An easy way to make even the simplest dishes taste delicious, butter can be enjoyed slathered on bread like its own topping, melted over a jacket potato, or used for a delicious homemade baked treat. As versatile as it is tasty, the best slabs of butter belong everywhere from lunchbox sandwiches to the more sophisticated butter boards.
Like other food items, the cost of butter has risen around 19 per cent in the past year alone, so it’s worth knowing which brands are worth their salt. These days, it’s rare to find a block of butter (not counting the spreadable tub varieties) for under £2, with most hovering just a few pence shy of £3.
Butter is no longer criticised as it once was, leading to far more choice. Margarine used to be seen as the healthier choice because of butter’s saturated fat and its association with higher cholesterol, but today, butter is recognised as something that can be enjoyed in moderation within a balanced, healthy diet.
In fact, butter is reprising its role as kitchen stalwart, with Waitroses’ sales of its Essentials salted butter up 16 per cent compared with last year, while flavoured butter has also grown in popularity, with Worldpanel trend data showing a 24 per cent increase in UK sales over the past 12 months.
And, as the queen of cooking, Nigella Lawson shows, it’s at its best on toast. I usually go for salted butter, but Nigella prefers unsalted, spreading it in two layers so the second leaves little un-melted blobs, and finishing it with a sprinkle of sea salt flakes. If her slightly more elaborate method works, plain salted butter works perfectly too (for simplicity, this guide focuses on salted butter).
If all this butter talk has piqued your appetite, read on for the top supermarket picks right now. After plenty of tasting and countless slices of toast, I’ve rounded up the most delicious options to add to your basket.
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I got busy slathering the dairy spread on multiseed bread (Emma Henderson/The Independent)
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Dining and Cooking