As Paula Deen and just about anyone with taste buds can tell you, everything is better with butter, but how much better depends on things like fat content, cultures, what the cows eat and even the time of year the butter’s made. Here in the Bay Area’s butter belt, there’s pretty much no excuse not to sample some of the richest, creamiest and freshest butters around from area cows. And goats.

Armed with knife and baguette, we’ve tasted through the best of the region. To our surprise, they varied greatly not only in color and texture, but in flavor and smell. Some were tangier, others tame, and one even smelled like grass and hay (a good thing).  Here are seven you’ll want to try, along with how to make your own butter…

Clover Farms: The most readily available locally-made butter, Clover is a solid go-to butter for cooking and spreading. A small group of taste-testers picked this as a favorite, with its approachable taste and sunny yellow color. Organic and conventional options are available. A bit harder to find, but a cult favorite is the organic European Farmstead butter in cozy ceramic crocks. Flavored with sea salt from Brittany, it’s a must-have when you can find it. Cloverorganicfarms.com

Straus Family Creamery: Made in a 1950′s era butter churn, this local family creamery is a chef’s favorite for its high butterfat (85%) European style butter. Small-batch crafted in Tomales Bay, it’s one of the richest-tasting butters with a buttery aroma and flavor that can be a bit overpowering spread on bread, but is a rock-solid choice for cooking and baking. Available in both sweet and salted and named the Best Butter in America by House and Garden Magazine. Tomales Bay. Available at most grocers in the North Bay. strausfamilycreamery.com

Spring Hill Cheese Co: With a slight cheese-nose, this Petaluma dairy mostly sells their cultured butters at farm markets around the North Bay. But there’s a reason you’ll usually find a line at the stands. Using a cheddar culture, their dense butters ripen for three days and make for a spreadable best. springhillcheese.com, 762-3446. Available at the Santa Rosa Veteran’s Hall Farm Market on Saturdays.

Sierra Nevada Cheese Company: My new favorite butter is Sierra-Nevada’s vat-cultured butter. Using live active cultures (like yogurt), the butter ferments slightly, giving it a creamy, rich flavor. With a higher European-style butterfat content, this Willows-based dairy is a natural for spreading on sourdough. Look for a gold foil wrapper. Available
530-934-8660 or sierranevadacheese.com, available at Oliver’s Market.

McClellands Dairy: A longtime dairy family in the North Bay, McClelland’s branched out into artisan butter production in 2009. Using grass-fed cattle, the small batch European-style butter has serious terroir. In both smell and taste, there’s an essence of grass and hay with an intense, rich butteriness. Made in the coastal hills of Sonoma County, the milk is separated, pasteurized and churned in small batches. The only addition is sea salt from Brittany. Harvest Fair and American Cheese Society winner. Available in plastic tubs and refillable ceramic crocks. Want to meet the cows? McClelland’s offers frequent tours, with the next scheduled for June 5. The tour includes a home-cooked bacon and eggs breakfast and a tour with owner and second-generation farmer George McClelland. 707.664.0452, mcclellandsdairy.com.

Meyenberg Goat Butter: As you might expect, goat butter has tangier, earthier flavor than cow’s milk butter, though not substantially so. If you like the flavor of chevre, you’ll pick it up right away. Paler than cow’s milk butter, goat’s milk has the added benefit of being tolerable to those who are lactose intolerable. Produced just south of Modesto, Meyenberg goat butter is a lighter, less waxy option than many cow’s milk butters. Available at Oliver’s and at meyenberg.com.

