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It has long been a kitchen staple in Britain but butter is fast becoming a luxury item as prices rise.
An unsavory milestone has now been passed, with the 150g block hitting shop shelves with a price tag of more than £50.
It is not an everyday type of spread. Sublime Butter No. 78, infused with Cinco Jotas Ibérico ham, carabineros prawns, pedro ximénez sherry and Spanish saffron, sells for £55 in farm shops, delis and high-end butchers – or £105 when bought with its own dish. .
Chris Meyer, founder of Sublime Butter in Richmond, west London, has no doubt the price will be hard for many to swallow. Premium Butter is one of a number in the company’s ridiculous range. Its lobster and crab flavor No. 55, which retails for just £38 or £95 with a dish, was named one of the best foods in the world last October.
But the recent butter marmalade-price drop reflects a broader trend that is affecting brands across the price spectrum.
The Office for National Statistics reported this week that the price of butter and margarine rose by an average of 34% year-on-year, the biggest increase in the Consumer Price Index behind air fares (36%) and fuel oil (66%). ).
The rising prices are the result of a series of blows to the butter business. Global milk production has remained sluggish while Australian producers struggle with drought, with farmers blaming environmental regulations limiting herd sizes in Europe and New Zealand. Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine has led to shortages of wheat and fertilizers and increased energy costs.
Mair, which sources butter from farms in Somerset and sells to farm shops, butchers and delis, said that while it had to raise its prices, the wider market movement was actually making it more competitive.
Aldi recently started placing security tags on its Lurpak with a 1kg tub priced at £9.35. Sublime’s garlic and herb butter costs £4.35 for around 200g, or £4.50 for one filled with truffle, parmesan and black pepper.
“We’ve been able to keep our price increases relatively contained and, from our perspective, we’re a little bit less of a premium product compared to six months ago because if you look at the prices of Lurpak and the supermarket brands, we’re actually quite a bit lower. “Comparable to them,” Mayer said. “On the one hand we’ve become more competitive from a price perspective but the numbers at butchers, farm shops and premium independents have gone down as people want to save a few pounds.”
Mair, who has raised his prices by around 5% over the year, said he hoped the higher prices of imported goods would encourage British consumers to look to home-grown products. “I try to look at it from a positive perspective,” he said.
For gluttons with spare cash, Ridiculous No. 78 is said to be enticing with “intense pockets of Spanish carabinero prawns; the prawns are so fleshy and scarlet, they are known to be close to lobster in their flavor and plate appeal”.
The ingredients are then deglazed with a festive glug of “Pedro Ximenez Sherry – reminiscent of caramelized dates and figs; with light aromas of coffee and tobacco. And for color and vibrancy, we chose to seal this divine affair with the finest saffron available to mankind.” .” The butter has also won awards even though it was formally launched only a few weeks ago.
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