In many of the restaurants in which I've worked, Plugrà butter was the go-to choice, and just one taste shows why. Whether salted or unsalted, it’s one of the most reliable brands for professional chefs and bakers — and home cooks who just enjoy cooking with and eating really, really good butter.
From enriching a pan sauce to whipping up Christmas desserts or simply spreading softened butter on a biscuit or baguette, Plugrà consistently delivers.
Its minimalist gold or silver packaging, featuring just the logo and nutritional information, reflects the brand’s confidence. No gimmicks needed. It’s just that good.
To understand what makes Plugrà so beloved, Salon spoke with Jenny Mehlman, the Senior Director of Marketing at the Dairy Farmers of America and Chef Michelle Palazzo, executive pastry chef of the Frenchette Group in New York City and a chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education.
The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Jenny Mehlman of Dairy Farmers of America
What makes Plugrà so different from other brands?
Plugrà Premium European Style Butter delivers a superior quality as a result of using 82% butterfat and a slower churn than most butters. This combination gives Plugrà a richer, creamier texture and taste and helps make dough easier to work with for more dependable outcomes, especially when baking and cooking. Professionals and discerning home chefs know these attributes help create flakier pastries, tender cakes and consistent rise in baked goods.
What exactly is "European-style" butter?
European-style butter refers to butter with a higher butterfat content, typically between 82% and 85%, compared to the 80% standard in American butter. The chefs that helped create Plugrà determined that 82% butterfat was the right balance to deliver on both flavor and performance. This elevated butterfat content delivers a richer, creamier texture and enhances both flavor and performance in baking and cooking.
What makes Plugrà a "premium" butter?
Plugrà’s 82% butterfat content and slow-churned process set it apart as a premium butter. The higher butterfat content provides a richer flavor and creamier texture, while the slow-churned process makes the butter smoother and more pliable. These qualities lead to superior results in baking and cooking, especially for recipes that demand precision, such as flaky pastries and tender baked goods.
Can you talk a bit about the history of Plugrà?
Plugrà Premium European Style Butter was created by chefs, for chefs in New York City in the 1980s in response to European chefs not finding a butter that performed at the level they were accustomed to. The name Plugrà is derived from French “plus gras”, literally meaning “more fat” as a nod to its 82% butterfat content. Since its creation, Plugrà has become a favorite for those seeking exceptional taste and performance in both professional and home kitchens.
I know Plugrà is part of the Dairy Farmers of America. What exactly does that distinction mean?
Plugrà Premium European Style Butter is a brand owned by the more than 10,000 farmers of Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), a leading global dairy cooperative in the U.S. Plugrà is made with top-quality milk sourced from American dairy farms, adhering to the highest standards throughout the production process.
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Chef Michelle Palazzo, pastry chef and ICE chef-instructor
What are some of your personal favorite ways to use butter?
I use butter for just about everything I bake, especially for fat-enriched recipes that call for a high quantity of fat. Using butter with a high butterfat content not only plays a huge role in the overall flavor and texture of the final product, but it gives doughs better pliability, making them easier to work with and less prone to breakage for consistent outcomes.
I also love using butter to set different creams or sauces [and] mounting butter into my ganaches or caramels to enrich the overall texture and flavor.
I always use a premium butter for recipes where butter shines, like croissants or really any laminated baked good. Using a butter that actually has a flavor profile really enhances the overall product.
Plugra Linzer Torte Slice (Photo courtesy of Evan Sung Photography)
What are some of your favorite butter-heavy holiday dishes or desserts?
My favorite holiday recipes are those that bring both comfort and elegance to the table. A recipe I always love to make during the holiday season is my Linzer Torte that is an elevated version of my grandmother's classic Linzer cookies that we grew up with. It features a beautiful, buttery lattice crust and a homemade raspberry and cranberry jam filling. Both the crust and the jam call for unsalted Plugrà Premium European-Style Butter in the recipe, which results in an enhanced texture and a richer flavor.
On the savory side, I love making buttery scones for larger holiday gatherings or when gifting baked goods to loved ones. My fluffy Gruyère and Parsley Scones feature a parsley compound butter which makes them mouthwateringly rich, flaky and bursting with flavor.
What are some unique butter techniques or usages that some may not be familiar with?
There is the stacking method.
To create a layered effect in pastries like scones or croissants, I recommend a stacking method. To achieve these layers, stack the dough on top of itself while you're adding your liquids to the dry ingredients. This method creates layers of butter between layers of dough. As the butter melts in the oven, the butter will release steam, resulting in those flavorful, defined layers. I recommend using a butter with a higher butterfat content (at least 82%) for this technique because it has a lower water and air content which reduces the risk of the butter being absorbed into the dough, ultimately preventing sogginess and ensuring consistently superior, flakier textures.
A technique that some bakers may not be familiar with is baking an assembled pastry from fully frozen. I use this technique for recipes with intricate details, like a lattice crust, that calls for a high butterfat butter. Intricate pastries benefit from being baked from fully frozen because it keeps the butter from melting too quickly in the oven, resulting in sharper edges and more defined details.
A surprising butter usage I love to incorporate for making pastry fillings that don’t typically call for butter. Often the weight of a heavy filling can be difficult to manage and can impact the texture of your dough. To help set and prevent homemade jams or other heavy fillings from oozing out of your baked goods, I recommend finishing your filling with butter. Not only will this help the filling retain shape when it solidifies, but the butter will also enhance the richness and flavor of the filling, resulting in a more stable, reliable and indulgent pastry.
What are some of the primary Frenchette desserts that call for butter? All of them?
We don't shy away from using butter in all of our desserts. Our signature dessert, the Pistachio Paris Brest, calls for a pistachio French-style buttercream. The pistachio cream is actually whipped with butter to set it and to create that texture. It's then layered with a pistachio caramel that is mounted with butter to give it that perfect texture.
Do you often use Plugrà when baking?
I only use Plugrà European-Style Butter when baking in both my professional and personal kitchens. It’s been my butter brand of choice throughout my career because it was designed by professional pastry chefs seeking a higher butterfat butter with less water and air than standard butter, one that would equal the French Butterfat standard – 82%. Plugrà European Style Butter uses only the highest quality ingredients and is formulated for high performance, precision baking to achieve consistent results with any recipe.
Plugra Frenchette (Photo courtesy of Evan Sung Photography)
I'm so curious to hear about the pastry options at Le Veau d'Or?
Our desserts at LVD are plays on the classics. We used inspiration from the old menus and just made them a bit more modern using quality ingredients and elevated techniques. We make roughly five seasonal plated desserts with two composed sorbets and ice creams. These all change for the season and are built for one. Our Ile flottante is our signature. The dish features poached vanilla meringue that is piped and studded with caramel and honey butter almonds, then flooded with a honey creme fraiche creme anglaise.
How do the pastry or dessert options differ between all three restaurants, as well as Frenchette Bakery and Cafe at the Whitney?
Each restaurant has its own identity and clientele, so the menus need to reflect that.
Frenchette is a neo bistro where I can really push what a classic French dessert is. While at LVD, I need to make sure the desserts remain classic. Le Rock is very large and celebratory. The pastry at Frenchette Bakery is timeless and because our clients are more neighborhood regulars, we like to change the menu often. Whereas the Whitney we have a captive audience since more of our customers are coming and going from the museum. There’s a bit more specialty pastry at that location, more tarts and composed desserts rather than just croissants and cookies.
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