Like Buttah: Vermont Butter and Cheese Co.

Good butter is one of those things that makes you understand how amazing the world can be, so creamy, so fatty, so delightfully rich. A good cultured butter tastes more like a mild cheese than your regular supermarket butter, and I have found none better than the amazing butter from the Vermont Butter and Cheese Company.

Weighing in at 86% butterfat, the lightly salted Vermont butter hits you first with the cream, but then gives you a mildly cheesy taste and finish. I buy this stuff in huge sausage like tubes because it's that good, rivaling the best Normandy butters I've been able to try in the US.

As good as this butter is, it is enhanced by the addition of sea salt crystals in Vermont Cultured Butter with Sea Salt Crystals. The crunchy salt adds the prefect touch to the already wonderful butter, creating an addictive treat. If you are like me, once you taste this butter, you will find yourself wondering how much butter you can legitimately put on a piece of bread without being considered excessive. My rule: as long as the slice of bread is thicker than the butter on top of it, you're okay.

Regular Vermont Butter is available at a number of locations including The Cheese Store of Silverlake, Surfas and Bristol Farms. I've only seen the sea salt version at Surfas. While the Vermont Butter and Cheese website does not sell directly to consumers, it appears that there are on-line sources for purchasing their products (though I wouldn't order any butter by mail in scorching LA right now).

One note about buying the cultured butter with sea salt: Be sure what you are getting is fresh. If it has been sitting around for a while, the sea salt crystals can actually dissolve, which completely ruins the experience.