maintained some integrity for the tasing, even at 24 degrees Celsius. It's extremely soft and liquidy at room temperature so my husband's won this round; it lives in the fridge.
When it comes to aroma, this really doesn't have much of one. It's made with sweet cream so there's no reason for it to have a tanginess to it but there's also not much in the form of butter or dairy that some other sweet cream butters have. Canola oil is carefully deoderised so it's entirely reasonable that it wouldn't contribute to the aroma (or, for that matter, taste) profile.
The tase of this one is standard butter. Because of the oil blend, though, it dissipates quickly in the mouth and doesn't have the 'bite' of other butters. We actually found the salt level in this one fairly well balanced. It brought depth without inducing dehydration which is not always a given.
There's a good amount of milky dairy on the flavour profile but without much butter. This is actually a great butter for someone who doesn't normally like butter. Though we here at the International Butter Club prefer our butter to be able to hold its own, we do appreciate that different people have different needs and this would certainly tick some folks' boxes.
The one thing that was a little disappointing is that, because of the blend, its structure at room temperature was just too slack to be able to get a good slab of butter on the bread. How heartbreaking. Americans don't deserve this sort of malarky. Still nice but we could see the bread through the butter and, well, we can't wait to taste Land O'Lakes other offerings!
My husband is thrilled that he can help himself to this one, from the fridge, any time he likes.
Final Rundown
We were unfairly worried about our first American entry but Land O'Lakes has put in a good opening bid for the USA, even with a blend.
This is a great butter for people who aren't keen on strong butter flavours and/or who prioritise spreadability texture over taste (like my husband, to whom I am still married for some reason).
We're happy with the butter but what gives Land O'Lakes a huge boost, in our opinion, is its corporate culture and focus on improved quality of life for its people, regardless of identity. Positive change is always most welcome and we look forward to sampling more from them as soon as we can.
Colour: Almost cream; translucent
Aroma: Discrete to the point of not turning up? Impressive considering the packaging & transport.
Taste: Balanced salt; Discreet milky dairy but needs more oomph. Taste fleeting (by design).
6.5/10
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