I’ve turned off comments on this post, but, as of 9/28/20, I favour Lurpak and Président butter in that order.
One of the common complaints I hear from Gringos in Mexico is that the butter here is terrible. Croft and Norma go so far as to load up their fridge with Canadian butter before coming here.
My first experience with Mexican butter had me wondering what the heck they were talking about because the butter I bought was exactly like unsalted butter back home, sweet and creamy and delicious. I mixed a little salt in when I wanted a spread for fresh bread and it was perfect.
But the next time I got butter, I got a seemingly identical package, only this time with salt. And it turned out to be margarine, not butter, and tasted like the topping for movie popcorn, very artificial and salty.
Next time I saw the no salt real butter, I bought it. And, again, it was just like butter back home.
I avoid margarine, so I started buying salted butter in different brands, to find one I liked. Guess what? It was the same over salty disgusting movie popcorn topping taste, regardless of the price I paid.
So now, I just stock the unsalted butter, stock piling it because it’s hard to find and I can only get a small stick at a time. I let it soften, mix it with a little salt to taste, and refrigerate it because I don’t use enough to keep it from going rancid in this climate.
So Gringos, this is the butter you want in Mexico:
It is Lala brand. Make sure you buy mantequilla sin sal, not margarina con sal as the packages are almost identical!
A good clue is that pasta can be healthy, pancakes not so much. 🙂
Has to be unsalted butter as far as we’re concerned. Started buying it years ago, and never wanted to change. I wasn’t watching closely enough last year some time and ended up with the “salted” kind. Couldn’t figure what was wrong! Just not used to it. It was kinda….gross.
I don’t know what it is exactly that they add besides salt, but it tastes exactly like movie theatre popcorn topping! *shudders*
On one cruise a German couple sat at our table of 8. They would butter their bread and put salt and fresh ground pepper on it, too. Before long all eight of us at the table were doing it, too! Very delicious on fresh bread.
Fresh ground pepper on buttered bread???!!! OMG, why did I never think of that?!
Our Dutch friends told us about the adding salt trick but we thought they were adding more salt to the already salted butter. We tried it and it did not help at all. Now we know to buy unsalted “sin sel” and add sel.
And it has to be Lala brand. Other unsalted brands don’t taste right!
“A good clue is that pasta can be healthy, pancakes not so much. :)”
Huh???
Nancy, look at the packages. The butter (all natural product) has pasta shown on it. The margarine (unnatural product) has pancakes shown on it. 🙂
Doesn’t it say in Spanish margerine or butter? What I bought said it was from a cow, so dairy, not margerine, and it is disgusting. I’m going to have to buy mine in Costco.
You want “mantequilla sin sal” (unsalted butter). Any “mantequilla con sal” (salted butter) tastes gross. I’ve only had the unsalted Lala brand; can’t speak to other brands being as good.
I wonder if anyone has used this butter for baking? I bought it and have found it unsatisfactory. Looking at the ingredients, it seems some kind of lecithin (sp?) is added and I think it makes it too soft for baking. 🙁
Any recommendations on butter for baking in Mexico would be awesome, thanks.
Hi Christina,
Your question is very timely because I finally solved this just days ago! The butter you want for cooking and baking is called LURPAK http://www.lurpak.com/es-mx/. It’s quite pricey and from Denmark. I don’t know which supermarkets carry it, but here in Mérida, I get it at Superama. It’s just cream and salt!
I’m from Denmark, and yes, Lurpak is some of the best butter you can get. And it’s pricy as well; even in Denmark it’s the most expensive brand.
It’s still less expensive than cheap butter in Canada!
I bought Lyncott butter recently because I could not find Lurpak. I thought it would be fine as it was just cream and salt, like Lurpak. And it’s fine, but it’s not as “nice.” I guess not as sweet and fresh? It’s fine, but I’m happier to pay for Lurpak now. 🙂
If you buy butter in Mexico. You will notice if youread the ingredients. That most if not all butters have aceite
de soya o canola. So yes most butters will taste like margarine
I have been able to find butter in Mexico whose exquisite and delicate dairy flavour is the same as how butter used to taste in Canada many years ago, and until maybe the 1980s or early 1990s. With the modern butterfat laws in Canada our butter here has a higher water content than European butter because it isn’t churned as long, and it tastes very bland (in my opinion) as do similar butters in Mexico. So if modern North American butter is what you are accustomed to, you can find it easily in Mexico. A couple of years ago while in Mexico, a friend remarked to me that a certain Mexican butter tasted “strong.” When I sampled it, I knew I was eating the butter of my childhood that I have only had the likes of in France and Spain in recent years, and since then, in Mexico. It is often sold in 1/4 pound sticks so you won’t go broke while trying to find the right one. I personally go looking for “mantequilla cultivada con sal” which is to say “salted cultured butter.” (If you’re looking at margarine, it will say “margarina” on the package.)
I was born in Wisconsin and now I’m in north Georgia. I have been distributing Gloria brand butter since the beginning of the year. I sell to bakers and candy makers throughout the Atlanta area. This Gloria brand is from Mexico. Made with butterfat from Austria the company is creamira. Americana a creamery that’s been in business longer than Land O lakes and is sold in 28 of the 32 Mexican states. Through San Antonio bakery solutions Atlanta I’m am the only one who is currently distributing it in the USA under this brand. I’m not here to sell it just defend it and not to generalize Mexican butter. Not all butter is the same. This brand is the best butter i have ever had
There are several types of Gloria. Only the one in the silver package is edible, but it is still vastly inferior, in my tastes, to Lurpak from Denmark.
I’m mexican and you can find amazing Mexican butter, probably among the best in the world: The butter from the brand “Aguascalientes” (it is unsalted and 82%-86% plus fat, made purely from milk – it softens quickly at room temperature) and the butter from the brand “Flor de Alfalfa” (unsalted, organic, and European style since it’s 82% plus fat, cultured and it’s also been matured – it takes a while to soften at room temperature). You can find those two at the supermarket named City Market or you can ask them on their respective facebook site where else their butter and other dairy products can be found. (You can even schedule a visit at “Flor de Alfalfa’s” ranch in Queretaro and get to know the cows, the site and the whole production process, as well as catering of cheese)
Thanks. I found Aguascalientes (and I liked it!) a few times at SOriana, but not any more. :-(. I will keep looking for these two brands. I’ve resorted to buying butter at Costco when we go to Guadalajara but would love to find a local butter that works for baking!!
We get French butter called Presidente, it’s the same price as Lurpac, and Even better.
I’ve heard of this brand, but haven’t seen it yet. I’m still keeping an eye out for it. Superama was out of Lurpak this week so I took a chance on Gloria in the silver package as I heard it’s the best Mexican butter and chefs the world over use it. Baaaah.
In Guadalajara, all of the Mexican butter brands contain lactic acid – I assume that it’s there as a preservative. So it is sour. Fans of cultured butter will like it, but I don’t.
So – I experimented, and if you make ghee with it (Indian style clarified butter) the lactic acid is removed along with the milk solids, and it tastes great. Ghee is great for frying, baking or just spreading on bread. It has a higher smoke point than butter, too.
You can google “ghee recipe” to find out how – it’s easy and fast, you just melt the butter, simmer and stir it until the milk solids fall to the bottom and start to brown, then pour it off through a fine sieve.
Ghee is fantastic — you can taste the difference in curries!