If you’ve ever had a French croissant (or even a bit of bread with a healthy pat of French butter), you know that there’s something better about it than the butter we get back home. But while many would attribute this to fat, that’s not the whole story.

French butter is indeed higher in fat than American butter – about 82 percent minimum, as opposed to the 80 percent required in the U.S. But in addition to being higher in fat, French butter is also cultured, a process whereby live active cultures are added to the cream before the butter is churned. In this way, butter takes on its own flavor – a slight tang – that makes it all the more moreish.

Specialty French Butters

While all French butters are higher in fat and cultured, there are a few specialty butters – the crème de la crème (or the beurre du beurre, perhaps) – that are even more delicious.

AOP/AOC Butter

Butter with an AOP or AOC is a protected butter from a specific region. Like wines such as Champagne or Saint-Emilion or cheeses like Roquefort or Camembert de Normandie, butters bearing this symbol are made from producers who have pledged to follow strict rules and use only milk produced in one of three regions, depending on the AOP on which they depend: Isigny, Bresse, or Charentes-Poitou. The latter is particularly beloved by pastry chefs, as it melts more slowly than other butters.

Beurre de Baratte

Baratte is the French word for churn; this butter is sometimes made in an old-fashioned churn but more often than not in a modern churning machine. Either way, it’s distinct from butter made in a centrifuge in that it is matured for better flavor and usually contains more whey.

Salted Butter

Most butter in France is doux or unsalted, but you can also find beurre demi-sel, or half-salted butter, which contains between .8 and 3 percent salt, or salted butter, which contains more than 3 percent salt. Find either one with sea salt from Guérande for a real treat!

Where Can I Find Great Butter?

You can find great butter anywhere in France – even in the grocery store! But for the best butter experience, trust your fromager – your cheesemonger. He’ll have fresh, specialty butter and may even have some varieties infused with flavors like vanilla or seaweed!

Find out more about butter on our Best Bites of Paris tour!