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    Home » What is the Difference » What is the Difference Between Kerrygold vs. "Regular" Butter?

    What is the Difference Between Kerrygold vs. "Regular" Butter?

    Published: Jun 4, 2023 by Eric Samuelson

    Kerrygold Irish Butter has been a household favorite for years. Learn how it is different than regular butter. And why it should be on your holiday table whether that holiday is St. Patrick's Day, Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas, or just your own birthday! We also look at a couple similar butters from Plugra and Tipperary.

    A 8 ounces package of Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter next to a store brand salted butter 4 oz stick. They are sitting on top of a white tile counter top.

    This post includes affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. These are products and services I recommend because I use or trust them. Cookies will be used to track the affiliate links you click.

    Butter.

    It's an ingredient. It's something we spread or melt on foods to make them tastier.

    But it is something that we think about much more than that?

    Most of the butter consumed in this country is your generic store brand butter that comes in a box with 4 sticks in it, each being 8 tablespoons.

    Whether it's a name brand or the grocery store brand, do we really taste that much of difference? Don't all butters really taste the same?

    Not all butters are really the same. When you have had a good butter you will know that. Oh man, will you know it!

    One of my favorite "premium" butters is Kerrygold Irish Butter. Let me share with you what makes it different than your stick butter.

    Jump to:
    • ☘️ How is Irish Butter Different?
    • 🟨 Why is the Butter Yellow?
    • 🧂 Unsalted Butter
    • 🥧 Can You Bake with It?
    • 🍿 Is It Good for Popcorn?
    • 💲 How Much It Cost?
    • 🛒 Where to Buy
    • 🧈 Clarified Butter or Ghee
    • ⚜️ Kerrygold vs. Plugra
    • 🐄 Kerrygold vs. Tipperary
    • 🧀 Cheese Reviews
    Big boxes of Kerrygold butter seen on display at a Costco store.
    We never have St. Patrick's Day dinner without this butter. Large boxes of Kerrygold are available at Costco year round.

    ☘️ How is Irish Butter Different?

    The biggest difference in Kerrygold butter starts with the milk. The milk that is used to produce this butter is from cows that eat grass.

    A more natural diet, produce a better milk, and then better butter. Grass-fed milk has a richer taste and is creamier, thus why Kerrygold butter has a richer flavor. The butter actually tastes like something, where stick butter has a flat flavor.

    A side by side picture of Kerrygold butter and regular butter showing how the Kerrygold is a more yellowish color.
    The butter on the left is Kerrygold Butter and the butter on the right is a store brand stick of butter. You can see that the Kerrygold butter has a more yellowish hue to it.

    🟨 Why is the Butter Yellow?

    You will also notice a difference in color. Take a look at a photo of some Kerrygold butter next to a generic store brand stick.

    What an animal eats has a direct effect on the color of their milk. Cows that are out grazing in the field produce a milk with a more yellowish color. That is because these cows are getting more beta-carotene in their diet.

    Some butter may have annatto added to it to give it a more yellowish color. It's the same thing that is added to cheddar cheese to make it yellow.

    Kerrygold unsalted gray packaged butter on top of the golden packaged salted butter.
    he gray packaged Kerrygold Butter is the unsalted version, while the gold wrapper indicates salt has been added.

    🧂 Unsalted Butter

    Yes you can find Kerrygold butter unsalted. Not as common as the salted variety, but a lot of stores will carry both options.

    Unsalted butter is commonly used in baking applications or any situation where someone wishes to better control the salt in their food.

    🥧 Can You Bake with It?

    Kerrygold butter has a higher fat content than your "regular" stick butter. I couldn't get confirmation on this but it is reported by a number of people that it's 82% butter fat. This is great for baking things especially baked goods that you want to be flaky, like croissants and pie crusts.

    Or if you are making shortbread or butter cookies, where you really taste the butter flavor.

    Making rolls? Brush some Kerrygold butter on top for some added flavor.

    Should you ever use regular butter? Yes, I use it all the time, because it's more economical. Kerrygold butter is often the same price or more than the box of 4 sticks and you get half the amount. So I can understand if you want to save money than use stick butter and splurge for Kerrygold when the butter flavor is going to have the biggest impact.

    🍿 Is It Good for Popcorn?

    Oh my goodness yes! It will make your popcorn taste a thousand times better. I can't recommend more!

    Check out all of our posts to learn how to become a popcorn expert!

    💲 How Much It Cost?

    On average I find a 8oz bar of Kerrygold Butter, whether salted or unsalted to run around $2.99-$3.99 each. At Costco it is $11.99 for 32oz.

