Due to some people's recent reactions to a common practice of mine, I must ask this question:

Of those of you who eat butter and have it in your homes, do you keep a bar outside the fridge at room temperature?

I voted no, but my parents (and pre-marital me) left a bar out. I figured that was a good a place as any to make a concession.

-Zeke

I've had this argument many times with friends etc.

LEAVE THE DAMN BUTTER OUT! I can't stand trying to spread hard butter on toast or anything else. We keep it in one of those tupperware butter dishes. Saweeet.

do you know why some butter is wrapped in paper, and some in foil?

I have cats, it stays in the fridge.

That's exactly my philosophy. What good is butter on toast if you rip your toast apart?

The reason I started this is because my roommates always put my butter dish in the fridge. My parents have left a bar out for 30 years, and they're fine. We didn't even realize that it says "keep refrigerated" on the packaging

My parents have left a bar out for 30 years, and they're fine

That's some heavy duty preservatives. :-)

Ah, the joys of misplaced modifiers.

My parents have left a bar out for 30 years, and they're fine

That's some heavy duty preservatives. :-)

And some slow butter consumption, whch might explain why they're still ``fine''.

*Sigh*

My wife's father's mother has butter she keeps out. I just can't get used to leaving dairy products out. I'm weird.

Same here, I hate ripped toast!

"Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?"
"Umm, he's sick. My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at Thirty-One Flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious."

at room temperature

I guess it might depend a bit on local climate, as well. You can get away with stuff in Lancashire in November which you can't in New Orleans in July. (And, of course, vice versa.)

FWIW I gave up on butter for spreading -- I use one of those nasty fake butter things made from petrochemicals and herring. But I still keep butter around for sauces, pastry, and, when no-one's watching, frying.

Peter

If you have, or know someone who has, “Dairy Product Non-refrigeration” phobia (DPN), there is help. CAREFUL micro-waving of the cold butter will soften the butter and save the life of countless pieces of toast.

Remember, the toast you save could be your own.

petrochemicals and herring

This is my solution as well. I use "I Can't Believe It's Not 10W30" for my butter-spreading needs.

Yup... ripped toast sucks.. so butter out!

Well, since I come from a place where they make and export LOTS of butters of different types all over the world. I probably can comment here.

I must say that I think putting the butter in the Fridge is the only way to go.

The fridges all made here have a special "butter conditioner" little box inside the fridge (up near the top where there is less cold air) where you can put your bar of butter in the (supplied) plastic tray with clear plastic cover and it keeps it warmer than the rest of the fridge (some sort of little heater thingy in there), so that it spreads better on your toast etc.

That yuckky "yellow" rind/oxidised bit you get on the outside of the butter is probably for sure, more harmful than the "fresh" butter further inside the bar, so leaving out your butter is a non-starter as it gets this nice rancid rind.
.
Still if you live in a cold enough place then "leaving it out' might be the best way forward.

IMHO - the fridge is probably the best place for butter.

They also make here a special butter (called "spreadable butter") that has extra water mixed into it once the butter is made so that it can be spread straight from the fridge on your bread and toast.

The extra water content changes the flavour none but helps make it very easy to spread and is really the *only* option if your fridge has no butter conditioner.
[it makes it about have about the same spreadability factor as that horrid stuff called margarine - but with none of that "chemical" aftertaste :-) ].

The Spreadable Butter product was developed for the UK/Europe where fridges with butter conditioner don't exist.

Don't know if the product is available in the US - given the surfeit of Dairy products already sold in the US, I doubt it, or it would be very hard to find.

"I Can't Believe It's Not 10W30"

We use "Udderly Budderly" here, same difference I guess

We keep it in one of those tupperware butter dishes.

You need one of these:

http://www.design-conscious.co.uk/mall/designconscious/products/product-774047.stm

(we have a purple and orange one)

do you know why some butter is wrapped in paper, and some in foil?

here in the US, unsalted butter is typically wrapped in foil, while (the more common) salted variety is wrapped in waxed paper. the salt in butter acts as a preservative, protecting against spoilage from light, among other things. unsalted butter, which is used more in baking, is wrapped in foil to minimize light exposure and prolong its life.

--dan.

My mom uses a spray butter substitute for her toast. **ACK** Zero calories, tastes like butter (so she says, it's not coming CLOSE to MY lips!) , and you don't have to worry about spreading it.

The Spreadable Butter product was developed for the UK/Europe where fridges with butter conditioner don't exist.

Don't know if the product is available in the US - given the surfeit of Dairy products already sold in the US, I doubt it, or it would be very hard to find.

i've never seen it blended with water here, but they market "whipped butter" (infused with air) for the same purpose. i've tried it, and it tastes fine, but i don't find that it spreads any easier than regular butter at refrigerator temperatures.

--dan.

In looking around for this, I've found Anchor Spreadable Butter, but it claims to be softened with canola oil, not water. The other spreadable butters I've found seem to be the same. However, I did find the ButterBell, which should reduce rinding, at any rate.

I got one of these as a gag present one year, and I'll be damned if the contraption isn't one of the best thing since sliced...er, anyway, it works well if you keep it in the fridge, giving you a nice thin strip that is easily melted and spreadable, and works well if you keep it out, sealing the butter from the outside air and keeping it good much longer. I realize the "cheese" factor involved, and yes, it is the one you "saw on tv", but I do certainly recommend it.

edit...amazing how forgetting two letters can change the entire meaning of a sentence.

I got one of these as a gag present one year, and I'll be damned if the contraption is one of the best thing since sliced...er, anyway, it works well if you keep it in the fridge, giving you a nice thin strip that is easily melted and spreadable, and works well if you keep it out, sealing the butter from the outside air and keeping it good much longer. I realize the "cheese" factor involved, and yes, it is the one you "saw on tv", but I do certainly recommend it.

You know it's a classic American product when it says "It does the measuring for you." in the blurb...

you rang?

I prefer to keep myself out.

> I prefer to keep myself out.

ROTFL. I guess that means you are easily spreadable and not hard at all.

I guess that means you are ... not hard at all.

You know, they have drugs for that these days.

Ingenious - water down that expensive butter with cheap... water... and let the marketing droids go to town. It's a beancounter's wet dream.

That yuckky "yellow" rind/oxidised bit you get on the outside of the butter is probably for sure, more harmful than the "fresh" butter further inside the bar, so leaving out your butter is a non-starter as it gets this nice rancid rind.

Eww! Mine never gets to that state! At most, the butter stays out for a week. Do some of you not use AC? My house is always 66-71 degrees. That seems to be fine for butter (no, not you, Butter ).