Skip to content
24 Shares

I finally got a chance to track down that butter I found worthy of rapture from Le Jules Verne. Oddly, when I searched the name, I found out that I actually commented on way back in 2006. How I forgot about it, I’ll never, ever know.

bread & butter

It’s from Pascal Beillevaire, a chain of cheese shops in France. While their cheeses are very good, I have a little bit of difficulty getting past the beret-wearing salesclerks, theatrical straw mats, and hyper-bright lighting.

But after the maître d’hôtel at the Jules Verne kindly wrote detailed instructions on where to find the butter, and what it’s called, I made it a point to go there and track it down.

beurre baratté, wrapped

The official name of the butter is beurre cru baratté à l’ancienne and it’s riddled with lots of little flecks of salt from Noirmoutier.

One swipe from my knife, smeared on bread, and this butter is like eating creamy-salty candy, so sweet was the cream that it was churned from, I was afraid of what would happen if I didn’t re-wrap it and stow it away in the kitchen. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight just knowing that butter is in my kitchen, waiting for me tomorrow morning.

The beret-wearing young salesclerk was very nice, who smiled and nodded agreeably when I told him that I’d had the butter at the Jules Verne. And at around 1.50€ it was a huge bargain. Especially if you don’t want to shell out the bucks for a fancy meal on the Eiffel Tower.

He told me not the refrigerate it—at all, since it’ll lose its marvelous aroma. So now that I have this big pat of butter, I’m going to have to eat it pretty quickly. Better get more bread!

Pascal Beillevaire
77, rue St. Antoine
Tél: 01 42 78 48 78

UPDATE: The packaging has changed on their butter,  and you can get Beillevaire butter at their many fromageries across Paris as well as stores like La Grande Épicerie.

More Reading on Pascal Beillevaire

Formaggio Kitchen

Fork and Bottle

Farmstead Cheese News

Janet Fletcher

Related Posts and Links

Getting Some Culture (Traveler’s Lunchbox)

I Found the Butter!

Cultured Butter at Home (Michael Ruhlman)

Salted Butter Caramels

Homemade Butter (Wednesday Chef)

Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream

Salted Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

24 Shares

37 comments

    • Hande

    Oh, that was the butter I always bought in Stuttgart (paid a lot more than you did, btw!). I loved it, it was my favorite, what with the salt in it… But no one ever told me I shouldn’t refrigerate it. How long would it keep like that?

    • adrian

    That’s what I was thinking- there’s one around the corner from me- they supply lots of restos, and the Meurice as well as the George V

    • Jo

    Yum, butter and baguettes. My mother in law used to eat sticks of butter plain as a child! Yikes! She has memories of her mother and grandfather complaining of grease marks on the walls. While I love butter, I have yet to try this brand, so I can easily cringe at the thought of eating plain sticks of butter.

    • umami

    I’m curious to know how long it’ll last without refridgeration. Two days ago when it was quite warm, the butter turned as soft as cream and that was just within 20 minutes of opening a new block and placing it on a table in the non a/c, non-heated dining room.

    • Claire

    Yes! Their butter is the BEST! They had a little stall at the market in the town where I used to live.

    Their crème fraîche is incredible, too. Just watching them stir it round makes me long to cook with it, it’s so glossy and pale yellow and thick and beautiful.

    • Jessica

    Yum, congrats on finding the butter! I bought some hand-churned, organic butter at the farmer’s market last weekend and it is DELICIOUS. “Churned yesterday,” the sign read. I’ve been enjoying it all week. Until we can get to France, this may be the best thing going. At $10/pound, it’s not the deal you’ve got, that’s for sure!

    • jennifer

    that butter sounds crazy dangerous. it looks beautiful and very creamy. lucky you! living in paris! how can we Berkeley-ites get it?

    • David

    Handi & Umami: He said a week, and to keep it covered. Oddly, in the US, they have those “French”
    butter crocks aren’t available in France! I was looking for one and the rep for the company said, “We make those are for the American market.”

    He was right, though. The taste would diminish if refrigerated. So I’d better eat it—quickly.

    Jennifer: I think United flight # 914 leaves SFO daily at around noon. So you could be here by tomorrow morning. I’d better get more bread!

    Claire: yes, their cheeses and crème fraîche are gorgeous! I just wish they’d kill the silly berets.

