Butter -- Don't Hate. Embrace.

Sportsfans and Foragers, it's time for butter facts:

• Properly produced butter contains many nutrients that protect against disease*
• Butter and cream contain little lactose or casein and are usually well tolerated in their natural state, even by those who are lactose intolerant.
• Fermented (aka cultured) or soured butter and cream are even more digestible than regular butter.
• Organic, cultured butter has restored enzymes for better digestion.
• Those with an extreme intolerance for milk protein can often take butter in the form of ghee or clarified butter from which the milk solids have been removed.
• There is no scientific evidence that butter contributes to heart disease or cancer.
• At the turn of the century, butter consumption in America was 18 pounds per person per year. Today it is a mere five pounds.

The quality of the dairy products you are consuming boils down to what the cows are being fed on the farm. As many of you know, I am a big fan of raw milk. Compared to conventional pasteurized dairy, raw dairy products are more delicious, more nutritious and are the product of more humane treatment of cows. Cows that are fed concentrates containing grain and soy (which is typical in this country), in addition to large amounts of corn silage and with only a little hay produce incredibly large amounts of milk— 20,000 pounds or more per year. These cows have have constant low-level diarrhea and often have diseased livers, as is evidenced in the slaughterhouse. This is not what nature intended. The milk of these stressed cows is of a totally different quality than the milk of a cow fed with grass and hay. Here's a fact that says it all -- the average lifespan of a conventionally raised factory-farm cow is five or six years. This is half (half!) the 12-15 year lifespan of a properly fed cow.

Raw milk dairies, at least the ones here in the bay area (Claravale and Organic Pastures), feed their cows grass and hay. Their cows are living longer than conventional cows and the cows' milk doesn't have to be pasteurized in order to get the microbial count down. Their microbial count is low because they're fed right and treated right. Try testing the microbial count of conventional milk prior to getting pasteurized --not pretty, peeps.

Another thing...I've mentioned this before here, but studies show that CLA levels in the milk of pastured cows can be as much as 500% greater than milk from cows fed typical grain-based diets. Among other things, CLA can improve the way the body uses and stores energy by regulating the accumulation of body fat and improving muscle tone. CLA has also been shown to prevent thickening of the arteries and to help regulate the immune system.

*People laugh at me when I put butter on a croissant. They think it's redundant. Aside from that fantastic feeling of my teeth cutting through fresh, cold, creamy butter, let me count the ways that butter is beautiful. First, butter provides vitamin A. Vitamin A is needed for the health of the thyroid and adrenal glands, both of which play a role in maintaining the proper functioning of the heart and cardiovascular system. Abnormalities of the heart and larger blood vessels occur in babies born to vitamin-A-deficient mothers. Butter is our best and most easily absorbed source of vitamin A. Second, butter contains lecithin, a substance that assists in the proper assimilation and metabolism of cholesterol and other fat constituents. Third, butter contains a number of anti-oxidants (betacarotene and vitamin E, for example) that protect against the kind of free radical damage that weakens the arteries. Fourth, butter is a very rich source of selenium, a vital anti-oxidant, containing more per gram than herring or wheat germ.

Never considered buying cultured butter before? Here are some sources to get you started:

Vermont Butter and Cheese Co. Cultured Butter. My favorite. Whole Foods, Andronicos, Mollie Stones, Berkeley Bowl, and Rainbow Grocery all carry it. Find a store that carries it in your area.

Organic Valley Cultured Unsalted Butter. Organic Valley products are sold at Rainbow Grocery, Cal Mart, Mollie Stones, Bryans, Haight Street Market, Golden Produce, Bi-Rite, Real Foods, Harvest, etc. Find a store that carries it in your area.

Organic Valley European Style Cultured Butter (churned longer, lowering the moisture content and increasing the fat content.)

Added 7/25/08 Spring Hill Cheese Company Cultured Butter. Sold at bay area farmers markets, marin/sonoma retail stores, and through their online store.

Raw butter sources:

Organic Pastures raw butter
While I like OP milk and have great respect for Mark McAfee, I must mention that I personally I haven't had a great experience with OP raw butter. Perhaps it's due to refrigeration issues at the stores, but it always tastes a little off to me. It's possible that mail order could deliver a more stable product if they're packing with dry ice. Might be worth a try if you can't get raw butter in your area.

Claravale Dairy - Unfortunately Claravale doesn't carry butter. Too bad because their herd is all Jersey. Jerseys produce the best milk I have ever tasted.

For more on butter, see Butter is Better article at the Weston A. Price foundation web site.

The Sourceror - Raw Milk. Local Forage's Guide to sources for raw dairy in the bay area. (with delivery times)
The Sourceror LA - Raw Milk:  Local Forage's Guide to sources for raw dairy in the greater LA area.

Photo credit: zappowbang   

 

Comments

[Cristal Guderjahn]

I solemnly pledge to eat my 18 pounds of butter a year!

[ChefJem]

I love butter! I am all the more grateful I live in California where it's not "against the law" to enjoy raw butter! I avoid going into places where raw butter is "against the law"! I'd much rather live in a land "flowing with milk", cream and butter!

Thank You for posting this "Butter -- Don't Hate. Embrace." It clearly shows that butter is a health food and a leading one at that! Sally Fallon (of Nourishing Traditions fame) considers it the number one health food and I whole heartedly agree!

All the grate chefs know that butter is the real deal when it comes to the tomes of traditional recipes that most Americans are familiar with (or once were before the "foreign" invasions of the various types of margerines and the like). It is high time for America to return to their senses on their traditional foods! That is why I am spreading the word about butter, cream milk and especially all the cultured dairy products that feed the starving gut bacteria so they can feed us once again!

This piece of information and a whole lot more is generous shared in my production: "Raw Milk: The Whole Truth" that features Dr. Dale Jacobson in a lively conversation with Mark McAfee. Also coming soon is a transcript of the first hour-long program that is on this DVD.

Chef Jem

Executive Producer:
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[Miss Beth G.]

I heartily recommend Sierra Nevada Organic Vat Cultured Butter. It's not made from raw milk, only organic, but it tastes divine.

http://www.sierranevadacheese.com/

[Lauren]

Wow, I love you!

Atm I'm trying out the Blood Type diet, which led to my quinoa-based lunch just now which led to quinoa reading while eating which led to your quinoa pasta write-up which led to this great confirmation --- see, I always knew it was ok to eat butter!! It's also one of the only dairy items I'm allowed to eat on this diet.

So I guess I won't feel bad dabbing a little on my toasted slice of rice bread.

lol

[Amanda]

Dont forget, butter is a great source of lauric acid which is anti-microbial and anti viral.