Ancient Organics Ghee: Channeling 5,000 years of Indian wisdom, Peter Malakoff calls ghee “the very essence of grass distilled from cow’s milk into liquid gold”.  In less flowery terms, it’s fresh butter boiled for hours to within an inch of its life. It’s used for everything from flavoring food to salving burns and improving complexions. Not quite butter, but not quite oil, its the Swiss-Army knife of Indian condiments. During the process of ghee-making, milk solids evaporate and what’s left is a paste-like spread that can sit on your shelf – un-refrigerated – for six months. Unlike butter, however, Malakoff says ghee is actually healthful, awakening the digestive fire of the body. Ancient Organics starts with Straus creamery butter, boiling it only on the waxing moon while playing an Indian mantra called ‘Mahamrtunjaya’. Whether you buy into the spiritual aspect or not, it’s great for cooking and adding to rice. Available at Whole Foods, Olivers and online at ancientorganics.com.

Make Your Own: Our family is addicted to the spanking-fresh flavor of do-it-yourself butter made with heavy whipping cream, an old mayonnaise jar and 10 minutes of cardio-shaking. Just pour a pint of high quality organic whipping cream (we’re fans of Straus, but any kind will work as long as it’s heavy whipping cream and not half-and-half) into a clean glass jar and screw the top on tight. Shake vigorously for about 10 minutes. The cream will turn into whipped cream, then start to separate, finally pulling away from the sides. Here’s where you’ll want to add a pinch or two of salt. Within a few shakes, you’ll have a clump of butter and watery buttermilk. Pour off or reserve the liquid and keep shaking until you get most of the water out. Scoop the butter into a tightly-lidded container.

With the recent nationwide salmonella outbreak linked to factory-farmed egg production, legions of wary customers are trolling the grocery aisles and farm markets for organic or pasture-raised alternatives as a safer or more sustainable solution.

Not surprisingly, a wealth of promises await in the ever-growing refrigerated section devoted to eggs. Hormone-free, cage-free, antibiotic-free, free-range, Omega-three enriched, cholesterol-reduced, and of course in a rainbow of colors from white to brown, green, blue and tan. But buyer beware, because because homey cardboard packaging, smiling farmers and empty promises of happy chickens don’t always mean well-bred eggs.

Eggs, like so many other foods, have fallen victim to the green-washing trend, being labeled with the latest catch-phrases that consumers want to hear. So can you make the best choices when it comes to your morning scramble? It pays to do a little research.

First-off, a few definitions are handy when it comes to egg education. These definitions are distilled from a variety of sources including the USDA, producers, and various industry publications and third-party studies devoted to organic egg labeling.

- Organic: Laying hens must be fed an all-organic diet without byproducts or GMOs. To be organically certified- hens must have access to the outdoors and cage-free, according to the USDA. There have been exceptions to the outdoor-rule in California based on the risk of the birds contracting avian flu.
- Cage-free: Hens are not kept in cages, but allowed to move freely. The passage of Prop. 2 in 2008 mandated that all California egg-producers be cage-free, by 2015. Cage-free, however, can mean many things. Large factory farms can have thousands of birds packed into barns with limited or no access to the outdoors. Others allow for plenty of room and full or partial outdoor access.
- Hormone-free: This is a red herring. No hormones are approved by the FDA for poultry production.
- Free-range, Pasture-Raised: Hens are allowed to roam freely outdoors during the day, Studies indicate these eggs may be higher in nutrition, but detractors raise concerns about the spread of avian flu to wandering animals and the possibility of birds inadvertently eating toxin and passing those along to consumers.
- No-kill: When a hen no-longer produces eggs (usually about four years), they are often slaughtered. No-kill operations let the non-producers live out their natural lives.
- Brown eggs: Brown eggs are not nutritionally different than white eggs. They, along with green and blue eggs, come from different breeds of chickens.
- Vegetarian diet: This can be a bit confusing. Vegetarian chickens don’t exist in the wild — chickens enjoy insects and worms, so it means the birds probably don’t go outside. On the plus side, it also means their feed doesn’t include animal by-products like feathers, bone meal or beef tallow.
-Antibiotic-free: Heavy use of antibiotics on chickens is unusual and very expensive for egg producers. Ultimately, it doesn’t mean a lot, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to know your egg isn’t pumped up with medicine and the flock is kept healthy.
- Natural: A product that contains no artificial ingredients or added color and is minimally processed. Though regulated by the USDA, opponents argue that the term is too vague to be of much use.
- Fertile: If roosters are kept with the hens, eggs are considered fertile. Often a catch-word for un-caged.
- Humane, Animal Welfare, United Egg Producer Certified: There are a number of certifiers who audit living conditions. Animal Welfare Approved is the highest standard, but none of its certified producers sell to supermarkets. American Humane Certified allows for cage-confinement. UEPC certification allows for battery cages and beak-trimming, making it the least restrictive of the certifications.
- Omega-3 Enriched: To produce these nutritionally-enhanced eggs, hens are given flax seed, algae or fish oil in their feed. This has no effect on the treatment of the animals or their organic-status.

