Califia Farms Sea Salt Plant Butter, 8 oz

I was looking forward to enjoying this butter on top of waffles! But the flavor on it's own is not buttery or milky, it's more salty and slightly rubbery, not something that I would enjoy on waffles/pancakes for the butter flavor. However, the texture was creamy and very smooth, and melted well, so I think it would be good for cooking savory dishes.

As a child, I once stood up at the kitchen table, grabbed a stick of butter, and took a bite out of it. So, to say that I am a fan of butter is an understatement. That said as I get older I'm always looking for healthier alternatives both for my diet and for the planet, which means mostly planted based where I can. I had recently switched from regular butter to ghee (which I don't love), and when I saw Califia had an option for a non-dairy substitute I decided to try it. I was pretty skeptical going in, but was really pleasantly surprised by the taste and texture. I tried this on it's own at first (channeling childhood me) just to get a feel for the taste and decide the best way to use it. To me it's best used as a topping for toast, pancakes, etc. I don't know that I'd cook with it but I rarely cook with butter anyway, so can't really speak to that (more of an EVOO girl). Is it butter? No. Is it a healthier, more environmentally friendly option from a brand that I trust? Yes. To me it's worth the trade off for sure. Going to try the olive oil one next just to see the difference, but would definitely stick with this one!

If you need a dairy-free sub in for butter in a recipe or don't have a cooking oil on hand, I'd recommend this. Just spread on bread it tasted too cashew-y for me (kind of like Daiya dairy-free cheeses which I also haven't liked) so would recommend just as a mix-in.

I really like the flavor and texture of the plant-based butter. I tried it on top of pancakes and toast and the flavor is subtle but perceptible. I initially tried using to butter my pan before cooking pancakes, and it seems to burn fairly quickly so that's something to note. I will be sticking to using this as a topping for now, but it works well as that!

It's really amazing how similar this product is in terms of taste and consistency in comparison to traditional butter products. I was thoroughly impressed.