A couple of weeks ago we talked about the price of ground beef and what everyone was paying for it. That post was really popular. It was so fun to see what everyone is paying and how much it varies.
Maybe fun is not the best word for it. Rising grocery prices are not fun. But it was interesting to see what others are paying. Seeing what we all pay makes us realize that others understand rising grocery prices and the challenges of feeding a family while trying to stay within your grocery budget.
It also made me realize that although prices seem high in my area, they could be a lot worse. Some of you are paying way more than I am for ground beef.
Not only are meat prices on the rise, so are butter, milk, and other dairy products. One of the areas I am really feeling the rising prices in is butter. I love my butter, especially for baking. And with holiday baking coming up, baking with butter might be a challenge.
My friend Amy and I were recently discussing the rising prices of groceries and she said,
The price of BUTTER is killing me!!!!!!! But not enough to buy margarine.
I know exactly how she feels. I grew up eating margarine. I understand why my mom bought it. I won’t judge you if you buy it, but I am a total butter snob and the price of butter is killing my love of baking and my grocery budget.
Butter in my area right now is ranging from about $3.50 to $5 per pound, depending on where you buy it and what brand you buy. The best price I have found is at Sam’s Club in their four pound package. I think the days of getting butter for between $2.00 and $2.50 per pound might be over. Oh I will miss those days.
I am really hoping that butter goes on sale for the holidays. And if it does I will be stocking up for sure and freezing it to use later. If it doesn’t go on sale, I might just have to adjust my holiday baking a little.
So, what are you paying for butter? And have you cut back on how much of it you are using because of the price?
It’s so funny that you are posting about this!!! I have always bought my butter at Costco – same like Sam’s club – where you get the 4 boxes. I think when I first started getting my butter from there it was around $4.99 for the whole thing, then for a while I was paying $6.99. NOW – just last week I was in Costco doing my normal spree…walking out I looked at the receipt and I KNOW it said $12.49!!!! Now, maybe I was reading it wrong or there was an issue with the check out thing – it was way too crazy and hectic in there to even attempt to get it figured out, but really, with the way prices are going up – it wouldn’t surprise me!!! They will increase the prices on everything and anything that they know people can’t live without!!!!!
I buy artisan, small batch butter made locally by grass fed cows. 🙂 Call me high maintenance.
It’ costs me $4.99 for 8 oz and $12.99 for 2 pounds.
Worth. Every. Single. Penny.
I thought I was going to pass out when I paid $4 a pound for a couple weeks ago! I don’t remember the exact price, but I do remember getting a better deal at Sam’s the next week. Something like $9 for a four pack. I’m going to stock up next time I’m there. Like you, I’m a butter snob, but I refuse to let the price change my baking or shopping habits. That’s one compromise I refuse to make. Butter just tastes better.
$3.50/pound in St Louis at Aldi, no idea what it is at the other stores. When my husband and I moved in together, the only grocery request he had was “real butter” – no margarine in this house. We probably use at least a pound a week.
I’m hoping that it goes down for the holiday baking like it sometimes does – and if so, I’ll be stocking up.
I’ve heard you can freeze butter & cream cheese?? but how long is it good frozen?? Thanks for any help
I only eat butter (unless for some reason I can not). Helps that I live alone and do not have to feed it to a family. Lord knows, I eat enough on my own. Margarine is ok in a pinch, but a poor substitute. Gotta have my butter and my Hellmann’s.
Butter is $3.49/# at ALDI here in CT, but closer to $5/# everywhere else. I’m definitely praying for good holiday sales!!!
I can definitely get store brand on sale for $2 or $2.50, and sometimes I can get Keller’s for that,, too. I think Keller’s is a regional brand. Occasionally, I can get Land o Lakes for $2.50 on sale, but most times, it’s on sale for $2.99/$3. This is at the regional chain grocery store where I do most of my grocery shopping. Target doesn’t have these prices–rarely go to Walmart–always problems with using coupons there.
I use butter in baking and some cooking. No trans fats, and I’m using it in moderation.
$3 a lb at Costco
I live in Minnesota – butter at Trader Joe’s is $3.99 a pound. Ouch! I wouldn’t stock up on Sam’s Club butter until you try it – I didn’t care for the taste at all. I ended up throwing away the rest of what I bought! I’m usually able to tough it out and use things up, but it lacked flavor. I do use the store brands from Cub and Target to save a little money.
You are not alone. Butter prices are also ranging between $3.50 & $5/pound here too. Last week I was lemon ting the butter is more expensive than gas! I love butter and this is killing me.
Lamenting, not lemon ting… Darn auto correct!
$3.19 in E. Wareham, MA. and in Sagamore, MA. This is for the store brand, which is all I buy. It went up suddenly about a month ago.