Now that you know the lingo, it’s time to do a little self-examination. Labels can tell you a lot, but your own conscience will have to be your guide.

- If animal welfare is your highest priority, expect to pay a premium (up to $7) for a dozen eggs. It takes a great deal of space and care to raise hens outdoors and larger producers — even conscientious ones — don’t usually offer pasture-raised birds. John Kearns of Healdsburg Farm Fresh Eggs, who has a small flock of about 150 birds, sells his pasture-raised eggs at local markets for about $6, and looks to two recent studies that give high marks to the increased nutritional profile of eggs produced by pasture-raised hens. “You have to eat 3 conventional factory farmed eggs to equal the same nutrition just 1 of my eggs contains,” said Kearns in an email. He is not, however, certified organic, which he claims is cost-prohibitive to a small operation. Local farm markets and farm stands typically sell non-organic certified eggs from pasture raised hens.

A recent study from The Cornucopia Institute recently released its Organic Egg Scorecard rating 70 egg producers around the country. The Institute looked for small-to-medium sized family farms raising pastured chickens sold under the farm’s name or to natural grocery stores. In Northern California, it’s highest ratings went to Alexandre Kids, Cresent City; Elkhorn Organics, Prunedale and St. John Family Farm, Orland. It gave “Very Good” marks to Clover-Stornetta Farms, which are American Humane certified.

- If organic is your highest priority: Midsized and large farms can certify that their eggs have met the criteria for organic. Petaluma Poultry, a mid-sized family farm, with about 250,000 birds, sells under a variety of brands, including Judy’s Family Farm, Uncle Eddies Cage-Free Eggs, Rock Island Fertile Brown Eggs and Gold Circle DHA Omega-3 Eggs. All of the family’s hens are cage-free and their organic eggs are certified by Oregon Tilth, one of the most stringent certifiers. Owner Steve Mahrt, a third generation chicken farmer, was a pioneer in the organic egg movement, and was the first to be certified more than a decade ago. Petaluma Poultry’s hens are not considered pasture-raised, because the birds are kept to screened-in porches and their barns due to the threat of avian flu. “They can go outside in a controlled safe manner,” said Marht. Cage-free organic eggs usually cost between $3 and $5.

- Go local: Something that nearly all Northern California producers agree on is buying eggs locally. Large factory farms can process millions of eggs per day, going to across the country under a variety of labels. Concerns about contamination, carbon-footprints and the welfare of hens packed into battery cages is a good reason to pay close attention to where your dozen hails from.

- If price is your highest priority: Not everyone can afford high-brow eggs, but you may want to consider looking at your eggs with a more critical eye. At minimum, look for cage-free eggs. Compare commercially-produced eggs with eggs that you buy from a farm market, and you may be surprised at the visual difference — yellower yolks, thicker whites.

