Elaine Khosrova never intended to write an entire book on butter. A former pastry chef and food writer, her first exposure to butter’s wide-ranging properties came when she was assigned to a butter tasting. “I hadn’t expected to experience such a range of color, flavor and texture among the 12 or so samples, ” she recalls. “Knowing butter is essentially made from a simple process of agitation using just one ingredient—cream—I couldn’t account for why there was such variation.” This story is from Kinfolk Issue Twenty-Seven Buy Now Related Stories Food Issue 49 Andy Baraghani Out of the kitchen, and onto your plates, shelves and screens. Food Issue 44 Pierre Thiam From West Africa to the world. Food Issue 42 Erchen Chang Bigger, better, bao-ier. Food Issue 40 Chow Mein & Jello An ode to the buffet. Food Issue 35 Modern Fancy The humble origins of high-end food. Arts & Culture Food Issue 34 Last Supper What to eat at a funeral.