Aldi's Irish Butter Is A Total Kerrygold Copycat

Just because you're paying discount prices at Aldi doesn't mean you have to make concessions on quality (though I'll be the first to say that sometimes Aldi can be hit or miss). There's one household staple I'm happy to snag from Aldi that's guaranteed to be more expensive at a regular supermarket — Irish butter. Normally, when it comes to Irish butter, all I ever think about is Kerrygold, which is great, but Aldi has its own house version that makes for an honorable dupe at a better price.

First off, Irish butter is indeed butter that's been imported from Ireland (where Kerrygold is outperforming potato exports), made with milk from cows that have mainly been grass-fed. Their diet gives the butter its deep, rich color along with a deeper flavor. Aldi's version is called Countryside Creamery Pure Irish Butter and it comes wrapped in a shamrock green foil. The salted butter itself has the same deep yellow color as Kerrygold and Aldi's product description notes that it is indeed imported from Ireland. 

It's perfect for spreading on bread or baked goods and it really sings when you want to use it as a condiment for something like baked potatoes. It's definitely a step up from those pale sticks of all-purpose butter that are sitting in your fridge's butter compartment. If you're at Aldi picking up the basics, this is one I happily recommend.

The one thing I haven't done is compare the two butters side by side, you know, for science. Thankfully, plenty of people have done so, including Reddit users. One casual comparison post on Reddit pitting Kerrygold, Aldi, and Costco's Irish butters against each other resulted in an even three-way split among three taste testers. Product review site Sporked still gives the nod to Kerrygold in terms of flavor, saying, "Where Kerrygold flavor continues to evolve after the initial punch of saltiness hits you, Aldi just doesn't."

So really, we're in an eye-of-the-beholder sort of situation, where your mileage may vary depending on what your palate responds favorably to. As for me, I'll still happily buy the Aldi version if I happen to be out, since it's always cheaper than Kerrygold. As of the time of this writing, an 8-ounce package of Aldi's Irish Butter is $3.95 at my nearest location; the same quantity of Kerrygold goes for $6 at my nearest name-brand supermarket. That significant price difference is enough to sway me, but if Kerrygold is on sale, I like to snag that when I can too. After all, some groceries are worth splurging on.