10/17/2016

有鹽奶油盲測比較 Salted Butter Taste Test

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It's been nearly 2 years since I last posted anything here. The reason of this hiatus seems to be having my 2nd baby after the last article. But really it's because I found the recipe organizing app: Paprika. It works so wonderful that it almost meets my every purpose of keeping this blog: recipe organizing, cooking and baking records and notes.

It's my first time doing a taste test. I think it's worth blogging. As memories will fade, and internet will last (hopefully!)

距離上次更新部落格已經將近兩年了,時間似乎停在二寶的出生,但其實真正的原因是我發現好好用的食譜整理 app: Paprika. 這個 app 對我來說實在太好用了,幾乎取代我開這個部落格的所有目的:整理食譜、烹飪與烘焙的紀錄。

這是我第一次做試吃盲測,還挺有趣的,值得記錄下來,畢竟記憶會淡化,但網路不會消失呀!(但願如此)









I had baked cookies with Kerrygold unsalted butter once, no one in my family like it. It was just too strong and even offensive. When we were eating the cookies, the butterly flavor was overwhelming it was almost bitter. At the same time I baked another batch of cookies with the same recipe, different brand of unsalted butter. So we clearly knew the differences.

That was almost 3 seasons ago. And couple days ago, once again I saw the internet raving about Kerrygold butter, salted one. Also, someone mentioned that Isigny butter is available at Whole Foods market. Isigny is a French brand and the butter is very, very popular, considered high-end, high-quality among bakers in Taiwan, my home country. I've never tried it before. I'm curious.

今年年初我曾經用許多人熱烈推薦的愛爾蘭奶油 Kerrygold 無鹽奶油烤餅乾,結果全家都不愛,烤出來的餅乾奶油味太濃厚、太強烈,甚至帶有苦苦的後勁。同時我也用一模一樣的食譜、不同品牌的無鹽奶油烤了另一盤餅乾,所以那差異無疑的很明顯。

最近又看到網路上好多人在討論對 Kerrygold 奶油的喜愛,只不過是有鹽的。在討論串中有網友提到台灣很紅的法國伊思尼奶油 Isigny 在美國也買得到,Whole Foods 超市有!伊思尼在美國實在很少見,我只看過伊思尼起司、沒看過奶油,也從沒想過要去找,這個資訊實在讓我太好奇了,好想試試看。

Before doing anything I went further to do some search online and confirmed that 3 of the many dairy brands available here are located in Northern California. That means they're local to me. Their cows are pastured, and their products are all considered with good quality: Clover Stornetta, Straus Creamery, and Humboldt Creamery. My family had tried different dairy product from these brands and we had good experiences. So I decided to try their salted butter, too. 

在做任何實際行動之前,我繼續上網搜尋,確認了在這邊超市通路常看到的乳製品牌子當中,有三個牌子都是產自北加州,對我來說就是在地食材,而且它們的牛都是經過放牧、以一定比例的青草所飼養,產品被視為具有高品質:Clover Storentta, Straus Creamery, Humboldt Creamery. 我們家曾經買過來自這些品牌的不同乳製品,印象很不錯,因此我決定也要試試看它們出產的有鹽奶油。

That's how I chose the brands. 2 imported butter: Kerrygold salted and Isigny (hopefully I can find a salted one.) 3 local butter: Clover, Straus, Humboldt.

I was unable to get Isigny as it was out of stock at my local Whole Foods market. And they only carries unsalted one. Unsalted and salted butters are incomparable. So I left Isigny out this time.

Here I go with 4 different salted butters.


就這樣我決定了這次有鹽奶油盲測的品牌,2 個進口牌子:Kerrygold 和 Isigny,3 個在地品牌:Clover, Straus, Humboldt.

但當我進行採購時,Isigny 缺貨,但從空空貨架上的標價牌我得知這家 Whole Foods 只進這牌的無鹽奶油。無鹽、有鹽奶油基本上不能直接比較,就作罷。

這次就做四種品牌的有鹽奶油比較。





I scooped some of each into ramekins to left in room temperature to soften. The real answers are marked on the under side of ramekins. After putting butters in, I moved the ramekins around so even myself can't remember which one is which. Then I marked them from A to D for taking notes accordingly when tasting them.

我用標籤紙寫上真正的品牌名,貼在瓷杯底下,然後各挖一些奶油放進去,再把瓷杯隨意移動,讓我自己也不知道哪杯是什麼牌子,最後在側邊標上 A 到 D,稍後在試吃時才能清楚做紀錄。








The first day we tried them with homemade English muffins, and discussed and took notes. The second day we spread them on our toast, and checked our notes from the first day. Finally, we looked at the bottom of each ramekin to find the answers.

Here are our comments:

A (Humboldt) : Rich, with a floral hint like lavender or rose. Moderately salted. Hubby doesn't like the floral scent.

B (Clover) : Fresh and smooth. Nice creaminess and saltiness. Has a sweet finish. 

C (Kerrygold) : Very rich. Strong. Saltier than the rest. Has a highlight, a character in my mouth. Hubby finds it a bit too salty but still tasty.

D (Straus) : Mild. Low salt level. Kind of bland. May be good when neutral flavor is desired.


Richness: C > A > B  D
Saltiness: C = A > B ≧ D

For eating as it is, spreading toast, when butterly flavor is wanted as a leading role: A, C
For pairing with other cooking or baking, may be good on pancakes, as a supporting role: B, D


第一天我們搭配自製的英式瑪芬麵包,互相討論並做紀錄。第二天搭配烤土司,再次確認和增補第一天的筆記。然後再查看杯底的答案,找出各個牌子的特色

A (Humboldt) 香濃、有花香,類似薰衣草或玫瑰、鹹味足;老公不喜歡那股類似花香的特殊香氣

(Clover) 清新順口、奶味鹹味恰到好處、後勁香甜

(Kerrygold) 奶味鹹味最香濃、比其他款稍鹹一點、入口有亮點;老公覺得這款最鹹,但還算好吃

(Straus) 清新淡雅、奶味淡、鹹味淡,四種當中最平庸低調,也許因此百搭,適合當配角


奶味 C > A > B  D
鹹味 C = A > B ≧ D

單吃、抹麵包、想要主角式的奶油味:A, C

搭配料理、百搭基本款、襯托其他食材:B, D



I'm kinda surprised to find that despite of its highest milk fat content, Straus is the mildest one here. Not only the lightest saltiness as it is marketed with half amount of salt compared with other brands (lightly salted as it said,) but also the creaminess, richness. Perhaps creaminess does not necessarily come from milk fat content.

And what we learned about Kerrygold is that unsalted and salted butters are really incomparable. We can't forget that unpleasant flavor came from baking with Kerrygold unsalted, but we like the salted one for spreading.

This taste test of salted butter is mainly to find our favorite one for spreading bread. And I think Clover and Kerrygold are keepers.

我有些驚訝的是 Straus 的乳脂含量最高,卻是這當中味道最淡的;不只是鹹味方面最淡,畢竟它的包裝上就有說是低鹽,和其他品牌比起來只有一半的鹽份;但是在奶味部分也是最淡的,或許奶味並不完全來自乳脂含量。

至於愛爾蘭奶油 Kerrygold 讓我更相信無鹽奶油和有鹽奶油不能直接做比較。之前拿無鹽 Kerrygold 烤餅乾的味道我還印象深刻,但這次用有鹽抹麵包我們都覺得挺好吃。

這次的有鹽奶油試吃盲測,主要是為了找出我們家最喜歡的抹麵包用奶油,我想我們會繼續買的就是 Clover 和 Kerrygold 吧~




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