Stick/block butter - slice or scrape

[TastyReuben]

Watching Rachel Khoo (British chef), I noticed she did to her big block of butter what I’ve seen other Britons (and Europeans) do; she scraped butter from the top of the block, like this:

Today show

In the US, I think it’s much more common, since our sticks are much narrower than those one-pound blocks of butter, to slice it as needed, like this (disregard that slicing tool thingy, pic is just to show slices):

Amazon

Turning to the internet, I was somewhat giggly to find out…this is actually a controversy of sorts. Good ol’ internet!

I am someone who am intensely bothered by finding a stick/block of butter with the top scraped out. I much prefer the uniformity of the end-to-end slice.

MrsT is, of course, the opposite.

How about you all? How to you access your butter?

 

[caseydog]

I slice my butter, like every red-blooded American would.

CD

 

[LissaC]

What, there's people who don't scrap the butter off the top??

I genuinely never ever thought there was another way to do it. But slicing the butter does seem easier and makes more sense. Unless your butter comes inside a plastic container like the cheap butter I buy but I really didn't know there's another way to use butter other than scrapping the top of it. Glad I learned something new today!

 

[Morning Glory]

What, there's people who don't scrap the butter off the top??

My thought entirely. Of course I scrape it off!

 

[caseydog]

Do you Yurripeans just scrape butter for spreading, such as buttering your toast? Do you slice of butter to use in a recipe that requires a certain amount of butter?

In the US, butter stick wrappers are marked for tablespoons.

CD

 

[TastyReuben]

Do you Yurripeans just scrape butter for spreading, such as buttering your toast? Do you slice of butter to use in a recipe that requires a certain amount of butter?

In the US, butter stick wrappers are marked for tablespoons.

View attachment 92283

CD

I think that's the big difference. When I've bought butter in England, it was always sold in a single big block (a pound?), no markings, as it would be hard to mark a big block of butter for tablespoons (unless it was a single, very long stick ), but here, it's sold by the pound (or half-pound), but wrapped in individual sticks, with the useful markings.

It's easy enough to guess at a tablespoons, but when a recipe calls for a third of a cup, it's nice having the markings.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I use spreadable butter to put on bread, stick butter for cooking & baking.

 

[Morning Glory]

Do you Yurripeans just scrape butter for spreading, such as buttering your toast? Do you slice of butter to use in a recipe that requires a certain amount of butter?

Yeah - I scrape it off mainly for spreading on bread or toast. I do usually cut off a slice if frying with it or if a recipe calls for a certain amount.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

When I could eat butter we started off scraping it off the top but very quickly found that if we kept the butter in the fridge (unless it melted, butter would normally not be kept in the fridge in the UK so that it is soft enough to scrap, hence a butter fish) we could use the cheese slice to get nice even thin slices which found be placed on the toast or bread or hot potato for a uniform and even slice that would melt slightly and spread more easily. So my answer is neither.

 

[Windigo]

When I could eat butter we started off scraping it off the top but very quickly found that if we kept the butter in the fridge (unless it melted, butter would normally not be kept in the fridge in the UK so that it is soft enough to scrap, hence a butter fish) we could use the cheese slice to get nice even thin slices which found be placed on the toast or bread or hot potato for a uniform and even slice that would melt slightly and spread more easily. So my answer is neither.

Yes, I do that too!

If baking or cooking, I just cut off what I require from the side.

 

[caseydog]

Here ya' go, a sliced butter dispenser.

CD