Abernethy Butter has launched a new Dulse and Sea Salt butter... and it's brilliant.
Butter is such a staple of the masses it takes no usual part in our culinary adventures. However the splendour that is Abernethy Butter really made me happy, and I realised how much we miss! It seems I'd forgotten what really good butter tasted like - and the addition of a Dulse, a local sea-weed, certainly piqued my interest. Can't wait to cook fish in it!
With customers ranging from Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck, Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley Hotel and over 50 other top class restaurants, it just shows how important it is to ensure food is great, with every ingredient - why shouldn't butter be one of them? With taste awards and restaurants shouting their praises, it's no wonder this is some sought after delicacy!
Thanks to Abernethy for sending these to review, there's a smoked butter which is great to cook with, a plain, and the new Dulse and Sea Salt.
Dulse is a red seaweed harvested in the cool waters along Atlantic coast of Canada and also along the shores of Ireland and Norway. Its fronds grow in tidal areas on rocks, shells, and the larger, longer, brown seaweeds. Dulse can be eaten raw, roasted, fried, dried, or as a thickening agent for soups.
Allison and Will Abernethy inherited their butter making skills from previous family generations and in 2005 decided to turn what was a hobby into a family business.
Initially going to local agricultural and vintage shows to demonstrate how cream is churned and turned into butter, they soon realised there was a demand for their product.
Their early market of Northern Ireland has now expanded to many prestigious shops and restaurants throughout the UK and beyond.
Abernethy Butter starts as cream sourced from a local farm where cows graze on the lush green pastures of the Lagan Valley.
Abernethy Butter is made by hand using traditional methods.
The cream is churned until it separates into butter and buttermilk. Then it's put into a large bowl and washed by hand until the water runs clear. This is to remove all the buttermilk which would sour the butter. The only thing they add to our butter is a pinch or two of salt.
All in all, this butter was a great departure from the norm, helped along with some fresh bread it was fairly salty but good because of it. If you'd like to get your lips round this stuff, I'd certianly suggest it - it's available in many outlets or online.
Don't forget to catch them at the 147th annual Balmoral Show in Balmoral Park on 13th-15th May 2015 for food, farming, family and fun!