Almost $5/pound in NE Iowa. Kwik Trip has butter on sale for $2.50/ pound every December, I stock up and freeze it. Lasts a long time! K. Trip is a regional convience store/gas station.
I’m in central Maryland and I swear the massive price increase from $2/lb at the warehouse stores to $3-4/lb as of last week took place in less than 6 months. On the bright side, because of this increase, I finally bought organic as it was only about $0.30 more per pound. In the past it’s been at least a dollar more and I couldn’t justify the excess. Crazy logic, I know, but it works for me!
I use this recipe to make my own margarine.
Batter Butter
2 envelopes (1/2 ounce) unflavored gelatin
2 cups hot water
¼ teaspoons salt
3 capsules (1200mg) lecithin
4 sticks(1pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2.3 cup dried buttermilk powder
1 ⅓ cups corn,safflower, or other oil
yellow food coloring(optional)
additional salt (optional)
desolve the gelatin in hot water with the salt. allow to cool.when gelatin is cooled to the consistency of raw egg whites-thick yet liquid-open the lecithin capsules and squeeze them into the gelatin mixture.
Cream the butter in the large bowl of your mixer at high speed until white and fluffy. lower speed and gradually add the dried buttermilk powder, then the oil.Very slowley blend the gelatin -water-salt-lectin mixer (you will have 3 cups) The result will be very light yellow add food coloring if you like.
If you are used to cooking with salted butter then add ¼ scant teaspoon salt to the batter butter then taste
Yield 10 cups or five pounds “stretched butter” . store in one cup or one pound reusable containers. To use let sit out a few mins for a more spreadable texture and freeze the rest there is no preservatives it freezes very well..
I have never seen a recipe for margarine, so thanks for taking the time to share that!
I am so irritated at the cost of dairy but especially butter!! About $4 a pound now
In central British Columbia, Canada, it’s about $4/pound at our grocery stores. Hasn’t stopped me from buying, though always on the hunt for sales! Because we have a family of 6, and because we like more spreadable butter, we make our own rendition. 1 1/4 cup (grapeeseed oil and/or sunflower oil) and 1 1/2 cup butter in our vitamix blender. Quick and easy, though you might guess I don’t love cleaning the blender afterwards! I like that my kids tell everyone I make our own butter — makes me want to put on a milk maid outfit for fun!
Yesterday the cheapest I could find was $4/lb which is way too high for me. I can’t remember what it was at Costco last time, but it was high enough that I only bought one 4 pack instead of several like I usually do (and then freeze.) It definitely impacts my baking. For our family of 7 I buy Smart Balance for everyday use and then use butter for baking. I started using coconut oil instead of butter in my biscuit recipe to cut down on my precious butter. If only a few things went up in price it’s workable but it feels like everything is going up. I’m trying to bake from scratch more…but not recipes that call for butter. 😉
We are in coastal WA state.
I’m a Land O’ Lakes butter faithful and it’s around $4.95 a lb. here in Tennessee!
Butter – yikes! Can’t bake without it but it kills me to pay for it. Prices range from $3.75 at Aldi to $3.89 at Wegmans. I was fortunate to score rain checks for butter at $3.00 at Walgreen’s. I’m hanging onto those rain checks for dear life!
I love butter and it is killing me. I normally order a case of Willow Maid butter from Azure. Which is 30 1 pound slabs and runs around $80. I keep it in the freezer. I takes me 4 months to 6 months to use it up. Did I say I love butter. But in the last couple of months the price doubled. I checked the price again since I am due to place another order again, the price has come down. But still not to the price it was, So I guess I will be paying about $4 a pound for a while now.
Western Wisconsin chiming in. If we’re lucky, sometimes our grocery store has 2-lb Amish butter logs (not in sticks) on sale for $7 a log ($3.50/lb). Like another comment-er, I also watch for when our Kwik Trip stores put butter on sale and stock up. We’d have a mutiny in our house (hubby) if there were no butter and I won’t buy the artificial stuff.
Does anyone know WHY the price is up so high? I’ve been meaning to do a little research to try to find out, but haven’t had a chance. Milk and egg prices have come down in my area, but the price of butter is ridiculous!
I threw a party a couple weeks ago when I went to aldi and they had butter for $1.89 a pound. I haven’t been back in a couple weeks to see if it was a fluke or not. I only had room for 6 lbs. hoping to go back and get lots more at that price since I have more room in my freezer.