UDPATE: I had an opportunity to speak with Petaluma Poultry’s Steve Marht about the study. A third-generation chicken farmer, Marht was obviously pained by the conclusion. You can read his response to the study on the website. But I thought this quote kind of summed things up. “

Marht spoke at length to BiteClub about his operation, which is considered medium-sized at about 250,000 birds. By comparison, NuCal Foods, in Ripon, Ca., which processes eggs for a number of major grocers and private labels, handles approximately 7.5 million eggs from 11 farms and 7 plants per day. Smaller producers may have up to 1,00 birds, but often less than a few hundred.

In the end, making a choice about eggs comes down to being an informed consumer and purchasing with your conscience. Check out this article for more details on labeling and processing.

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The Cornucopia Institute has released it’s “Organic Egg Scorecard” rating 70 egg producers around the country. With the recent salmonella outbreak, customers are increasingly wary of factory-farmed eggs, and many are looking for more sustainable, organic choices. But be wary of those labels, because funky cardboard packaging and promises of happy chickens don’t always mean well-bred eggs.

The Institute looked for small-to-medium sized family farms raising pastured chickens sold under the farm’s name or to natural grocery stores for it’s highest score of “Exemplary”. At the bottom were large-scale farms that don’t allow for outdoor access.

A few caveats which bear mentioning, however. This study is primarily focused on outdoor access and pasturing for hens, which in my mind isn’t the total picture. Having talked to many poultry producers in the area, I can tell you that raising poultry in pastures is a logistically and financially intensive enterprise, even for the most ethical of producers and near-impossible for large-scale operations. Poultry producers and organic standards boards themselves argue about outdoor access for the birds, as to what is meaningful and natural for the animals versus the economics of creating outdoor access, threats of disease and predators. Organic certification doesn’t necessarily mean that birds must have outdoor access, and often “access” simply means a door or two that the birds often don’t use. It’s hard to argue that chickens that live in small outdoor henhouses and peck and scratch at the dirt and eat bugs are probably more “natural”, but at what cost?

Boutique organic eggs can cost upwards of $5 to $7 a dozen (which is what I paid this week at the farmer’s market), whereas conventional eggs range froom $1.99 to $2.99 and “organic eggs” around $4-$5. I don’t know about you, but at $7 a dozen, I’m not making omelets for breakfast. I actually purchased “organic” grocery eggs to supplement our egg use.

The Takeaway: While small-scale family operations which allow for pasturing are obviously ideal, it’s not always possible to achieve that highest standard. Best bets are to buy eggs at local farm markets or eggs that are pasture raised, but a good bet is to find eggs from hens raised in humane conditions (cage-free) that are fed a vegetarian diet and not treated with hormones or antibiotics.

Here’s the Institute’s Scoreboard for NoCal Organic Eggs…

5-eggs (Beyond Exemplary)
Alexandre Kids, Cresent City
Elkhorn Organics, Prunedale
Vital Farms (from Austin, but available at Whole Foods Markets)
St. John Family Farm, Orland

4-eggs (Excellent)
no local producers

3-eggs (Very Good)
Clover Stornetta, Petaluma
Wilcox Farms (from Washington, but distributed on the West Coast)

2-eggs (Fair)
no local producers

1-egg (“Ethically Deficient”)
Judy’s Family Farm (Petaluma Farms), Petaluma
The study argues that this large-scale operation (which is family-owned) does not provide outdoor access. The farm’s organic certifying agent (Oregon Tilth) has granted them permanent exeption based on the threat of avian influenza.  Petaluma Farms, a large‐scale egg producer in Petaluma, CA, produces both organic and conventional cage‐free eggs for sale under several brand names, which include Judy’s Family Farm, Rock Island, Uncle Eddie’s Wild Hen Farm and Gold Circle. They also produce eggs for the 365 label owned by Whole Foods and Organic Valley for Western US markets.

Petaluma Farms’ hens are, according to its owners, are “cage free, raised with no antibiotics, fed an all vegetarian diet (no animal by-products in their food), raised at the same location near the Pacific Ocean in Northern California, and raised with water, air and housing standards equal to OCIA organic standards.”

