Every region has its claim to fame, but there's none sweeter than Vologda's position as Russia's butter capital.

Governor of the Vologda Region Oleg Kuvshinnikov has issued a proclamation naming October 25, as Vologda Butter Day. This year it is celebrated for the first time.

The date of the celebration was not chosen by chance. It was on this day that our countryman Nikolai Vereshchagin, the founder of the dairy business in Russia was born.

A Vologda-born Nikolai Vereshchagin (1839-1907), the then most influential Russian dairy expert, is considered the founder of modern Russian dairy farming. He set up a dairy farm in Molochnoe, a village near Vologda and began experiments with dairy sub-products. He had a talent for organizing that enriched the Russian language with the notion of "Vologda Butter."

It was Mr. Vereshchagin who noticed that ordinary butter seemed sour, and set about to fix that. Experimenting, he tried separating sweet cream from milk twice during butter-making, rather than once as was the usual practice.

The result was a king among butters. It was fattier than the 70-percent-fat butter produced by one round of separation and creamier as well. It had no odor, a delicious walnutty taste and utterly no aftertaste, thanks to its remarkable 16 to 18 Turner degrees of acidity. This was real Vologda butter. Vereshchagin showcased his butter an exposition in Paris in the late 1800s, where it won the gold medal.

Vologda butter has won deserved fame and world-wide recognition for its delicious taste and natural lightness.

Теги: butter