Frequent visitor and commenter, Mimi from Singapore, was obviously far more dogged in her pursuit of solid evidence of the Bruun butter that attracted a number of nostalgic comments from other readers in this post over a week ago. She managed to find this photo above, at this website which is completely in Danish… I think it’s amazing that there are few other or easily sourced photos of a butter that is held in such regard in the minds of Filipino bakers from the 1900’s to 1970’s? Thank you Mimi for forwarding this photo and link. And now I know it did in fact exist, and it is spelled “BRUUN” and not “BRUN” or “BRUNN”… More on the butter/lard question, up soon. :)
14 Responses
Looks like an artifact!
It is I who should thank you, MM, for sharing your thoughts, recipes and memories from home. I truly enjoyed the search for the elusive Brun…
Fantastic! This confirms then that I’ve never tried the real thing. Oh by the way MM, I saw cartons of imported cream at the Market Market grocery. Some of the cartons are culinary cream. I’ve been itching to try to make homemade butter out of them. I suppose the butter won’t taste fantastic but I’m just so curious to see the mike solids separate from the buttermilk!
MM, thanks for finally establishing the real existence of bruun butter. my family and I have been experimenting with butter cakes and the like, but can’t seem to find the perfect recipe for it, like those made in the 60’s and 70’s. Can u share with us your favorite recipe? Also, we love to eat tortas, in fact during our recent trip to Bohol we tried 2 kinds from Baclayon but seemed they don’t taste like those we’ve had during fiestas. Looking forward to your writing about your recent torta baking experiments.
Ah so… it was not merely a fignewton of our imagination after all. Btw, that fits Quiapo’s recollection of it and just around the corner from the Philippine Cold Store that he mentioned (that also carried the incredible Maxam spreadable cheese), in Calle Villalobos, there was this similar foodstuff store that sold them along with other imported items such as S&W fruit cake mix and another famous Danish product called Cherry Heering.
finally! and yes, footloose, maxam spreadable cheese, and canned chinese ham flakes that were incredibly salty. all my dad’s favorites.
Here is my Google translation of the caption for the artifact that explains its weathered appearance:
The picture below was received by mail from Ole W. Sejersen:
I took the attached photo of canned butter from A / S L. E. Bruun three years ago. It sat outside a fishing hut hundreds of miles north of the Arctic Circle in eastern Greenland. The hut (a travel lodge) has not been used for over 60 years and is now completely useless. The can has been there since 19?? but is incredibly well preserved considering that it was outside.
Footloose, thank you for that! Why didn’t I think to simply have it translated? :) At any rate, it sounds like the can is pretty old… and it still isn’t clear when Bruun butter disappeared from local grocery shelves…
This is interesting!Was the can used as container for worms(lures) bysomeone who was fishing?and of all places…..the arctic?It’s like one of those movies featuring the mysteries hidden in the Arctic! :)
This is as far as I can translate some parts of what’s in the link. It also doesn’t say that A/S L.E. Bruun stopped the manufacture of the canned butter. It states there that in 1930, the company reorganized and got a new name A/S L.E. Bruun Export…In 1931, the company also acquired (ham factory) Skinkekogeriet Royal A/S thus widening the range of products for export to meat preserves (kødkonserves). The company was taken over by Dania Products A/S og Scandia Packing Company A/S in 1932…The company and its group of companies chiefly stood for the manufacture and export of Danish agricultural products in can…I am guessing that maybe they concentrated more on the meat preserves, hmm?
@ Peach, Go for it….making homemade butter is another dimension. 10-15 mins of shaking in a glass jar produce an amazing butter that I’ve tasted so far. Add a bit of salt to further enhance the flavor. Use it on your pasta or steak but I find it the best on a freshly baked hot pandesal.
Yay! Thanks Mimi! Thanks MM. Mystery solved! ;p
Whoa! if there was any culinary museums in the Philippines this should be there! :)
Hello Sir, what camera do you use in food blogging? I only use digicam.. Nice blog po!