TABLE OF CONTENTS
Best New Englander Butter Producers
Founded in 2000 by Diane St. Clair in Orwell, Vermont, Animal Farm Creamery quickly gained cult status among top chefs, including those at The French Laundry and Per Se, where its butter became an essential ingredient in fine dining. Animal Farm Creamery employs the best traditional dairy methods, producing handcrafted cultured butter made from fresh, raw milk, collected directly from the farm.
The butter is churned and shaped by hand, giving it an exceptional texture, rich dairy flavor, and delicate aroma. In addition to butter, the creamery also produces high-quality cream, which is regionally distributed through Provisions International.
BEST Animal Farm Creamery Butters
Originally focused on making artisanal cheese and butter, the company has become well-known for its high-quality dairy products, including goat cheese, cultured butter, and crème fraîche. Vermont Creamery sources its milk from local family farms, ensuring sustainable and ethical practices.
The creamery has been a pioneer in the American artisan cheese industry and was acquired by Land O'Lakes in 2017, a move that helped it expand its reach and continue its growth.
AWARDS
World Cheese Awards - Gold
2023, 2022
World Championship Cheese Contest - Best of Class
2024, 2022, 2020, 2018, 2016, 2012, 2010
International Cheese Awards - Gold
2024, 2023
BEST Vermont Creamery Cheeses
Ploughgate Creamery is a small creamery based in Vermont, USA, specializing in the production of cultured butter in small batches. Founded in 2014, the creamery combines European traditions with fresh, locally sourced cream to create butter with a rich, nutty flavor and a smooth, creamy texture.
The production process involves adding active cultures to the cream, allowing it to ferment for 24 hours before churning. After churning, the butter is hand-kneaded, and coarse sea salt is added before packaging. Founder Marisa Mauro began her dairy career at the age of 15, working on farms in southern Vermont.
BEST Ploughgate Creamery Butters
Cabot Creamery is a well-known dairy cooperative based in Cabot, Vermont. Established in 1919, it comprises over 1,000 dairy farm families from Vermont and neighboring states. The cooperative specializes in producing a variety of dairy products, including award-winning cheeses, butters, and yogurts.
Cabot is particularly famous for its cheddar cheese, which comes in various flavors and aging profiles, from mild to extra sharp. The cooperative emphasizes high-quality, sustainable practices, ensuring that their products are made from the milk of cows that are humanely treated and raised on family farms.
AWARDS
World Championship Cheese Contest - Best of Class
2024, 2022, 2020, 2018, 2016, 2014, 2012
International Cheese Awards - Gold
2024
American Cheese Society Judging & Competition Awards - 1st Place
2024, 2023, 2022, 2019, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2002, 2001
BEST Cabot Creamery Cheeses
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Best New Englander Butters
Cultured butter is a premium culinary product that stands out for its rich, layered flavor and superior cooking qualities. Unlike classic sweet cream butter, which is made from fresh pasteurized cream, our cultured butter undergoes a carefully controlled fermentation process.
This process involves the addition of specific dairy cultures that enrich the cream with natural enzymes and probiotic bacteria. As a result, the butter develops a distinctive, mildly nutty, and pleasantly tangy aroma, making it an irresistible addition to the finest dishes.
Cabot Salted Butter is a premium butter made from the highest quality fresh cream, with the addition of pure salt that perfectly enhances its natural, creamy flavor. Known for its smooth, velvety texture and rich, full-bodied taste, this butter is an essential ingredient in every kitchen.
Its perfect balance of salt enhances the flavor without being overpowering, while the 100% natural cream provides depth and authenticity, free from any artificial additives or preservatives. Its versatility makes it ideal for a variety of culinary uses—perfect for spreading on freshly baked bread, toast, and pastries, essential in baking cakes, cookies, and flaky pastries, and widely used in cooking to enrich soups, sauces, and pasta dishes.
AWARDS
American Cheese Society Judging & Competition Awards - 1st Place
2024
Vermont Creamery Cultured Butter with Sea Salt is a premium cultured butter, carefully crafted from fresh Vermont cream using traditional European techniques. What sets it apart from regular butter is its fermentation process, which develops a complex, nutty, and slightly tangy flavor, perfectly balanced with the addition of sea salt.
Made in small batches, this butter undergoes slow churning, resulting in a smooth, creamy texture with 82% butterfat, making it ideal for spreading, baking, and cooking. The subtle crunch of hand-harvested sea salt crystals enhances its natural richness, elevating both sweet and savory dishes.
Cabot Extra Creamy Sea Salted Butter delivers a rich, full-bodied flavor and velvety texture, making it perfect for all your culinary creations. Crafted from the highest-quality milk sourced from family farms, this butter boasts 82% butterfat, ensuring exceptional performance in baking, cooking, and spreading.
Lightly seasoned with sea salt, it enhances the natural creamy taste, adding depth to every dish. Whether you're making flaky croissants, moist cakes, or simply spreading it on warm bread, Cabot Extra Creamy Sea Salted Butter guarantees premium quality and an irresistible indulgence in every bite.
AWARDS
World Championship Cheese Contest - Best of Class
2024
Ploughgate Creamery Cultured Butter is an artisanal butter crafted in small batches using fresh, locally sourced cream and traditional European churning methods. The process begins with the addition of active cultures to the cream, allowing it to ferment for 24 hours before being carefully churned to achieve a perfectly creamy consistency.
This slow fermentation develops a rich, nutty, and slightly tangy flavor, giving the butter a depth and complexity that industrial butters cannot match. It is available in multiple unique varieties, including classic sea salt, unsalted for precise culinary control, and specialty flavors such as dulse seaweed, Vermont maple, and Espelette pepper, which add layers of flavor and aromatic depth to every bite.
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.