I am glad I am not the only one who has noticed. It is close to $4 here in Ohio. I have changed my cooking habits and will use margarine if it won’t make a huge difference. I am hiding the butter sticks I do have in the fridge drawer so my hubby and son don’t use it for something unnecessary at this point. I check everywhere I go shopping everytime I am there and for months I have had to pass at these prices. Even when I have found it on sale it doesn’t seem to be a good price to me. Luckily I had stocked up when it was on sale and am waiting and hoping for some holiday sales, when I plan to stock up again. For now I just cannot afford or let myself pay what they are asking. I am holding out for the $2/lb everyone has had for years.
I have no idea what butter costs here, but I have kind of a fun story of butter vs. margarine… My mom is one of seven and grew up just north of the Illinois border in Wisconsin- the Dairy Sate. When she was growing up, margarine was not legally sold in Wisconsin, apparently in support of all the dairy farmers. My grandparents, feeding seven growing children, used to drive “across the boarder” into Illinois to buy margarine since it was so much less expensive. I love thinking of all of them smuggling margarine, off all things, across the border!
That is funny! I had no idea that margarine used to be illegal at one time in WI. Thanks for sharing that story.
I buy Challenge butter at Meijers which is about $3.79 a pound. They state on the carton that it is from cows not treated with rbst, the growth hormone. They have been having a 55 cent coupon on the inside of the carton, which helps. I also buy Krogers organic butter which is about $4.99 a pound, was cheaper a month ago. I buy it up on sale and keep about 10 in the freezer until I use it up. I continually buy to keep my 10 count. Also, about the cream cheese, I have bought it on sale and kept it in the frig for 9 to 10 months with no problems. Never froze it though. Once it has been opened, it will go bad if you keep it too long. Something to do with the foil it is wrapped in.
Angelia does your recipe mean 2 and one third cups of buttermilk powder or should it read 2/3 cup buttermilk powder? It says 2.3 so I am unclear. Thanks for the clarification.
In northern AB, I recently noticed that it cost close to $7.50/pound. At that same time, my sister told me about how she makes butter in her vitamix. So, I’m doing that now too. It is close to $3.50 for 1 L of whipping cream. It yields 1 pound of butter, and the bonus is the sweet buttermilk that can be used in baking.
Butter in NE Ohio is around $4.00 a pound. I too hope it goes on sale for the holidays. I will stock up and freeze it. This is getting ridiculous. Any idea why the prices are raising so fast?
I can get the store brand for about $3 and Land O Lakes or the better brands are about $4-5 (I’m near Los Angeles). I don’t think I’ve really noticed the price going up though, but I don’t buy it much. I would never consider using margarine though. Guess we aren’t big butter users really, but I do buy more during the holidays. Thanks for the reminder of getting it on my next trip to Costco!
I’m a butter person too. Store brands go for about $3-$4, brand names, $4 or $4.50. I buy store brands most often or name brands when I have coupons. I also love Land O’Lakes Butter With Olive Oil spread, it’s “real” and is terrific on toast.
Aldi has it for 3.29 here in Owego/ Ithaca. It’s well over 3.00 a pound everywhere around here in New York. My grandmother would be turning over in her grave. She NEVER ate the fake stuff, even when she was a little girl. Back then 1906.
MerriLyn
Kansas is no better. Aldi carries the butter for 3.49lb. Yikes! I know some are paying more, but with having to reduce my consumption of oils (health reasons) we have resorted to more butter. I do hope the stores reduce their sales at Christmas. I will stock up!
I read an article that talks about butter prices. Apparently a significant amount of butter has been contracted to be shipped out of the country. These butter/cream exports have decreased our supplies, thus increasing our prices. The positive notes are that countries (New Zealand for example) will export their butter at under $2/lb. The US will either have to lower prices or lose business. The said contacts are short term contracts and will end in Jan. 2015. Good news ;). They predict butter prices will drop back to $2/lb. I’m sure this will affect the long term price of butter, minimally. I’ve always thought the dairy industry was under cut… but really only because I heard they are paid to toss out a portion of their milk to control milk quantities and keep prices stable. That being said, I haven’t double checked my source on that one. I’ll have to do that. 😉
I had not heard that, so thanks for sharing it!
We love baking in our family but have done much less while butter has been at the $4 price. Just today I was at Aldi and it had dropped to $2.50/lb!! Last year it got as low as $1.50 and I bought and froze close to 20 lbs of butter!! Hoping after thanksgiving it will drop more!
it’s a funny thing to compare 🙂
so in France we have half lb (or nearly) for $1,46
Cost of living really does vary by area! At the holidays I stock up on all our butter for the year since it freezes so well. Here in Northern Utah I just paid (yesterday actually) $1.99/lb for ours at the normal grocery stores. Yup, butter, not margarine. Non-holiday prices put it about $3.50-$5 but I refuse to buy it at those prices for now. It seems unreal but we also have a much lower cost of living all around than even those cities an hour to the south of us.