European Butter vs American Butter

Butter that is sold in the United States must contain a minimum of 80 percent butterfat. In Europe, they contain a minimum of 82 percent and can be as much as 85 percent. The rest of the butter includes water and milk solids. If you are using butter with a lower butterfat content, you are adding more liquid and less fat to your dish. Conversely, with a higher butterfat content, you are adding more fat and less liquid.

New Zealand Butter contains 82.9 percent butterfat, so it is an excellent alternative to European Butter.

An American Alternative

A high-butterfat butter that is made in America is Amish butter. This butter has a higher butterfat content than both European and New Zealand butter. Amish butter has a butterfat content as high as 85 percent.

Why Does Butterfat Matter in Baking?

If you are using butter with less butterfat, then your recipe will call for a bit more liquid. Too much liquid can make your pastries a little bit tougher since the extra liquid can weigh down the dough. If you have more butterfat in your dough the butter will remain solid for a longer time in the oven. For flakier croissants and puff pastry, butter with a higher butterfat content is best.

European, New Zealand, and Amish butter is more expensive than the butter we purchase in grocery stores in the United States. Although the taste is excellent, it can be quite costly if you are making something with a couple of sticks of butter, such as an all-butter pie crust, buttery oatmeal cookies, etc. However, the butter flavor makes a difference, and so for those flaky croissants and pie crusts, European or New Zealand butter is a good choice.

For cookies and brownies, there are other flavors that don’t allow the flavor of the butter to shine through, so butter with less butterfat is fine. You can use European butter all the time if you choose, but you may need to use just a little more water to make up for the lower amount of liquid in the butter. That will depend on what you are making.