JOIN USIn an interview with online trade publication DairyReporter.com this week, the largest dairy operator in Finland, Valio acknowledged that its main markets – Finland, Sweden and Russia – would continue to face ‘scarcity' issues for the remainder of the year as it tries to cope with declining milk supplies.
The dairy processor also expects butter prices to rise in Finland. In Sweden – where butter and margarine are the primary fats used in cooking – the widespread shortage has become media fodder, with local tabloids blaming celebrity Swedish chefs like Leila Lindholm for the butter meltdown. Described by UK publication The Guardian as the “Nigella Lawson” of Sweden for her cleavage-baring cooking and seductive TV presence, Lindholm is an influential butter evangelist who balks at artificial fats like margarine.
Meanwhile, another major dairy producer, Arla Ingman, also said consumers are shunning synthetic foods and moving towards natural, whole foods like full-fat butter, while the low GI, or glycemic index, diet is another reason that demand for butter has spiked.
Arla is also seeing a trend towards demand for dairy products with higher fat content.
Meanwhile, in his latest cookbook Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes, the British chef includes a recipe for homemade butter that requires just 1 1/4 cups of heavy cream and a food processor. The recipe is part of a Swedish-themed meal that includes a platter of smoked salmon, rye bread, potato salad, beets and cottage cheese.