The Store-Bought Butter That World-Renowned Chef Jacques Pépin Uses For Baking

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Television host, cookbook author, and chef Jacques Pépin is a true icon of the cooking world, renowned for his expertise in classic French techniques and regarded as one of the most influential chefs of all time. He was also one of the first "celebrity chefs" to grace the small screen, making his public television debut in 1982, and cooking with Julia Child on PBS in the 1990s. Copious amounts of butter may have been much at the center of his work with Child, as she famously said, "With enough butter, anything is good." Pépin certainly isn't precious about butter either. In fact, he's pretty utilitarian with his preferences. For baking, he uses a store-bought American butter that is easy to come by: Land O'Lakes.

In an interview with Food & Wine, Pépin admitted that the reasoning behind his go-to butter brand is fairly simple. "Years ago," he said, "I started using Land O'Lakes, because it was one of the only butters I could find. It's still a favorite of mine." Sure, there are some great types of butter and different ways to use them, but if Pépin grabs the Land O'Lakes to bake a recipe, perhaps you should, too?

Land O'Lakes has a solid history, dating back to 1921 when the Minnesota Cooperative Creameries Association was formed — a co-op started by dairy producers to get their butter on the market. The name Land O'Lakes came about in 1924, the winning entry in a contest to name the co-op's sweet cream butter brand. Pépin told Food & Wine that he likes using Land O'Lakes to make puff pastry because it's wonderfully spreadable, making it easier to work with while laminating dough, a laborious folding technique that's necessary to execute croissants and other classic French pastries. He also said that the best way to tell if a certain butter variety will bring the desired richness and flavor to a recipe is to taste it.  

If you're not using it to make pastry or spreading it on bread, how should you use Land O'Lakes butter? It's wonderful in compound butter recipes for an extra herbaceous component, or for a topper on hot steak. And, as Pépin knows firsthand, treats like cookies, cakes, and muffins will benefit from Land O'Lakes creamy creation. The simple, but wonderfully produced grocery store butter adds just the right sweetness and extra moisture to all kinds of baked goods.