Isigny Ste Mère: The Global Butter Brands Game Created by Ruth Paget
Number of Players: 1 or Teams of 2 or 4
Objective:
Improve knowledge of world butter culture and production methods to make better purchasing decisions about elite butter brands.
Game Tools:
-Butter: A Rich History by Elaine Khosrova – available in hardback, paperback, or kindle
-notebook paper
-index cards
-pens
-access to Google pronunciation tool with speaker function
Game 1:
Read about butter production techniques in Butter: A Rich History by Elaine Khosrova. Try to visualize each step taken in the production process.
Write the name of each production method on top of a piece of notebook paper.
List the steps needed to take in each production method with numbers. Cover up the steps for each production method and try to write them down to memorize them. Do this until you have memorized the steps in each production method.
Knowing this information will allow you to make better-informed buying decisions about butter and get the best value for your money.
The different butter production methods to research in Butter: A Rich History by Elaine Khosrova follow:
-batch-churned and artisan sweet butters
-continuous-churned sweet butter
-European-style (higher butterfat) sweet butters
-traditional vat-cultured butters
-whey cream butters
-goat butters
-sheep butters
-raw milk (unpasteurized) butter
-canned butters
-ghee, smen
Game 2:
Once you know butter production methods backwards and forwards, you can go to the next level in butter knowledge by learning the top brands for each production method and the countries they come from.
Khosrova lists top butter brands by production method in an appendix.
Step 1: Type the brand name into Google Pronunciation with the country language and learn to correctly pronounce the brand name.
Step 2: Quiz yourself on brand names and production methods by flipping through the index cards.
Step 3: Quiz yourself on brand names and country of origin by flipping through the index cards.
Learning all the information in this game will help with buying butter and might interest potential employers in catering, restaurants, upscale grocery stores, and companies with in-house dining.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