    🛒 Where to Buy

    Some of the stores that carry Kerrygold Butter include:

    • Kroger
    • Whole Foods Market
    • Costco
    • Meijer
    • Walmart
    • Pavilions
    • Smart & Final Extra
    • Stater Bros
    • Publix
    • Wegmans
    • Tops Friendly Market
    • Sprouts Farmers Market
    • Trader Joe's
    • Target
    • Hy-Vee
    • Central Market

    Check out the Kerrygold USA website - it has a search on where you can find their butter. The week of St Patrick's Day, most grocery stores that carry it will have it on sale, so it's a good time to stock up on this outstanding butter.

    If you can't find it in a store in your area, you can also purchase it online in bulk.

    Butter usually has a long shelf life, but you still can freeze it to extend that time. So buy a basket full the week of St. Patrick's Day and your feel like you have the luck of the Irish every time you make toast!

    🧈 Clarified Butter or Ghee

    If you are looking for clarified butter or ghee from Kerrygold you can't just buy it, however you can make it yourself. Ghee is basically clarified butter but it's usually cooked further to brown it and add a more nutty flavor.

    To make clarified butter you cook the butter in a pot to evaporate the liquid in the butter. Milk solids separate and sink to the bottom. When the liquid is clear it's clarified butter. You can brown that to turn it into ghee.

    It's then perfect to use for high heat cooking where butter would normally just burn and smoke.

    Plugra salted butter in gray foil above a Kerrygold salted butter in gold foil.

    ⚜️ Kerrygold vs. Plugra

    Another common European butter you can find in American grocery stores is Plugra. It also comes in salted and unsalted. How does it compare to Kerrygold.

    First let's look at the color.

    Plugra 8 oz butter next to Kerrygold 8 o butter on a red table. The Kerrygold butter is a deeper yellw color.

    Plugra is not as yellow as Kerrygold. Not even close. Plugra does not claim to be from grass-fed cows.

    Another difference is the ingredient list. Plugra has "natural flavors" add to it. What are these flavors? I am not sure, but they aren't helping Plugra be more flavorful than Kerrygold. I did a side by side taste test and while Plugra tasted better than the standard store brand butter, it did not match up to Kerrygold.

    As far as fat content goes Plugra says it's 82% butterfat which what we believe Kerrygold to be. Plugra was $2.96 for 8oz last time I checked at Walmart.

    A black foil package of Tipperary Pure Irish Butter.

    🐄 Kerrygold vs. Tipperary

    Tipperary is another Irish butter is made from grass-fed cows. Just look at the color of this butter.

    Tipperary butter package opened showing a vivid yellow grass-fed butter.

    I think Tipperary is just as good as Kerrygold. It's not as easy to find whatsoever but if you see it and love Kerrygold, it's a perfect alternative. I got it at Jungle Jim's International Market near Cincinnati, Ohio.

    A picture of packaged Kerrygold Skellig sweet cheddar cheese on a wood cutting board on top of some rocks.

    🧀 Cheese Reviews

    If you are a Kerrygold fan you will want to check out these reviews of some of their cheeses.

    • Skellig
    • Dubliner
    • Blarney Castle

    Where do you find Kerrygold Butter? What is your favorite use for it? Leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. hustedle

      January 26, 2020 at 8:53 am

      Best butter I’ve ever had since I was a small child

    2. Eric Samuelson

      January 27, 2020 at 9:15 am

      That's great. What kind of butter did you have as a child?

    3. mary

      June 27, 2021 at 11:51 pm

      I bought two sticks of Kerri Gold to try out, as I've heard so much about this butter. The texture is so smooth and beautiful, this must be due to the higher fat content. However, I expected to see a much deeper yellow colour. The colour and flavour are somewhat the same as the WestGold Butter from New Zealand that I normally eat, but this one is twice the cost. So I guess for cooking purpose, I will stick to the WestGold (as no texture is required), but I will use KerriGold outside of cooking.

    4. Teresa

      August 25, 2021 at 2:30 pm

      I live in Paul Idaho and The E Street Deli in Rupert carries Kerrygold Butter. I will have to try Kerrygold Butter.

    5. Sean McK

      September 07, 2023 at 8:09 pm

      My roommate turned me on to this. I usually use land o lakes, and Wow can I taste the difference when used on or in plain/lightly seasoned rice!

    6. Eric Samuelson

      September 08, 2023 at 5:20 pm

      You have a very wise roommate. Glad you have been introduced to the wonder of Kerrygold butter.

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