Artisian Flavored Butters Spread a Healthy Message

May 17, 2016
America’s oldest family-owned cheese and butter dairy, Minerva Dairy, introduces a line of batch-churned flavored butters.

America’s oldest family-owned cheese and butter dairy, Minerva Dairy, introduces a line of batch-churned flavored butters. Established in 1894, this Ohio company is currently run by fifth- and sixth-generation family members and produces artisan dairy products distributed in 47 states.

The new flavored products -- Minerva Dairy Amish Roll Butter — come in Garlic Herb, Maple Syrup, Pumpkin Spice and Smoked. These culinary-inspired, 84 percent butterfat (most butter is only 80 percent fat) flavored butters are made from milk from pasture-raised cows. Wrapped in butcher-block paper, an 8-oz. slice of the small-batch-churned, hand-rolled butter will sell for about $6.99.

Butter is one of those once-unhealthy foods turned healthy. When trans-fatty acids became the enemy, consumers started switching from margarine to butter. And now, with research suggesting that full-fat dairy may be associated with a lower risk of obesity, in part because it may increase satiety and thereby decrease overall food and calorie intake, butter is being embraced. Researchers have also concluded that people who eat full-fat dairy are no more likely to develop heart disease or Type II diabetes than those who consume reduced-fat or non-fat versions.