{"id":1128,"date":"2023-01-01T11:56:30","date_gmt":"2023-01-01T10:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.isigny-ste-mere.com\/?post_type=produits&p=1128"},"modified":"2025-08-12T09:45:37","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T07:45:37","slug":"our-butters","status":"publish","type":"produits","link":"https:\/\/www.isigny-ste-mere.com\/en\/products\/our-butters\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Butters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What makes Isigny Butter so distinctive? First and foremost, its local region. The vast \u201chedged garden\u201d that is the Baie des Veys emerged during the Tertiary Period when the waters of the Channel flooded inland, giving rise to an exceptional terroir\u2026 Our Isigny terroir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Even today, the marine-based soils, exposed to the ocean spray, benefit from a mild and temperate climate conducive to the growth of grass that is naturally rich in mineral salts, iodine and beta-carotene\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Properties that are found intact in the milk and, consequently, in Isigny Butter. Our butter\u2019s reputation for excellence dates back to the end of the 16th century, and is the result of traditional know-how that our master butter-makers have kept alive to this day, to bring you an Isigny Butter with a truly authentic taste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discover all the secrets of our world-famous butter here\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Savour the taste..<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The history of OUR Butter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The first traces of butter date back to the Vikings. As farming people, Scandinavians consumed large quantities of dairy products, including butter, which they spread generously onto bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unable to live without this creamy product, they even took it with them on their expeditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The oldest traces of butter production and marketing in the Isigny region date back to the end of the Middle Ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The town of Isigny, with its port, became the hub of this trade. The most discerning gourmets soon set out in search of the very best butter, and it was in Normandy, in the heart of our Isigny terroir, that they found it. As early as the 16th century, an edict praised the \u201cbuttercup\u201d colour of our Isigny Butter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was no surprise that it quickly found its way to all the top tables and into the most prestigious residences in Paris, Tours, Orl\u00e9ans, and other cities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Its fame soon spread beyond France and then Europe, even setting out to conquer the Americas! The recipe for this success was based on two ingredients: an ancestral dairy tradition and an exceptional terroir.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

The booming trade of Isigny Butter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Direct access to the sea and the presence of salt works in the Baie des Veys explain the early booming trade in Isigny Butter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 18th century, traders travelled all over the region to collect butter for their next shipments.In the markets, you could observe some intriguing rituals\u2026 Buyers drew a knife from its sheath, took a small piece of butter on its tip, tasted it and engraved a price on the top of the block of butter with the knife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other buyers followed suit, taking care to erase the previous buyer\u2019s price with the back of their blade\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This auction process ensured that the highest bidder won the precious block of butter and the producers got a fair price for it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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From November to June, blocks of butter were shipped to Paris and Rouen by carriage or on horseback. It took 9 or 10 days to reach the capital by road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1789, on the eve of the Revolution, Isigny-sur-Mer was shipping 3.9 million pounds (about 1,800,000 kg) of butter a year, including 100,000 pounds abroad: to London, Antwerp and America!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The use of butter led to the emergence of a truly global market. The large blocks were wrapped in straw to sell on market stalls, then stored in stoneware pots, covered in salt water.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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In 1858, the inauguration of the Paris-Cherbourg railway line meant that the butter could reach the capital even quicker.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Defending the \u201cPremier cru laitier de France\u201d – France\u2019s finest dairy product<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1930, our precious Isigny Butter fell victim to misuse by other producers who were quick to use its name, which represented high quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The producers formed a union to protect the Isigny name. This union saw the creation of the Union of the Isigny Sainte-M\u00e8re Dairy Cooperatives, and also introduced the \u201cpremier cru laitier de France\u201d (France\u2019s finest dairy product) designation to raise the profile of Isigny Butter and prevent imitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For several decades, all of the Cooperative\u2019s documents and produce carried the \u201cpremier cru laitier de France\u201d label specific to the Bessin region, where the finest Isigny products were made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isigny Butter, Protected Designation of Origin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Even though the \u201cpremier cru laitier de France\u201d label protected our Isigny Butter for some time, the battle continued into the 1980s. At this time, official recognition of the quality and the terroir of Isigny became a matter of urgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many companies from all over the world were freely using our name to sell their butter. In 1984, a number of producers and processors set up a trade union to defend the producers and processors of Isigny-sur-Mer Butter and Cream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to demonstrate the quality and long-standing history of our Isigny terroir products, the union asked engineering student Roger Desnouveaux to conduct a study aimed at providing evidence of the specific nature and quality of Isigny milk. The study findings demonstrated that the milk from our region and the Isigny terroir really do have specific characteristics. The cows\u2019 diet was shown to be one of the main factors in the variations of the composition of the milk. It has high levels of beta-carotene, iodine, oleic acid and diacetyl, which give the butter its unique flavour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This study made it possible to speed up the process of obtaining the prestigious French AOC label, with the butter finally being granted the European PDO in 1986. Our PDO Isigny Butter must therefore be produced within a precisely defined geographical area of 175 municipalities around Isigny-sur-Mer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Producers undertake to supply and guarantee premium quality milk, and PDO Isigny Butter is packaged to weigh no more than 10 kg, with the compulsory indication of the designation of origin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

An exceptional terroir, the key to the renown of Isigny Butter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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An exceptional grassland product<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Like with fine wines, such as Burgundy wines, there is indeed an Isigny terroir or \u201cclimate\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As early as 1874, livestock farmers turned the Isigny region into a prestigious grazing area described as \u201copulent pastures, veritable fountains of cream and butter\u201d. An exceptional milk that is used to create a unique butter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The region\u2019s geographical location, with its close proximity to the sea, and its typically flat terrain, help to explain the uniform distribution of rainfall throughout the year and its mild temperatures, even in winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These elements encourage the growth of grass all year round and generate long grazing periods for the animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The soils of our terroir are rich in minerals, which makes for luxurious grassland, while the silts found in the uplands regulate the rainfall, which is also conducive to regular grass growth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Today, the staple diet of our dairy cows comes from the meadows on which they graze for at least seven months of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Producers have a particular fondness for the Normande breed, which is an excellent butter-maker, thanks to its milk that is rich in both fat and protein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a supply of fresh or preserved grass for consumption all year, a significant proportion of the breed can be kept in the geographical area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A coastal terroir where soils of marine origin, combined with a mild and temperate climate, encourage the growth of grass that is bursting with mineral salts and carotenoids.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The cows here produce naturally rich milk and, as a result, butter with a unique flavour, creaminess and colour.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

The yellow gold of Isigny Sainte-M\u00e8re<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Butter has different forms, textures, colours and flavours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melted, mixed, kneaded, moulded, soft, creamy, firm, hot or cold, it can accompany all dishes and preparations and take on all shapes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also reminds us of the crackers or toast of our childhood.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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