Also receiving 1 egg were national egg producers Horizon Organic, Land O’Lakes and Eggland’s Best.

Read the Cornucopia Institute’s full report (fascinating).

What’s your take? Is all the fuss a crack-up, or is there something to be said for outdoor access for chickens?

Ancient Organics Ghee

I am forever running in circles. Stressing out about something I can’t remember an hour later. Huffing over every  slight and feeling queasy about the hundreds of things left to do each day. And no direct sunlight, thank you.

This makes me a pretty typical “pitta” person apparently — an Ayurvedic description of everything from my digestive habits (how personal!) to my anger management techniques.  Despite such rash labels being a little earthy-crunchy for my sensibilities my new pal, ghee-maker Peter Malakoff, informs me of my diagnosis within five minutes of our meeting.

I gotta wonder what else 5,000 years of collective Indian wisdom is telling him about me. I instinctively suck in my gut and start worrying if I’ve put on enough deodorant today.

Walking a quiet path around his rented Bolinas home, Malakoff, the founder of Ancient Organics, a Marin-based company exclusively devoted to small production ghee, plays Dharma to my Greg. We ponder the imponderables, expand our minds and explore our life paths before we get down to the business of his burgeoning butter empire. You don’t talk ghee without a little back story.

A towering, soft-spoken guy with expressive hands and a penchant for berets, he spins a complex tale of the magical Indian elixir used for millennia. Not quite butter and not quite oil, ghee is the very essence of grass distilled from cow’s milk into liquid gold, in his words.

In less flowery terms, it’s fresh butter boiled for hours to within an inch of its life. It’s used for everything from flavoring food to salving burns and improving complexions. A Swiss-Army knife of Indian condiments.

During the process of ghee-making, milk solids evaporate and what’s left is a paste-like spread that can sit on your shelf – un-refrigerated – for six months. It tastes like really good movie theater butter, meaning that uber-buttery, almost over-the-top flavor that’s hard to get enough of.  In a good way.

Peter Malakoff, Ancient Organics Ghee

But this Indian pantry-staple is almost unheard in the west. Which really bums out Ayurvedic practioners like Malakoff who proselytize the wonders of ghee with delicious fervor.

Unlike butter, he says, ghee is actually healthful. It awakes the digestive fire of the body, penetrates deep into the tissues and helps to give balance. Unlike butter doctors (at least Ayurvedic ones) recommend it rather than eschew it.  Mixing a shockingly big blob it into rice, he hands me the bowl for a taste. Mmmm. Buttery. But good for you?

Consider what goes into it: Organic Straus Creamery butter from Marin. That’s it, except for some powerful good vibes in the guise of six (or so) continual hours of the  ‘Mahamrtunjaya’ mantra played during it’s boiling and only made during the waxing moon (about 14 of 28 days of the month). Like many of biodynamic practices, it has everything to do with the tidal phases of the moon.

Malakoff and his assistant use a cooperative kitchen in Richmond make 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of ghee each month, give or take. The sunshine yellow containers make their way into Whole Foods and Bi-Rites around the Bay Area and ultimately around the globe to his growing fan-base.

And whether you put his ghee in organic brown rice with lentils or on top of your pancakes (which he laughingly calls “God’s Realization”) isn’t really the point. Malakoff ultimately just wants to make you think about what you’re eating. “What we eat is what we become,” he tells me. Sadly, I’m probably a turkey sandwich with mayo these days. But you have to appreciate the absolute focus and belief he puts into each jar of ghee.

He sends off each precious jar as if they’re children he’s seeing off. And in a sense they are considering the time and energy he’s invested. In return, I feel an obligation to take good care of his sunny little offspring. Even if it’s just slathering another spoonful on top of my morning waffle.

Ancient Organics Ghee, available as some Whole Foods or at online. Prices: 16oz,, $18.75, 32oz, $32.50.