Uthukuli in Tamil Nadu is home to around a dozen dairy units that produce the famed Uthukuli butter.
Uthukuli butter has been in vogue since the 1950s. It is characterised by its slightly sour taste and lack of gloss, compared with the other commercially available butter. It will remain unspoiled for nearly a month if kept in room temperature without any contact with water.
The uniqueness of Uthukuli butter lies in the buffalo milk and its fodder. Uthukuli being an arid region, the buffaloes are mostly fed with drought-resistant grass and seeds. This makes its milk rich in fat content than the regular cow’s milk.
However, all is not well as the dairy units face an existential crisis. Around 20 years ago, there were over 30 units in the Uthukuli taluk. Now, there are only 12.