    I found a video on You Tube taken by les touristes at Pascal Beillevaire. It’s a bit hokey (maybe more than a bit…), but shows the inside of the shop.

    • Devlyn

    In a “butter bell”, it should last around 2 weeks, as long as the water is changed out regularly. Is that the kind of “butter crock” you’re talking about? They’re all over the place here… do you need a package sent? :)

    • Jasper

    I’ve never quite been willing to shell out the $30 for a butter bell but they’ve always seemed like a good idea. I was cruising around blog-land recently and read someone who was making her own butter, packing it in a little bowl and pouring a layer of water on top of it. Genius! All the functionality of the fancy butter bell but without a special-purpose item.

    So I’ve been keeping my butter on the counter in a cute bowl with water on top and am a convert! Pour off the water and put it on the table for guests, or just dip in and give it a shake for toast in the morning.

    Added bonus: the ant invasion we’ve had lately has been unable to get at my yummy butter. I find them on the rim of the bowl once in a while looking at the water and shaking their tiny fists at me. Ha! Victory is mine!

    • Heidi

    That butter would be a puddle in a day in my hot TX kitchen.

    I was going to ask how much it cost but WOW that’s a bargain! Dairy products over here are just getting more and more expensive.

    • Bev

    This butter sounds divine – too bad it doesn’t likely make it to Canada. Your blog always bring a smile to my face and it’s often a very pleasant distraction during my working day when I dream about living the sweet life in Paris, from the Canadian prairies! Thanks!
    BTW – I’m planning to make the Chocolate-covered Florentines this weekend!

    • Jesse Gardner

    Great photo.

    • Casey

    David: Next time you’re in the Bay Area you must go to Manresa and sample the butter that Pim (yes, of Chez Pim) makes for the restaurant. We took guests there a couple weeks ago and they’re still raving about the butter.

    • kitt

    Oh my. I’d love to try that, but it’s too expensive once you factor in the airfare.

    I’m planning to make my own butter later this year once the cow starts producing.

    • Sue

    I have to give up reading this blog. Florentines, chocolate ice cream (from your book I HAD to have) chocolate layer cake, chocolate covered matzohs — and that’s just my itinerary for Sunday!!

    This relationship is just not good for me.

    • Sue

    Jasper! You crack me up. I have a very literal mind. I can just see the ants peering at the butter and then up at you and shaking their tiny ant fists! LOL!!!

    Does anyone else think that the picture of the wad of butter and stick of bread is just oh so wonderfully obscene?

    • izzy’s mama

    I have been buying raw butter from an amish farmer here in the states but it has a somewhat gamey flavor. That one sounds delectable.

    • Linda H

    At Christmas time, when the kitchen is cool, I leave the butter I use for shortbread out of the refrigerator for a week before baking the cookies. The flavor of the shortbread is more intense and buttery than when I use butter directly from the refrigerator. The story is that true Scottish shortbread was made from this “aged” butter because the cookies were made whenever enough butter had accumulated, which sometimes took a while. Whatever the reason, the cookies are better with the week-old room temp butter.

    • krysalia

    With really good butter like this, and if you need to use it quickly, why not make some kouign amann, or wonderful sablés with one more pinch of fleur de sel : ) ?

    • izzy’s mama

    David: I am assuming that this delectable butter of which you speak is raw and organic, so what accounts for its candy-like quality? Candy-like and gamey are quite different (said as I eat some bread spread with this ultra-gamey butter I have).

    I have thought that it was because I wasn’t accustomed to it but I have been eating it for several months now, in hopes that the flavor will grow on me but it hasn’t…I think this may be my last batch.

    • becky

    aaah…butter and carbs! my favorite combo. that creamy pat looks particularly delicious. i wonder if there’s something close to it available in the states. or whether i can order it.

    • Stephanie

    Hello! I’ve tried to make your Chocolate Idiot Cake, and when I opened the foil up after an hour and fifteen minutes of baking, I found the pan full of water! Heartbroken but determined, I poured off the water and stuffed it back in the over at 350 for another sixty minutes, and it appears to have salvaged the cake. I’m sure it’s not the same as it would be, but I’m annoyed and hungry, and it’s passable.

    I had wrapped my springform pan and nearly hermetically sealed it with foil, so I have no idea how so much water got inside. The poor cake was literally swimming. Can you offer any advice as to how I can prevent this in the future? Is there a sure-fire leak-proof springform pan?

