Vologda Butter

Nikolai Vereshchagin developed this in 1872 after seeing Normandy butter at an exhibition in Paris, and the difference is in the process: the cream is heated close to boiling before churning, which produces the nutty, slightly caramel taste the butter is known for. He called it Parisian; the Soviet industry renamed it Vologda in 1939. It is made only from cream, without cultures, and it does not keep as long as ordinary butter, which is part of why it was hard to distribute. Since 2010 the name has been legally protected and can be used only for butter made in the region to the specified process, which has not stopped a great deal of imitation appearing elsewhere. The dairy academy at Molochnoye outside Vologda, founded by Vereshchagin's collaborators, still trains dairy technologists and has a shop. Fresh, it tastes distinctly different from ordinary butter; a week old, much less so.

Highlights

• The scalded cream - heating close to boiling before churning, which makes the taste.
• The 1872 invention - a butter developed after a Paris exhibition and renamed in 1939.
• The protected name - legal protection since 2010, widely ignored by imitators.
• The dairy academy - the teaching institution at Molochnoye with its own shop.

When to go

All year. An hour. Buy at the academy shop or a Vologda dairy shop rather than a station kiosk.

Practical notes

Much butter sold as Vologda outside the region is not, despite the protection. The taste fades within days, so it does not travel well. It needs refrigeration. Factory tours are arranged in advance and run in Russian.

Nearby

Vologda kremlin and the lace museum are in the city; Molochnoye is 15 km out.