Make your Holidays Even Better with Wisconsin Butter!

Tie on your apron, put on your favorite holiday songs, sort through all your recipe cards, and grab some Wisconsin butter – its baking time! Whether making pies, cookies, appetizers, or main dishes, Wisconsin butter is sure to bring your holiday cooking and baking to the next level!

As the story goes, sometime about 10,000 years ago, a traveler filled a sheepskin bag with milk, tied the bag to a horse, and set off on a long journey. When the traveler arrived to their destination, they were surprised to see their milk had separated and been transformed into a delight that we now call butter! Wisconsin’s 13 butter processing plants use the same basic concept to make butter today, though of course neither a horse nor a sheepskin bag are fundamental to the process anymore. Instead, milk comes in from our dairy farms, is pumped off the milk truck, and is churned until the liquids separate out, forming buttermilk, and leaving behind creamy, delicious butter. Salt may be added at this point, but otherwise no additional ingredients are needed. By regulation, butter contains at least 80% fat, approximately 16% water, and 3% milk solids.

Wisconsinites sure do enjoy our butter no matter how we’re eating it, consuming more than three pounds per year, above the national average of about 2.5 pounds. Butter is enjoyed all year round, but it sees a surge in sales during the holiday season as people prepare for baking, family gatherings, and community celebrations. Compound butters are another trend that is helping people enjoy Wisconsin butter in brand new ways! This combination of softened butter and various ingredients that add flavor, most commonly garlic, herbs, and spices, can be used over meats, vegetables, or even warm bread. The best part is, it’s easy to make right at home!

If you aren’t sure where to start, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin has several recipes to choose from, such as the Zesty Lemon and Dill Havarti Butter that is perfect for seafood, featuring dill Havarti, lemon zest, and fresh dill. There’s also a recipe for Fresh Pear and Blue Cheese Butter, an impressive balance of flavors with blue cheese, combined with fresh pears and sage. You can find more recipes at www.wisconsincheese.com or you can create your own favorite flavor combinations using whatever you have on hand!

Do you know how to identify Wisconsin dairy products on the grocery store shelves? Anytime you see the Proudly Wisconsin Dairy badge or the number “55” on packaging, you know you are eating genuine Wisconsin dairy products. You can also look for the red and yellow Something Special from Wisconsin™ logo. When you are picking up butter for your holiday gatherings, to make compound butters, and throughout the year, be sure to look for the “55” to enjoy butter from right here in Wisconsin!