Smooth as butter. Butter up. Bread and butter. Butter is as much a staple in our language as it is on our tables. And it’s no wonder—butter is the not-so-secret culinary trick to making everything taste better. It’s the foundation of patisserie, the cornerstone of a roux, and the saving grace of restaurant bread baskets.
We took on the task of testing butter with all the gravitas it deserves. We tasted 17 salted butters and baked with 11 unsalted butters to make our recommendations. When it comes to choosing a brick of butter, we know which side our bread is (thickly) buttered on.
