Butter is one of the most important ingredients in the kitchen of any chef or home-cook.
The staple has often been overlooked by healthier spreads and margarine, but nothing beats a slice of toast slathered in the real deal.
My London’s Ellen Jenne decided to put the battle of the butters to the test.
Ellen was on the lookout for butter that is 'easily spreadable' with a 'beautifully comforting flavour, silky finish, and a harmonious partner for my toast.’
Here are her findings, as she compared Aldi’s knock-off Beautifully Buttery to Anchor, Country Life, Kerrygold and Lurpak - the bestselling brands of butter across the country.
Anchor
I started off with Anchor, the staple found in my family’s fridge while I was growing up. The nauseating yellow packaging is recognisable anywhere and everywhere.
Its golden tub was replicated on the inside as I saw the butter gleaming up at me. Spreading it onto my freshly-popped toast, an image of my dad sprung into my mind. That man lathers Anchor butter on bread, on toast, on teacakes, on crumpets - you name it. If you can spread some Anchor goodness on it, he’ll eat it.
Anchor gives my toast a yellowy-golden sheen - not too much, not too little - so I prepare to dig in. There’s a slight tingle of salt that lingers in the background, giving the toast some sort of flavour.
The butter provides a warm, comforting snack, elevating the bland toast to optimum taste levels.
I don’t look for a spread that overpowers a slice of toast, or a bagel, it just needs to transform its usual cardboard flavour. In this case, Anchor supplies a reliable butter I know I can always count on.
Total 4/5
Aldi's Beautifully Buttery
Now, Aldi is known for its knock-off alternative, poking fun at the big name brands. I’m surprised they haven’t received a cease and desist letter yet.
I searched around the supermarket’s own version, but the closest I could to an Aldi essential was their Beautifully Buttery, which is also their cheapest at 69p for a 500g tub.
It wasn’t the most appealing to look at I must admit, but you definitely get bang for your buck. Or pennies in this case.
Aldi’s spread was happily pliable, not too dense but not too thin. So far so good - could it really challenge the brands for the buttery crown?
Its coverage was also very decent. You wouldn’t need much to mask your toast, depending on how much butter you prefer, that is.
Regretfully, this was all Aldi seemed to offer. One bite into the toast confirmed everyone’s worst fear… I was horrified to discover Aldi appeared to have misplaced its entire sense of taste. There was no identifiable flavour. Nothing. Nope. Nada.
I’m afraid I can’t hide my disappointment, and with that I have very little else to say.
Total 1/5
Country Life
Country Life isn’t a butter I can ever remember using, I don’t know if this was an indication of what was to come or not. The first thing I noticed was it’s extremely light, almost anaemic colour.
I don’t know if there’s a “correct” colour for butter, but Country Life looked more like whipped cream to me.
While its body was thick and fluffy, and spread wonderfully, it almost covered my toast corner to corner for such a small amount. However this is where the positives began to wane.
Despite having a generous dose of butter on toast, it lacked one key element - its flavour.
Not quite as bland as Aldi, Country Life’s purpose seemed to whittle down to being an addition of texture rather than of taste.
It was unpleasant, it just didn’t make the toast sing. Country Life seems to have found its place amongst the supermarket shelves, not quite at the heights of Anchor and Lurpak, but not bottom shelf.
It’ll sit happily as a middle option, something you’d buy if your go-to choice was out of stock. Again, I wasn’t displeased with Country Life, but I won’t be raring to spread it over my toast anytime soon.
Total 2/5
Kerrygold
Kerrygold is arguably one of Ireland’s most famous exports, apart from Guinness of course. I’ve previously heard musings about the butter before, mainly about how rich and delicious it is. However I haven’t had the opportunity to try it out for myself until now.
I expected big things to say the least. The first thing I noticed was how it didn’t deliver on the “spreadable” front. Despite being in the fridge for the exact same times as the other contestants, Kerrygold solidified making for a difficult spread.
I had to spoon the butter out of the tube with the pointed end of my knife. It wasn’t exactly what I imagined, but I was hoping this little set back didn’t impact the flavour.
I was wrong. Although Kerrygold provided a decent textured butter, it also lacked the capacity to spread nicely.
I dug my knife back into the tub at least another three times before I was satisfied I had enough. What did save it was it’s flavour, which didn’t scream like Anchor or Lurpak, but didn’t disappear like Aldi and Country Life. I was conflicted, mainly because the subtle taste wasn’t enough to save it.
Much like Country Life, Kerrygold served as a prime example of what foundational butter. It wasn’t among the big leagues, but it certainly didn’t deserve to be discredited.
Sadly, I thought it was decidedly underwhelming. I just don’t understand what the fuss is all about. Sorry Ireland, I’ll stick to your Guinness.
Total 3/5
Lurpak
As soon as I stuck my knife into Lurpak’s tub I knew this butter meant business. It had the same pale yellow-cream tone as Kerrygold, but didn’t have the former’s rock-solidness. It was almost as if I didn’t need to try and dig out the butter. My knife guided so smoothly I could’ve almost bathed in it.
The packaging really wasn’t kidding when it said “spreadable.” I’m almost certain butter could’ve spread itself if I had willed it enough. Tracing my knife across the toast, Lurpak became weightless and malleable.
With a small amount of butter on the knife, it covered the bread beautifully. I mean, I couldn’t have asked for more.
The salted hit gave through almost immediately, with undoubtedly the strongest flavour of all of the butters. It was delicate, its texture was fluffy, and was a simple joy to eat.
I’d happily lather my toast in Lurpak any day. Although Lurpak makes a mean butter, its price at £2.20 for a mere 250g (it looks a lot less in the flesh) wouldn’t clinch the deal for me.
If I was feeling fancy and wanted to splash out on a fridge staple, then maybe I’d be tempted to buy the brand. I’d just be worried it would be gone so soon.
Total 4/5
The verdict
I think there’s definitely a reason why Aldi makes knock-offs of the leading brands. But sadly the taste just didn't match up this time.
If they could take out the real deal and sell it off for cheap they would probably be onto a winner, but today wasn’t their day.
Lurpak and Anchor are the UK’s best selling butter brands and have been for the past five years, and my test proves the figures right. They’ve managed to strike a fine balance between a delicately salted flavour and the “just right” consistency to spread across a piece of toast.
However, one of the main points I’ll take away from this is my disappointment over Kerrygold’s underwhelming performance. I expected more from them.
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