Hope Butter—Making Butter the Traditional Way
One of the only independent creameries in Minnesota, Hope Butter, is a century old business that continues to make butter the old-fashioned way. There have been strong years and slow years, but the last 10 have been increasingly successful. Featured at many of the top restaurants, at the Co-ops as well as in regular grocery stores, Hope is often the go-to butter in Minnesota.
I took the drive down to Hope last spring. It’s a tiny town with not much more than a post office and a bar (or two). Owner Victor Mrotz walked me through the churning process. As the hundreds of pounds of butter came plummeting out, I had to hold myself back from jumping in. Their efficient little system then packaged the butter into 1lb blocks and got it ready for shipping. They never have more than a small walk in refrigerator of butter, ready to be shipped to Minneapolis or the local grocer.
After learning to cook at his mother’s bed and breakfast, Daniel Klein (The Perennial Plate) went on to work and train at many of the world’s top restaurants. His culinary education brought him to Spain, France, England, India and New York, where he has worked and trained at top Michelin starred restaurants. After graduating from NYU, Daniel also pursued a career in film. Daniel’s most recent film “What are we doing here?” has aired on TV, in theaters and at numerous festivals around the world.
