What The Bear Gets Right (& Wrong) About Butter
Written By: Michelle Webb | @cheeseshopnc
The Bear’s Carmy and Uncle Jimmy spar over the cost of “Orwellian Butter.” Hulu 2024.
If you need evidence that cultured butter has reached peak pop culture relevance, look no further than Season 3, Episode 3 of The Bear (warning: explicit language). In one of the few LOL moments of the latest season of the Hulu show, Carmy's Uncle Jimmy complains about an $11,000 butter bill.
In questioning what is so special about this butter (at $60 per pound), Carmy responds "It's Orwellian." Jimmy snaps back, "It's Dystopian butter?" Of course, in reference to George Orwell, author of Animal Farm, 1984, etc. Carmy clarifies, "Orwell, Vermont."
Orwellian butter is a real thing and it's a wonderful, creamy, golden-yellow, hand-churned butter made on a 2-cow farm in Orwell, VT, called Animal Farm Dairy. We got our hands on it once. The one-pound order was divided into four golden butter balls and lo-fi packed in a Ziploc bag. It is nearly impossible to get as a consumer and not available for distribution to retailers. It is mainly reserved for Thomas Keller and other Michelin-starred restaurant groups, like The French Laundry and Per Se.
“All butter isn’t treated equally. In fact, grocery store butter is mostly mass-produced, chemically treated, and lacks the most crucial ingredient: cultures. (Yes, this also includes your favorite Irish butter in gold packaging). If a butter is “cultured,” it simply refers to cream that’s allowed to ferment or has live bacterial cultures added prior to churning.”
Is Animal Farm “the best,' as Carmy declares to his uncle? It’s wonderful butter, especially for the U.S., but the best? In our opinion, no. First off, it’s unsalted and salt is essential for achieving that balance and buttery, rich flavor. Plus, the depth of flavor for a cultured butter is not up to par with others. The French are centuries ahead of Vermont in creating the perfect flavor, just peruse our selection; Rudolph Le Meunier, Le Beurre Bordier (Brittany), and Isigny St. Mere (Normandy). Ploughgate Creamery from VT comes close to Animal Farm.
For an appropriate introduction to cultured butter, read through my sit down with Jenn Rice for Forbes or get familiar with cultured butter facts below.
