A friend and reader recently asked this (and I've been asked this many times before, too):
I have a butter question… now that we are buying real butter, it is really hard to spread on toast. Is there a trick?
My reply…
I've got the PERFECT answer for you, just leave it on the counter! I bought a covered tupperware looking butter dish thing at the store and when it's getting low (daily) we just put more out. Before you get to store next, just leave it on a plate with wax paper loosely over the top. It won't go bad, especially if you go through it as quickly as we do.
This way you always have some soft and ready-to-spread butter. (Well, as long as your family remembers to put more out when it's getting low that is…something that doesn't often happen here.)
- You do know that butter is good for you, right?!
- Get rid of the bad fats in your kitchen
- Do you have a random question? You can leave it at this post or email me. Thanks!
fertilaid says
Does anyone have any other suggestions? I dont want to wait for it or leave it on the counter.
Barb says
I forgot to say this stays soft even when refrigerated. And I meant to say substitution FOR soft plastic (meaning margarine) not “fro”…
Barb says
I make a spreadable butter that is 1 cup butter, 1 cup olive oil, and 2-3 tablespoons of kefir. My teens find this an acceptable substitution for soft plastic. : ) It’s great for grilled cheese sandwiches!
Divakitty says
I have left butter out on the counter in a ceramic covered dish for as long as two months without it going rancid. I thought that was one of the points in NT, animal fats don’t go rancid at anything like the rate of vegetable oils? I live in Texas, so it’s not the temperature. Lately we use Kerrygold Irish butter (Falfurrias from Texas is an acceptable substitute) and leave it out all the time so that it is readily available.
After we’d been having Kerrygold for a while, we ran out and grabbed some LandOLakes, which had been our standard previously. We were *amazed* at how fast it burned, and how it seemed to have no flavor at all, just a waxiness, no matter how thickly we spread it. Then I discovered Falfurrias, which I haven’t researched, but it tastes and behaves like Kerrygold, so I hope that it means it’s made from grass-fed cows and whatnot too.
Mmmmm… Butter…
CHEESESLAVE says
Mary, that is definitely the British way of eating butter. In England and Scotland, they always serve their amazing British breakfasts (LOVE the way they eat breakfast — eggs, sausage, beans, toast, etc) with the toast on the side on these little trays.
Tray is not the right word — theyr’e like little metal holders — like something you’d put on your desk and use to organize mail. These metal holders keep the toast cold and dry.
Of course we Americans do not like our toast cold and dry. We like it hot out of the toaster.
I’ve had it both ways and I think both ways are good.
Of course then there’s French toast which is altogether different.
My favorite way to eat toast lately is to make cinnamon toast. I put the sprouted bread in the toaster over, with cold butter on the top (I don’t have a butter bell yet so I keep my butter in the fridge) along w/ cinnamon and rapadura. I let it all melt together — yum!
Mary says
James Beard in his bread making and eating cookbook Beard on Bread tells about how Americans eat very wimpy toast, and they expect the butter to be all melted in, which further sogs the thing we call toast. He says true toast is toasted until it is crisped through, then cooled. The cold butter is put on thickly and the toast is eaten while the butter is still firm.
This made me kind of curious, so I tried it a few times. It takes a little patience to not want the lightly golden, soggy with butter toast. But the wait is worth it. After a few tries, I really do like it Beard’s way. The tactile sensation is totally different, but very appealing none the less.
Regarding the rancid butter thing. Even salted butter will go rancid after a few days. When we first started eating gluten free and transitioned from having bread regularly to hardly ever, we often left butter sit out. We had always used it so quickly. Depending on the indoor temps, a few days to a week will rancidize even salted butter.
Gina says
I would definitely suggest a butter “crock” or “boat” or whatever — I’ve been wanting one forever! I ALSO suggest buying Kerrygold butter. I’ve noticed that it is quite spreadable just a few minutes out of the fridge, probably because of all the good healthy fats in it from cows eating grass. I imagine other grass-fed butter behaves similarly.
Emma says
If you do forget to leave the butter out, there are a couple of things you can do.
1. Get a thin-bladed knife and scrape evenly and lightly across the surface. You should be able to get a thin layer of butter which you can then lay on your bread or toast, just patting it down to secure it.
