Saturday, July 30, 2011

BUTTA PARKAY!!! (Part 2)


Don’t you love Parmigiano Reggiano cheese? I know I’m on the cheese thing again! But the fact is that my other butter comes from this area.

Location, location, location,!  In this case an incredibly rich area of Italy



The Piazza in Reggio Emila! I loved Europe for this!

It is called Delitia, but I call it Delite!This butter is very fragrant but has a delicate flavor that instantly melts on your tongue. Now let me explain this for a minute; If you take a small amount of say Land O’ Lakes butter on your tongue it melts to an oily water feel. You will recognize instantly with this butter it disolves in a sweet creaminess and then is gone with no aftertaste.




Delightful Delitia!


The milk is collected from Parma and Reggio Emilia family owned farms. The pasteurized creams from the milk is strictly selected in accordance with extraordinary and rigorous disciplinary of production leaving this butter in my opinion without equal!


Farm area in the Reggio Emilio

This dense butter has its water content during production dispersed in fine droplets which make the butter look dry. The butterfat however, at around 83% makes it nice, nice, nice!

What to enjoy this with best you ask? Fresh baked bread, any kind! It is so luscious it will then easily guide you to enjoy it on all your favorite foods! Someone say lobster!!! The clarified butter this produces is all flavor, and flavor so intense that Alaskan King Crabs take on a whole new meaning!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

BUTTA!!! PARKAY!!! (Part 1)

Butta Parkay!!!

I love butter! Make no apologies for it! Is always on the conquest for the good better, best butter! In fact in Jamaica the big pound bar of butter is called “Best Butter”. Now just calling yourself ‘best’ doesn’t mean you are! Butter has several components that create the flavor so desired by those who enjoy this dairy treat. So depending on the water content, salt, and whether its cow, sheep, or even buffalo, the flavor can differ greatly! Oh and using the word dairy loosely I am! It appears there is also almond butter, peanut butter, apple butter, and a host of other butters out there. At this time, we are dealing with two of my favorite ‘dairy’ butters that I simply love and would love to share with you.
Before I go further I encourage you to check WIKI for an in depth discussion regarding butter. But so as not to bore everyone suffice to say “butter is a water-in-oil emulsion resulting from an inversion of the cream, an oil-in-water emulsion; the milk proteins are the emulsifiers.  Butter remains a solid when refrigerated, but softens to a spread able consistency at room temperature, and melts to a thin liquid consistency when heated,” That quote is taken directly from the WIKI page as I couldn’t have said it better if I tried!


Kerry the Irish
 
The Dubliner that started all of this!
 My sister is a cheese junkie! All kinds, every kind! Even my first experience with the stinky cheese was through her. And so when she gave me a taste of Kerrygold’s Dubliner cheese I wasn’t surprised that it was incredible! Yes I remember we are talking butter! I then found there was a host of wonderful products by this brand.









When I stumbled upon the butter in my local grocers, I ran home in sheer delight to cook my Patty Ann squashes and mini-zucchinis with it and would not be disappointed!


Preparing the squashes


In the pan with the mini zuchini


The butter and sea salt is all the magic needed

You have already guessed no doubt that Kerrygold hails from the ‘Island of 40 shades of green’ as Ireland is frequently referred to. Kerrygold also has its own website. The website is quite thorough and rather incredible as they really attempt to share a piece of Ireland with you so I encourage you to visit it! Kerrygold Butter is made by a cooperative of farmers and dairy creameries in Ireland and comes both salted and unsalted.


Ok so I started using before I took the picture! YUM

The cows are grass fed (and we all know what Ireland looks like). They produce the sweet, rich milk , which makes the butter taste silky and creamy. The rich intense grass creates a butter with a high beta-carotene content and gives the butter a healthy, golden yellow glow. It’s a great all-purpose, European-style butter that leaves no question that you will use this butter again and again! It also has a high butterfat content and as we know the less water, more flavor! The Ghee that you make from this butter is intense and nutty to taste soon to be a staple in your pantry!