“Pretty things are important in life,” explains third-generation butter maker Jean-Yves Bordier, pointing to the wooden wheel that gives Brittany’s butter its unique texture.
In this video from Food Insider, reporter Claudia Romeo visits Le Beurre Bordier, one of Brittany’s famous Maisons du Beurre. At Bordier’s factory, artisan butter makers utilize the 19th century “malaxage” technique, and shape the product with tools dating back to the French Revolution.
Bordier describes how everything from the weather to what the animals eat each season affects the texture and taste of the butter, why it takes three years to master the technique, and why you should wait three to five days after production to eat your butter. But this isn’t your great-grandfather’s butter–Bordier also makes products flavored with chili, vanilla, and even seaweed. The perfect combination of historic techniques, and constant innovation that makes French cuisine what it is.
