The press release that landed in my inbox this week reminded me that Irish butter would soon be returning to the shelves of a large supermarket with stores in Janesville and Madison.
It seems, as if we Americans didn't have enough domestic and international problems to contend with, we Wisconsinites are in the midst of the Great Irish Butter Battle.
Last week, a federal judge ordered Sheboygan-based Old World Creamery to stop selling its imported Irish butter in Wisconsin under the name "Irishgold" while it's being sued for trademark infringement. It seems the company that owns Kerrygold, perhaps the most well-known brand of Irish butter (yeah, that's a whole thing now), thinks the name Irishgold is a little too similar and Old World is just trying to cash in on Kerrygold's reputation.
And it's an issue here because as it stands now, Kerrygold can't be sold in Wisconsin: It's not graded, and Wisconsin prohibits the sale of ungraded butter. So Old World Creamery began importing Irish butter - not from Kerrygold - grading it and selling it. As Irishgold.
Clearly, there were some hard feelings, which can only possibly mean more lawsuits, and Old World was barred from selling its Irishgold butter. Until Friday that is, which was the point of the press release I received, when the butter went on sale again under a different name.
And as I fell down this rabbit hole of Irish butter and lawsuits, all I could think about was: Is this Irish butter really worth all the hype?
Fans say yes. Irish butter is said to have a higher butterfat content, giving it a richer taste and creamier texture than its American counterpart.
Hmmmm. My mother's family came from Ireland in the 1800s. So I really should try it. I owe it to my ancestors.
The thing is, I'm not sure I'm the right person to judge butter. I don't really use that much of it.
In fact, in the interest of journalistic integrity, I must make another important disclosure: I grew up eating margarine. (It was the 1970s. Don't judge. And we had real milk, never powdered, and real cheese, never American, Velveeta or anything from a can, so see, my parents weren't completely horrible people. They were just from Illinois.)
So when I grew up and went out on my own, I continued to buy margarine. (It is like a fourth of the price, people.) Until I met my husband, who grew up on a dairy farm and sort of had a cow when he found out I bought margarine and drank 2 percent milk.
But never fear: Twenty-five years in Monroe has not been wasted on me. I have come to appreciate real Wisconsin butter and am proud to say it is our family's fatty spread of choice. OK, I still buy margarine on occasion for a few uses. And I like to use the butter in the tub that has a little canola oil added for easy spreading, right out of the fridge.
Also, I still buy 2 percent milk, not the whole milk that my husband thought he preferred. I wasn't ever going to change that. My husband was going to change. See, everyone's happy.
At least until this Irish butter debate put doubt in my mind.
Should I try Irish butter in honor of my heritage, my forefathers and foremothers who arrived here seeking a better life? Or should I remain true to American butter, in honor of the fine, hard-working dairy families right here in our community?
Then I remembered - I almost did buy some Kerrygold awhile back. I had picked up the package and looked it over, thinking it might be fun to serve with some Irish soda bread for the kids. But the price - more than $5 per pound - stopped me in my tracks.
Blarney. I took the good ol' Wisconsin-made butter, on sale for half the price. It tastes plenty rich and creamy to me.
And now that I'm thinking of it, I could go for a nice piece of toast with butter. Wisconsin butter, of course.
- Mary Jane Grenzow is editor of the Monroe Times.
She can be reached at
editor@themonroetimes.com.
Her column appears on Saturdays.
It seems, as if we Americans didn't have enough domestic and international problems to contend with, we Wisconsinites are in the midst of the Great Irish Butter Battle.
Last week, a federal judge ordered Sheboygan-based Old World Creamery to stop selling its imported Irish butter in Wisconsin under the name "Irishgold" while it's being sued for trademark infringement. It seems the company that owns Kerrygold, perhaps the most well-known brand of Irish butter (yeah, that's a whole thing now), thinks the name Irishgold is a little too similar and Old World is just trying to cash in on Kerrygold's reputation.
And it's an issue here because as it stands now, Kerrygold can't be sold in Wisconsin: It's not graded, and Wisconsin prohibits the sale of ungraded butter. So Old World Creamery began importing Irish butter - not from Kerrygold - grading it and selling it. As Irishgold.
Clearly, there were some hard feelings, which can only possibly mean more lawsuits, and Old World was barred from selling its Irishgold butter. Until Friday that is, which was the point of the press release I received, when the butter went on sale again under a different name.
And as I fell down this rabbit hole of Irish butter and lawsuits, all I could think about was: Is this Irish butter really worth all the hype?
Fans say yes. Irish butter is said to have a higher butterfat content, giving it a richer taste and creamier texture than its American counterpart.
Hmmmm. My mother's family came from Ireland in the 1800s. So I really should try it. I owe it to my ancestors.
The thing is, I'm not sure I'm the right person to judge butter. I don't really use that much of it.
In fact, in the interest of journalistic integrity, I must make another important disclosure: I grew up eating margarine. (It was the 1970s. Don't judge. And we had real milk, never powdered, and real cheese, never American, Velveeta or anything from a can, so see, my parents weren't completely horrible people. They were just from Illinois.)
So when I grew up and went out on my own, I continued to buy margarine. (It is like a fourth of the price, people.) Until I met my husband, who grew up on a dairy farm and sort of had a cow when he found out I bought margarine and drank 2 percent milk.
But never fear: Twenty-five years in Monroe has not been wasted on me. I have come to appreciate real Wisconsin butter and am proud to say it is our family's fatty spread of choice. OK, I still buy margarine on occasion for a few uses. And I like to use the butter in the tub that has a little canola oil added for easy spreading, right out of the fridge.
Also, I still buy 2 percent milk, not the whole milk that my husband thought he preferred. I wasn't ever going to change that. My husband was going to change. See, everyone's happy.
At least until this Irish butter debate put doubt in my mind.
Should I try Irish butter in honor of my heritage, my forefathers and foremothers who arrived here seeking a better life? Or should I remain true to American butter, in honor of the fine, hard-working dairy families right here in our community?
Then I remembered - I almost did buy some Kerrygold awhile back. I had picked up the package and looked it over, thinking it might be fun to serve with some Irish soda bread for the kids. But the price - more than $5 per pound - stopped me in my tracks.
Blarney. I took the good ol' Wisconsin-made butter, on sale for half the price. It tastes plenty rich and creamy to me.
And now that I'm thinking of it, I could go for a nice piece of toast with butter. Wisconsin butter, of course.
- Mary Jane Grenzow is editor of the Monroe Times.
She can be reached at
editor@themonroetimes.com.
Her column appears on Saturdays.
