New Land O-Lakes Butter Balls: Easy to use but costly

Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press
·2 min read
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Land O' Lakes Butter Balls are handy and easy-to-use.
Land O' Lakes Butter Balls are handy and easy-to-use.

Sure, you love butter, but will you pay a premium price for it?

Land O'Lakes, the most recognized butter brand at grocery stores, has launched a new butter product aimed at making cooking convenient and easy.

Land O'Lakes Butter Balls, which come in a bag, are each equal to one-half tablespoon of sweet butter.

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They're cute and convenient, but they're also costly. Butter Balls retail for $4.39-$4.99 for an 8-ounce package.  A pound of Land O'Lakes stick butter is around $5.19 at many local grocery stores.

A Land O' Lakes news release says the rise in the number of people cooking at home during the COVID-19 pandemic inspired the product. The company says that nearly ¾ of Americans want to continue preparing meals at home after the pandemic.

Land O' Lakes Butter Balls are meant to be easy to use.
Land O' Lakes Butter Balls are meant to be easy to use.

The balls of butter are convenient. I get it. You can reach into the bag and grab a ball of butter or two and toss it in whatever you're making.  Sautéing veggies? Drop in a ball of butter. Serving a stack of pancakes? Place a ball of butter on the stack and they will look picture perfect. There's no mess or scraping off any toast crumbs from a stick of butter.

But really, how hard is it to measure out half a tablespoon of butter? The measurement guide on the wrapper of a stick of butter includes tablespoons. For those who don't know, one stick of butter is 8 tablespoons or one-half cup.

“Innovation is core to Land O’Lakes and we see this product as the answer to the convenience consumers crave while staying true to the great product they rely on – sweet cream butter,” says a Land O’Lakes spokesperson in a news release.

For now, like many Americans, I am watching how I spend my food dollars. I will stick with the easy-to-measure sticks of butter.

Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to:  sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Land O-Lakes Butter Balls: Easy to easy but costly