2. Slice thicker (say 1/8″) and, again, lay on your toast. Allow to soften a little, and then spread it around. This way will dent the toast a bit, but I don’t mind that.
3. Get a chunk into a dish, and chop it up, working it until it is spreadable.
4. I don’t know where you stand on microwave use, but 10 second bursts will also soften it. You need to be careful, though, as it will melt in the middle before it does so on the outside. Just the way microwaves work.
Kelly says
Geesh, I never would’ve thought this post would generate such great, helpful comments!
Thanks everyone!
Natalie says
To answer Beth’s question, I only put the dish that holds the butter on the table. This does require putting the “boat” on a towel to absorb the moisture or just make sure to wipe it down before placing on the table. The way the butter boat is designed is a bit misleading as the handles are on the “boat” portion and not on the bottom section that holds the water. If you put the entire butter boat on the table and someone went to grab it using the handles, you would probably pull the boat out of the water thereby getting water all over the place.
Good point Sue about salted or unsalted butter. I only buy unsalted butter. I’ll have to ask my mom what she uses.
Local Nourishment says
I love my butter bell. Due to extreme milk allergies, I have to make clarified butter for all our cooking uses, which I keep in a mason jar in the fridge and scoop out with an ice cream scoop. Usually the scoopings are thing and ribbonlike, just right for melting on hot toast. But for those of us who don’t have allergies, the butter bell sits on the table always at the ready. The only trick is remembering to replace the water in the bell daily.
Beth says
Natalie,
When you set the butter out on the table, do you remove it from the bottom dish or put the whole thing out?
Kelly,
Quite a while back dh always wanted margarine and I have always only eaten butter. He liked that it was spreadable. Then I heard about mixing your butter with olive oil and that went over really well. It was spreadable straight from the refrigerator. 1/2 and 1/2 olive oil and butter was too strong for me so I think I did it 1/4 olive oil and 3/4 butter. The butter has to be room temperature (soft) to do the initial mixing, but then can be kept in the fridge and spreads like margarine. We don’t have to do that anymore – I just try to take the butter out while I’m making dinner.
Beth
AnnMarie says
I have a butter keeper (some may call it a butter bell), which I purchased from marmeedear.com about 15 months ago. It does just hold a stick of butter. I use unsalted butter, and have never had trouble with it going rancid, but we also use it up within a couple of days.
CHEESESLAVE says
There is a similar thing called a “butter bell”.
Alton Brown is doing a show on butter tonight:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/good-eats/the-case-for-butter/index.html
Actually he’s also doing a show on molasses:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/good-eats/pantry-raid-x-dark-side-of-the-cane/index.html
I’ve got ’em Tivo’d!
Sue E. says
About a year and a half ago, while nursing my baby (that was about the only time I would sit and watch shows I never watch!) I flipped on the Food Network and Good Eats with Alton Brown was on. He was talking about butter! One thing I remember him saying is that leaving butter on the counter is perfectly fine, but the SALT in the butter is what keeps it from going rancid! So, if you buy unsalted, don’t leave that on your counter. We go through ours in a few days and never have a problem. Natalie, ask your mom if hers is unsalted….:)
Sue E.
Natalie says
My parents keep their butter out on the table in a covered dish. However, they don’t go through butter fast enough, and whenever my family visits, the butter always tastes rancid to us.
Because we like spreadable butter too, I keep my butter on the counter in a “butter boat”. This is a 3-piece ceramic covered dish that holds one stick of butter. The bottom portion is filled with cold water. Then you put your stick of butter in the “boat” which sits in the water. The cover sits on top. The water slowly evaporates from the bottom of the dish which isn’t glazed. I replace the water every few days which is usually when I need to replace the stick of butter too.
I cannot tell you how much we LOVE this butter boat. We always have spreadable butter, and it is never rancid. They are available on Amazon for under $15. Do a search for Silvermark Butter Boat. They come in different colors. You can also do a search on eBay for butter boats. I know there used to be someone on eBay that handmade pottery butter boats. Those came in lots of colors and designs.
There is also something called a “butter bell”. Those do not hold a full stick of butter though.