Flavor: How does it taste? Is it mild and clean, or does it have more complex notes (tangy, sweet, grassy)? Does the salt enhance or overpower?
Texture: Does it feel rich and creamy, or thin and oily? Does it spread easily on bread? Does it melt cleanly on the bread or sit right on top?
Fine Print
The Lineup: We tested 17 butter and margarine brands from the grocery. For butter, we focused on salted variants as they’re preferred for serving as-is. For margarine, we picked salted variants when available. We skipped spreadable butters and baking margarines.
Why We’re Doing This: A few things determine what butter you buy. For spreading on bread, salted butter wins over unsalted for its more pronounced flavor. Price is also a factor: most everyday butters share the same price range, spiking up only for the handful of French butters at the grocery. You might even prefer margarine or butter blends. Between their nostalgic flavor and agreeable price tag, they have a spot in many Filipino households. When tested head to head, which brands come out on top? This taste test finds out.
How We Tasted: Each product was sampled at room temperature, tasted as is, then spread on toasted white bread and sourdough. The butters and margarines were tasted separately for fair comparison.
Blind Taste Test: All products were removed from their packaging, labeled, and tasted blind to prevent brand bias.
How We Scored: Each product was evaluated across 3 criteria. Final placements reflect the Pepper team’s averaged impressions.
Transparency: No brand paid for inclusion in this taste test. However, Arla has been a past advertising partner of Pepper.
