Europeans love their butter. Take, for example, the French. Give them crusty bread and they will thickly spread the stuff. These butter lovers consume more than 18 pounds per person per year. (In the United States, we consume 25 percent less.)
Who can blame the French? Salted or unsalted, their butter, with 82 percent or more butterfat, is luxuriant on the tongue, producing a sensation not found in the average U.S. butter, which is usually 80 percent butterfat. The best higher-fat butters also have a sublime creamy flavor that can be worth every calorie.
Dining and Cooking