Minerva Dairy marks 132 years with 85% butterfat butter

Minerva Dairy is celebrating 132 years of continuous butter making in 2026, highlighting a slow-churned process it has used since 1894 and an 85% butterfat recipe. The fifth-generation Ohio creamery says its higher-butterfat butter continues to appeal to bakers, chefs and consumers looking for richer flavor and simpler ingredients.

Why it matters: - Minerva Dairy is leaning on heritage and product differentiation as consumers keep moving toward simple, minimally processed foods. - The creamery's 85% butterfat butter contains more fat and less water than the 80% butterfat standard in most U.S. butter. - That difference matters in the kitchen because higher-butterfat butter can help with flakier pastry, better browning and a richer finish.

What happened: - Minerva Dairy marked 132 years of continuous butter making in 2026. - The Ohio creamery still uses the slow batch-churn process the family adopted in 1894. - The business traces its roots to 1894, when 21-year-old Max Radloff founded a dairy operation at Hustisford Creamery in Wisconsin. - The family later consolidated its operations and moved the creamery to Minerva, Ohio, where it still operates on Radloff Avenue. - Siblings Adam Mueller and Venae Watts now own and operate the fifth-generation business. - A sixth generation of 13 children is already learning the trade. - Orrin Mueller, one of those sixth-generation family members, works as a butter maker at the plant.

The details: - Minerva Dairy makes its butter in small batches and churns each batch for about an hour and a half. - The butter is made from cream and sea salt in salted varieties, and cream alone in unsalted butter. - Milk comes from pasture-raised cows on local family farms. - Roughly 12,000 head of cattle supply the creamery. - Minerva Dairy pasteurizes between 450,000 and 600,000 pounds of milk daily, equal to 52,000 to 70,000 gallons. - The butter's color changes naturally with the seasons because the cows graze on pasture. - The butter turns a deeper golden yellow in warmer months. - The retail line includes 8-ounce Sea Salt Butter, 8-ounce Unsalted Butter and 8-ounce Garlic Herb Butter. - The lineup also includes 2-pound Sea Salt and Unsalted roll butters for home bakers and food service kitchens. - The garlic herb variety is positioned as a shortcut for finishing steaks, vegetables and seafood. - Minerva Dairy products are sold through select grocery retailers nationwide. - Shoppers can order direct shipping through Instacart and Goldbelly. - The company also makes ingredient and private-label cheese for food manufacturers and food service companies. - Store availability can be checked through the retailer locator at Minerva Dairy's store locator.

Between the lines: - Minerva Dairy is using tradition as a business strategy, but the family also points to growth through new channels like direct shipping and private-label production. - Venae Watts said the family has preserved the process started by its great-great-grandfather while continuing to look for better ways to reach more kitchens. - The family says its longevity has come from giving each generation room to make its own decisions and mistakes. - That approach has helped the creamery survive margarine, consolidation across U.S. dairy and changing consumer demand.

What's next: - Minerva Dairy plans to keep pushing its butter into more kitchens through retail, e-commerce and foodservice channels. - The company regularly publishes recipes, technique guides and seasonal baking content on its blog. - The content covers topics such as lattice-crust apple pie and compound butter techniques for grilling season.

The bottom line: - Minerva Dairy is turning 132 years of history into a modern selling point: a higher-butterfat product, made the old way, with a new generation already in the plant.