    I hope that this says less about me being an idiot and more about my expensive, yet still apparently poor-quality, springform pan. :P

    Stephanie

    BTW, I tried to email this to you, but the address you offer on your website doesn’t work.

    • French Laundry at Home

    Oh honey, that butter….. I know I’m almost 40, which means I’m well on the path to senior citizenhood, but I didn’t expect to drool until I was at least in the nursing home. Damn…… I want that stuff NOW!!!!! :) I love butter that looks like cheese.

    • David

    Hi Stephanie: Yes, those leaky springform pans can be vexing. Anyone who has a leaking roof, or basement, knows how water can manage to find its way though even the tiniest crack.

    There are two springform pans that are allegedly leakproof:

    Nordic Ware 9″

    Kaiser 10″—which is slightly bigger than the one the recipe calls for, which will make a slimmer cake.

    (The e-mail link not working may be indicative of the site systems upgrade. Hope to get the site back in tip-top shape soon.)

    Izzy’s Mom: Think of cajeta, caramelized goat milk, with that sweet but gamey taste. I love it!

    Carol: No, you can’t start drooling…at least until those cameramen come back…

    • anna

    what a great excuse to eat a lot of butter!! You wouldn’t want it to go to waste after all.

    • Babeth

    God Pascal Bellevaire is an institution in Nantes (my hometown). I used to go their with my mum as a kid (won’t say how many years back ;-)) and they also provided the cheeses for my wedding. A great great cheese shop!

    • Polarbearina

    Wow…you really weren’t exaggerating about those berets! That’s almost mean, poor employees – or then again, not – with all that delicious butter:-)

    On previous Paris-trips, I’ve been teased for brin ging home eclairs (or rather..melted guey stuff, formerly known as eclairs) – but from now on, bringing back butter in my suitcase, it’ll be quite a different story….or not.

    Hi from Norway, by the way – totally addicted to your excellent blog!

    • Y

    Oh man, I could do with some of that butter with my toast right now!

    • Rachel H

    How do you store this yummy butter in the kitchen at room temperature? Doesn’t it get rancid? I have a french butter holder ( the one in which you add cold water every other day, the water forms a seal and keeps the butter fresh).Is it possible to store this butter in my french butter dish?

    BTW I love you blog. I burst out laughing when I read the WTF article (I was at work).

    • zoe

    Ah… (sigh). That looks so amazing, I can practically taste it. I wish I had known about your blog when I was in Paris last May.

    • La Rêveuse

    David, just to let you know. You have 666 subscribers on bloglines. That scares me a little. If you haven’t subscribed to yourself, please do!

    • KAREN BUECHE

    I just discovered your site and I love is . C’est Bon!!

    I live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and fresh “LSU Purple Figs” are ripening as I write this. I do make fig preserves from my Grandmere’s recipe and I just love them. However, I would love to know how to make the “Ficocoa” spread. Do you know how I could get the recipe?. I know I must add cocoa, but I thought I would ask if you had any info. Thanks!

    Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!

    Coco

    • Janet

    Help! Clearly, this antique string knows its butter.

    I just bought some butter at my local farmer’s market and can’t tell if I just bought something unique or bought bad butter. The butter was from a Amish vendor (actually a middle man) and the butter is deep yellow. It tastes slightly gamey and also faintly cheese-like. Any recommended recipes? Should I return it? Is this what it is supposed to be like? Should I convert it to shortbread butter?

    Thanks!

    Janet

    • JB

    Thank you, David,
    I will definitely check out this beurre in a few weeks. Its not too far from Jacques Genin’s boutique/Café.
    I also see that there is a patisserie/boulangerie a few doors away from the rue St Antoine location. Now what could be better (butter) than that?!
    JB

    • Hillary

    Is this butter available in the United States or for purchase online anywhere? This butter looks and sounds amazing!

    • Carol McFarland/Don Nielsen

    The first thing I do upon arrival in Paris each year, is to hurry across the street for a 250g pat of beurre cru baratté à l’ancienne from the lady in the red beret; next is Miss Manon for a baguette traditionelle. In between visits, I just dream of it (and do a little discreet salivating).

A

Get David's newsletter sent right to your Inbox!

15987

Sign up for my newsletter and get my FREE guidebook to the best bakeries and pastry shops in Paris...