Butter...?

[kapper]

Okay - I realize this sounds a little on the weird side, lol.

 

We are sailing the Breakaway in 2025 on a western Mediterranean10 night out of Barcelona. One of our ports is Cannes, and we plan just to walk around and take in some sights on our own instead of booking an excursion. 

 

Here's the strange part - I'm seeing some blogs/vlogs about french butter and how good it is (especially compared to the sad excuse for butter in Canada). Would anyone know if we bought butter in port, would it be confiscated when we return to the ship? Ideally I'd like to get a couple packages to bring home, keeping in the fridge in the cabin.

[julig22]

As long as it's packaged, you should be good.  They really don't check bags that carefully at the port stops. The bigger issue would be if it's OK to bring it into Canada.

 

Packing tip - I fill up a reusable water bottle filled with ice from the buffet and put it in with anything perishable. I usually have an insulated bag anyway, since I often bring food to eat on a layover  or at my hotel. And put everything in plastic bags, just in case something leaks.

[Pitzel]

Can you not get French butter near where you live? While I realize that it may not be small batch, artisanal, or regional butter, the supermarkets near us in the US carry all sorts of international butters -- French, Irish, Danish, etc. Butter may not travel well unless it is well protected and well insulated.

[Brian V]

34 minutes ago, julig22 said:

The bigger issue would be if it's OK to bring it into Canada.

 

And sadly - it is not 😞

Among dairy products, only cheese, ice cream, yogurt, and kashk (?) are permitted as per  https://inspection.canada.ca/food-safety-for-consumers/bringing-food-into-canada-for-personal-use/eng/1389630031549/1389630282362

Edited May 16 by Brian V

[kapper]

3 hours ago, Pitzel said:

Can you not get French butter near where you live? While I realize that it may not be small batch, artisanal, or regional butter, the supermarkets near us in the US carry all sorts of international butters -- French, Irish, Danish, etc. Butter may not travel well unless it is well protected and well insulated.

Sadly no, we can’t get French butter here (at least in my province that I’m aware of). 

[kapper]

3 hours ago, Brian V said:

 

And sadly - it is not 😞

Among dairy products, only cheese, ice cream, yogurt, and kashk (?) are permitted as per  https://inspection.canada.ca/food-safety-for-consumers/bringing-food-into-canada-for-personal-use/eng/1389630031549/1389630282362

Well, that sucks. 

Edited May 17 by kapper

[complawyer]

how far are you from anywhere in quebec? wouldnt  somewhere in that provence carry french butter?

[YVRteacher]

I believe OP is in Calgary. A quick google search reveals several markets that carry French butter.

 

Also, Canadian dairy products are high quality and are highly regulated and they do not contain the same hormones American dairy products do. 

[jules181]

Canadian butter (and dairy in general) is absolute crap compared to the rest of the world and specifically Europe.  

 

I have brought back small amounts of butter/cheese for personal use and have declared it to customs without issue. 

 

As long as you declare it, you're good. 

[kapper]

8 hours ago, complawyer said:

how far are you from anywhere in quebec? wouldnt  somewhere in that provence carry french butter?

I’m on the other side of the country from Quebec (think Maine v. Montana). We can get European ‘style’ butter, but not imported butter from Europe/ France. The Canadian government is quite protective of their dairy imports - I go down to the US for Kerrygold, lol.

[kapper]

8 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

I believe OP is in Calgary. A quick google search reveals several markets that carry French butter.

 

Also, Canadian dairy products are high quality and are highly regulated and they do not contain the same hormones American dairy products do. 

Yes, I’m in Calgary. There are one or two artisan cheese shops in the city that carry French butter, but not on a regular basis, and it’s quite expensive compared to the 5€ a package would cost in France. 
 

I would agree with you on the high quality of *most* Canadian dairy, but unfortunately butter is not one of those products. 

[kapper]

2 hours ago, jules181 said:

Canadian butter (and dairy in general) is absolute crap compared to the rest of the world and specifically Europe.  

 

I have brought back small amounts of butter/cheese for personal use and have declared it to customs without issue. 

 

As long as you declare it, you're good. 

Apparently the CBSA rules on bringing in butter to Canada from anywhere besides the US changed this past January - no butter.

[kapper]

Thanks for all the responses, looks like we won’t be bringing back butter from France. Buuuuuuut, we’re going to NOLA for a few days this September, so I may have to take a look at some of the markets there and see if I can find French butter there.

[DesertJake]

Is French butter really superior to all the other kinds? I've had butter in Paris and it was fantastic of course, but I'm curious how much difference there really is from other countries if they were side by side.

 

My local groceries have Irish butter (whoever distributes for Kerrygold seems be doing a bang-up job), New Zealand butter, numerous "artisanal" US butters, etc. Trader Joe's has some butter from France. I feel like a proper taste test is in order!

 

[kapper]

27 minutes ago, DesertJake said:

Is French butter really superior to all the other kinds? I've had butter in Paris and it was fantastic of course, but I'm curious how much difference there really is from other countries if they were side by side.

 

My local groceries have Irish butter (whoever distributes for Kerrygold seems be doing a bang-up job), New Zealand butter, numerous "artisanal" US butters, etc. Trader Joe's has some butter from France. I feel like a proper taste test is in order!

 

Compared to 'Canadian' butter - YES. I can take butter out of the fridge to soften so I can bake something, and hours later it's still quite hard. French, European and even some US butters have a much nicer fat content and less water content than what passes as butter here in Canada.

 

I'm with you  - I'd happily volunteer for a taste test!

[kochleffel]

This wasn't the question, but one of my friends especially loves Danish butter. When I was cruising from Copenhagen, I was surprised to see that my hotel there served French butter, and the cruise line (not NCL) served Dutch butter. A few months ago that same other cruise line was serving Dutch butter on a cruise from the United States.

[Pitzel]

On 5/17/2024 at 3:06 PM, DesertJake said:

I feel like a proper taste test is in order!

Sounds like a fantastic idea! Get some high quality bread and several international or artisanal butters and then do a taste test to see what differences you can pick up on -- flavor, spreadability, mouthfeel, salt content, etc. 

I suppose you could do the same thing with softened or melted butter on something other than bread (over veggies? drizzled on popcorn? included in baked goods?)