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Madeleine is an Australian producer of cultured butter founded by Jack Gaffney, whose journey began not with the ambition to reinvent butter, but with a simple realisation: once you’ve tasted truly great butter, you can’t forget it. Inspired by formative experiences in France—sharing butter at the table, cooking with it, talking about it—Jack returned to Australia determined to treat butter with the same seriousness and respect.
Madeleine was born from that idea: taking something everyday and making it exceptional.
Terroir and Milk
The cream used for Madeleine butter comes from Gippsland, Victoria, a region long recognised for high-quality dairy farming. The milk is selected for its balance and richness, providing a clean foundation that allows fermentation to express itself fully.
Rather than rushing the process, Jack works in small batches, focusing on freshness, minimal intervention, and flavour development through time.
Cultured, Not Sweet Cream
Unlike standard sweet-cream butter, Madeleine is cultured butter, meaning the cream is fermented before churning. During fermentation, natural cultures convert lactose into lactic acid, developing acidity and complexity while reducing residual milk sugars.
This process creates layers of aroma and flavour that simply don’t exist in conventional butter—subtle tang, depth, and a long, savoury finish.
Method and Craft
Madeleine butter is batch-churned and finished using a malaxer, a traditional butter-working machine once common in European dairies. This final kneading step removes excess buttermilk, stabilises the butter, and refines its texture.
Every stage is deliberate. Nothing is automated for speed. The result is a butter that is supple, expressive, and remarkably clean on the palate.
Flavour and Texture
Texture: Soft, smooth, and pliable, melting quickly at room temperature
Flavour: Cultured and gently tangy, with deep buttery richness and a savoury finish
Aroma: Fresh cream with subtle lactic notes, never heavy or cloying
This is a butter that enhances rather than dominates—turning bread, vegetables, seafood, or pastries into something quietly memorable.
How to Use It
Spread simply on good bread
Finish steamed vegetables or grilled fish
Fold into mashed potatoes or sauces
Serve alongside oysters, radishes, or warm pastries
Best enjoyed just below room temperature to fully appreciate its aroma and texture.
A Modern Staple
Madeleine is not about nostalgia for its own sake. It’s about recognising that even the smallest things—cream, time, care—are worth taking seriously. This is butter made slowly, thoughtfully, and with conviction.
A true household staple, designed to turn simple moments into remarkable ones.
Malaxage is the final and most delicate step in traditional butter making.After cream has been churned and the butter grains have formed, the butter still contains residual buttermilk trapped inside the fat. Malaxage is the process of working, kneading, and folding the butter to gently expel this remaining liquid.Historically, this was done by hand or using a malaxer—a specialised table fitted with a ridged roller. As the butter is slowly passed under the roller, it is pressed, folded, and tightened, without breaking its structure.
Why It Matters
Malaxage serves several essential purposes:
A Rare Practice Today
With industrial butter production, malaxage has largely disappeared, replaced by continuous processing lines designed for efficiency rather than flavour. Traditional malaxers were once common in European dairies but are now rarely used.Producers who still practise malaxage do so by choice—because it results in a butter that is cleaner, more expressive, and texturally superior.
In Short
Malaxage is what turns butter from a product into a finished food.It’s the final act of care that gives cultured butter its elegance, stability, and unmistakable mouthfeel.
Ingredients: Pasteurised cream (cow's milk), cultures, salt (salted version only)
Madeleine is an Australian producer of cultured butter founded by Jack Gaffney, whose journey began not with the ambition to reinvent butter, but with a simple realisation: once you’ve tasted truly great butter, you can’t forget it. Inspired by formative experiences in France—sharing butter at the table, cooking with it, talking about it—Jack returned to Australia determined to treat butter with the same seriousness and respect.
Madeleine was born from that idea: taking something everyday and making it exceptional.
Terroir and Milk
The cream used for Madeleine butter comes from Gippsland, Victoria, a region long recognised for high-quality dairy farming. The milk is selected for its balance and richness, providing a clean foundation that allows fermentation to express itself fully.
Rather than rushing the process, Jack works in small batches, focusing on freshness, minimal intervention, and flavour development through time.
Cultured, Not Sweet Cream
Unlike standard sweet-cream butter, Madeleine is cultured butter, meaning the cream is fermented before churning. During fermentation, natural cultures convert lactose into lactic acid, developing acidity and complexity while reducing residual milk sugars.
This process creates layers of aroma and flavour that simply don’t exist in conventional butter—subtle tang, depth, and a long, savoury finish.
Method and Craft
Madeleine butter is batch-churned and finished using a malaxer, a traditional butter-working machine once common in European dairies. This final kneading step removes excess buttermilk, stabilises the butter, and refines its texture.
Every stage is deliberate. Nothing is automated for speed. The result is a butter that is supple, expressive, and remarkably clean on the palate.
Flavour and Texture
Texture: Soft, smooth, and pliable, melting quickly at room temperature
Flavour: Cultured and gently tangy, with deep buttery richness and a savoury finish
Aroma: Fresh cream with subtle lactic notes, never heavy or cloying
This is a butter that enhances rather than dominates—turning bread, vegetables, seafood, or pastries into something quietly memorable.
How to Use It
Spread simply on good bread
Finish steamed vegetables or grilled fish
Fold into mashed potatoes or sauces
Serve alongside oysters, radishes, or warm pastries
Best enjoyed just below room temperature to fully appreciate its aroma and texture.
A Modern Staple
Madeleine is not about nostalgia for its own sake. It’s about recognising that even the smallest things—cream, time, care—are worth taking seriously. This is butter made slowly, thoughtfully, and with conviction.
A true household staple, designed to turn simple moments into remarkable ones.
Malaxage is the final and most delicate step in traditional butter making.After cream has been churned and the butter grains have formed, the butter still contains residual buttermilk trapped inside the fat. Malaxage is the process of working, kneading, and folding the butter to gently expel this remaining liquid.Historically, this was done by hand or using a malaxer—a specialised table fitted with a ridged roller. As the butter is slowly passed under the roller, it is pressed, folded, and tightened, without breaking its structure.
Why It Matters
Malaxage serves several essential purposes:
A Rare Practice Today
With industrial butter production, malaxage has largely disappeared, replaced by continuous processing lines designed for efficiency rather than flavour. Traditional malaxers were once common in European dairies but are now rarely used.Producers who still practise malaxage do so by choice—because it results in a butter that is cleaner, more expressive, and texturally superior.
In Short
Malaxage is what turns butter from a product into a finished food.It’s the final act of care that gives cultured butter its elegance, stability, and unmistakable mouthfeel.
Ingredients: Pasteurised cream (cow's milk), cultures, salt (salted version only)
