The Classic Brand Of Butter Jacques Pépin Swears By When Baking

When Jacques Pépin offers his opinion on food or cooking, everyone — be they a chef, journalist, or hobbyist — takes note. Pépin has taught us many lessons over the years and has gained a reputation as someone who appreciates simple ingredients that are of a good quality. Often, these ingredients aren't that expensive. In fact, when it comes to baking, Pépin favors an affordable butter that's sold by a widely available brand: Land O'Lakes.

Pépin uses Land O'Lakes' butter for baking techniques such as laminating dough and building pie crusts. (He also used it in a famous omelet-cooking segment that was shot back in 1995.) The reason he uses this brand? Habit. In an interview with Food & Wine, Pépin said: "Years ago, I started using Land O'Lakes because it was one of the only butters I could find. It's still a favorite of mine." Not even one of the biggest butter recalls involving Land O'Lakes could put Pépin off this brand.

Those who wish to follow Pépin's example will be pleased to learn that one pound of Land O'Lakes butter costs as little as $5.22. This is considerably less than European butters, which many bakers prefer to use. For example, Kerrygold butter often retails at over $9.50 per pound.

Land O'Lakes regular butter has a milkfat content of 80% which is the minimum percentage necessary for the United States Department of Agriculture to define it as butter. Although it is the minimum, 80% milkfat is also the standard when it comes to American butter. On the other hand, most European butters boast an 82% milkfat content. Thanks to this higher fat percentage (and lower moisture content) European butter often results in more tender and flavorful baked goods. That being said, if the recipe is not designed to be made with European butter, this additional fat can unbalance the end result.

Given that he is French, it is somewhat surprising that Jacques Pépin prefers baking with American-style butter rather than the high-fat alternatives native to his home continent. For those who want to try baking with a higher milkfat butter, but don't want to disregard Pépin's preferences altogether, Land O'Lakes Extra Creamy Unsalted Butter is the ideal product. It combines the brand's stellar reputation with a milkfat content of 82%. Of course, you could always go one better and make your own butter instead.