When did butter become so luxe?

In recent months, my social media feeds have been filled with tweets referencing lemony garlicky miso gochujang brown butter pasta. The gag is that the dish is “fake,” purely existing as an unlikely meme that satirizes a subset of online food culture, typically reserved for affluent individuals who go out of their way to invest in posh-sounding ingredients, indulge in organic produce and seek inspiration from the NYT Cooking app.

“NYT recipes: Lemony garlicky miso gochujang brown butter gnocchi,” read an X post from January. “Kids in Park Slope be like ‘Mommy can we have lemony garlicky miso gochujang brown butter pasta for dinner pleeease?’” read another. Eventually, the lemony garlicky miso gochujang brown butter multiverse expanded to extraordinary lengths, compelling NYT Cooking to hop on the trend by actually making the pasta.

it’s 2028, your husband comes up and smacks your butt as you’re unplugging the crockpot full of lemony garlic miso gochujang brown butter pasta the dining room turned into a beer pong tournament, the kids are laughing in the playroom, it’s super bowl sunday and your heart is full

— matt (@inlanddernpire) February 9, 2025

rick owens for people who make lemony garlic miso gochujang brown butter pasta https://t.co/9wnaOzl8Bd

— x_c4tb0y_x (@vampiric_shirin) February 2, 2025

Whether the individual ingredients used in the pasta can be strictly classified as a luxury is up for debate. But what’s certain is that they’ve become newfound buzzwords within the culinary sphere thanks to an influx of trendy food content, namely on TikTok. Brown butter, in particular, has gained a reputation for adding an elevated touch to both savory and sweet dishes. Take for example brown butter pasta sauce, which touts a richer, nuttier flavor profile compared to sauces made with just melted butter. Or classic brown butter chocolate chip cookies, which adds notes of butterscotch and toffee that enhance the cookies’ overall depth. Brown butter is quite easy to make without any fancy cooking tools or techniques. However, its roots in classic French cuisine (brown butter is called “beurre noisette” in French) and popularity in fine dining is why it carries with it a sophisticated je ne sais quoi.

Brown butter’s association with gourmet indulgences like, yes, lemony garlicky miso gochujang brown butter pasta underscores a growing trend of butter gone luxe. Butter boards, made by slathering softened butter onto wooden cheese boards, have been revamped and rebranded by high-end restaurants as lavish tableside “butter service.” Specialty brands of compound and flavored butters are being sold for $20 each and $60 per bundle. And a viral Kerrygold “butter brand trip” sent seven influencers to Ireland, where they feasted on fancy bites and learned about butter production while staying at the 5-star Castlemartyr Resort.

A quick peek into butter’s rich history reveals that the humble dairy product was once a luxury reserved for the upper class. Amid the Middle Ages, butter was primarily considered poor man’s food despite its grueling production process — an estimated 25 pounds of milk would have to be physically churned and processed just to produce a pound of butter. But it soon became favored by the affluent, who ate it with meat and bread, ultimately becoming one of Scandinavia’s most valuable exports, according to Tasting Table.

“Butter became so popular that the Catholic church actually prohibited people from eating butter during Lent, and thus, the Lenten butter fee was imposed. (Although one could simply pay the church for permission to eat it during the otherwise forbidden window of time), wrote Tom Maxwell. “However, most people who could afford to pay the fee did. This is how the Catholic Church built the Rouen Cathedral in France (which consequently became known as the Tower of Butter).”

Butter was one of the most commonly taxed commodities in Europe. “Easily preserved, stored and transported, butter was early on a valuable commodity, which might be taken to market or used directly to pay taxes, tithes, and rents to the king, the church and the local magnates,” according to medieval.eu, a website dedicated to covering the medieval period. In the 11th century, the king of Norway required Norwegians to give him a bucket of butter per year as tax. These so-called “butter taxes” eventually transformed butter into export articles, allowing it to be shipped from Scandinavia to budding towns and cities at the time.

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Butter has long been — and continues to be — a kitchen staple, but its recent popularity on social media has heightened it as a so-called “affordable luxury.” According to business-to-business publication Supermarket Perimeter, conversations about butter convey it as “a canvas for culinary innovation” rather than a mere spread or baked goods ingredient. Moinear Farmhouse Butter is just one of many brands that believes in upholding the artisanal qualities of butter. The brand is best known for making specialty whey butter, which uses the cream that is separated from whey to produce a “mild, nutty, cheesy and richer, fuller flavor” butter, per its official website.

“The artisan butter scene is alive and our whey butter, all natural, sustainably sourced and no ingredients except whey cream and sometimes sea salt, brings about the perfect adventure in flavor and textural mouthfeel sensation,” the brand said, adding that its whey butter “offers a more delicate texture for spreading and improved crumb integrity in baked goods, lending itself to extra-special kitchen creations.”

As of June 2025, U.S. butter prices rose to approximately $4.80 per pound, according to recent data cited by the St. Louis Fed. That’s a nearly four percent increase from June 2024. The hikes can be attributed to nationwide inflation along with a tightening in global milk supply due to poor weather conditions, herd reductions and rising production costs, Forbes reported.

“Although the U.S. produces most of its own butter, international price benchmarks influence domestic wholesale and retail pricing,” the outlet added. “Increased input costs also affect the prices of butter in the U.S., Europe and New Zealand, especially ahead of high-consumption seasons.”