Welcome to the Home of Multi-Award-Winning Irish Black Butter
Every great food has a story.
Irish Black Butter began on the North Coast of Ireland, where a love of the land, good food and generous hospitality inspired a simple ambition: to create something that could be shared and remembered.
Not simply another preserve – a new Irish classic.
Inspired by Tradition
Black Butter has been part of Western European food history for centuries. Once made in farm kitchens as a rich apple preserve, it was slowly crafted to capture the harvest and enjoyed throughout the year.
Over time, this remarkable tradition faded from everyday life. Irish Black Butter was created to bring it back. Using the finest PGI Armagh Bramley Apples from Ireland’s Orchard County, we’ve reimagined this historic preserve for today’s kitchens while remaining true to the patience, craftsmanship and generosity that first inspired it.
From an Idea to an Irish Food Story
The inspiration behind Irish Black Butter stretches back many years. Growing up on a family farm on the Causeway Coast, founder Alastair developed a lifelong appreciation for the connection between people, place and food. In 1979, a simple message, “Spread a little happiness,” left a lasting impression.
Decades later, during Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink that message found its purpose. Rediscovering the forgotten tradition of Black Butter became an opportunity to create something distinctly Irish, something truly worth sharing, rooted in heritage yet made for modern tastes. That idea became Irish Black Butter.
Crafted in Ireland
Every jar is made with carefully selected PGI Armagh Bramley Apples, slow-cooked with cider and a blend of spices to develop its rich colour, deep flavour and unmistakable character.
The result is an award-winning gourmet apple preserve that is equally at home on a cheeseboard, alongside roasted meats, in baking, desserts or cocktails.
Proudly made in Ireland, Irish Black Butter is now enjoyed by food lovers, chefs and retailers around the world.
Why We Do It
Irish Black Butter exists for more than flavour alone. It celebrates Irish food heritage and supports local apple growers and honours generations of farming traditions. It inspires creativity in kitchens, restaurants and homes. Most of all, it brings people together around great food.
Spread a Little Happiness
That simple idea continues to guide everything we do. From the orchards of County Armagh to tables across the world, every jar of Irish Black Butter carries the same ambition to share a genuine taste of Ireland and create moments worth remembering.
Because the best food doesn’t simply fill a table, it brings people together.
Versatile & truly delicious
Irish Black Butter is non-dairy and sits within the wider family of apple butter found extensively in North America and parts of Western Europe. This rich spicy apple butter is a truly unique modern day interpretation.
Black Butter itself is said to date back to Meieval times and has been referred to in the eighteenth century by the novelist Jane Austen and locally people have turned up old receipes.
To see how versatile it is please visit our recipes page for the modern take on how Irish Black Butter can be used.
A Great Taste of Ireland
Irish Black Butter has been referred to by some as ‘the other black stuff, the umami of the conserver world’ and celebrity chef James Martin described it as ‘off the charts’.
