Christmas

Brandy butter is a sweet, rich sauce, usually consumed with traditional desserts during the Christmas and New Year period in the UK.

Description

Brandy butter is a blend of soft dark brown sugar, unsalted butter and brandy. Refrigerated until it is relatively hard, it is typically served cold to provide a contrast with hot desserts such as:

• Christmas pudding (alternatively known as plum pudding).
• Freshly baked or microwaved Mince pies.

As such, it is a seasonal alternative to cream, ice cream or custard.

Trivia

In 1998 a number of newspapers carried a story regarding European Union rules that the labelling of dairy products as butter required a minimum of 75% milk fat, and that brandy butter, falling below this requirement was to be renamed 'brandy spreadable fat'. The Sun newspaper erroneously reported, "That great British Christmas treat, brandy butter, is to be outlawed by the order of the EU. Brussels says it doesn't have enough butter in it." The Sun, 22 June 1998, p. 8.

This interpretation of the regulations could be classified as a Euromyth. In actual fact the legislation contained an exemption specifically to accommodate brandy butter and similar alcoholic sauces.

External links

• Euromyth:Brandy Butter The European Commission Representation in the United Kingdom