increase font size
Westgold Unsalted Butter won Food for Chefs Champion Butter at the prestigious New Zealand Champions of Cheese awards on Tuesday.
Westgold Unsalted Butter won Food for Chefs Champion Butter at the prestigious New Zealand Champions of Cheese awards on Tuesday.
The award was won ahead of marketing preparations to launch Westgold nationally.
Master judge Russell Smith says the butter won the supreme butter award because it was, "The sort of butter you just want to slather more and more on. It's a very good example of a technically well-made butter resulting in an even, smooth texture and delicate, sweet flavours."
Manufactured by Westland Milk Products, Westgold butter has been sold throughout the world for more than 12 years. However, it has had limited availability on New Zealand supermarket shelves. This is about to change.
"We've sold Westgold internationally for years but recently decided it was time to share the West Coast's best kept secret with our fellow New Zealanders," says Westland Milk Products chief executive Rod Quin.
"If you live in Azerbaijan you probably already know that Westgold butter is a premium product." Quin said, "but most Kiwis wouldn't know that the champion butter in New Zealand is produced in Hokitika. The best butter starts with the best cream, and our farmers have a high percentage of Jersey cows in their herds, known for producing high quality cream."
Westland conducted a complete redevelopment of Westgold in preparation for the launch on to retail shelves, planned for next week.
"We wanted to develop Westgold to reflect what makes the people and product unique," Quin said. "The butter has new packaging designed to give it a uniquely Kiwi look, while retaining the golden foil that keeps the butter fresh and looking great. The new packaging will be made available to all of our consumers around the globe, but it all starts with New Zealand."
"Behind Westgold is a tradition of making butter on the West Coast dating back to 1893. The process of butter making at Westland's Hokitika factory has been refined over generations to become both an art and a science. Using time-honoured processes based on traditional batch churning, our butter-makers take quality, fresh cream and turn it into the butter that has now been recognised as New Zealand's best."
North Canterbury pig farmer Steve Sterne has been honoured with NZ Pork's Outstanding Contribution Award, recognising his 27 years of dedication to excellence in the sector.
DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown has waded into the debate around soaring butter prices, pointing out that the demand for dairy overseas dictates the price to farmers and at the supermarket.
OPINION: According to media reports, the eye-watering price of butter has prompted Finance Minister Nicola Willis to ask for a 'please explain' from her former employer Fonterra.
The country's second largest milk processor hopes to produce its first commercial butter within two months.
Consumers around the world are willing to pay more for products containing dairy and this is driving demand for butter and cream, says Fonterra.
A landmark New Zealand trial has confirmed what many farmers have long suspected - that strategic spring nitrogen use not only boosts pasture growth but delivers measurable gains in lamb growth and ewe condition.
It was recently announced that former MP and Southland farmer Eric Roy has stepped down of New Zealand Pork after seven years. Leo Argent talks with Eric about his time at the organisation and what the future may hold.
It's critical that the horticulture sector works together as part of a goal to double the sector’s exports by 2035.
RaboResearch, the research arm of specialist agriculture industry banker Rabobank, sees positives for the Alliance Group in its proposed majority-stake sale to Ireland's Dawn Meats.
The ACT Party's call for a better deal on the Paris Agreement on climate change is being backed by farmer organisations.
A 50% tariff slapped by the US on goods from India last month has opened an opportunity for New Zealand wool carpets exports to North America.
