To give up on proper butter and go back to the spread?

[Milliways]

DH & I were both bought up with margarine.

Over the years I have become more aware of “good fats” and after reading lots on here, and discovering what margarine actually contained, we switched to “spreadable butter” (just didn’t tell DH the cost).

For a while I wanted to go to just butter, and spent a while finding my perfect butter dish, which I finally treated myself to and we made the switch.

My problem is, the butter dish is just too good and the butter remains rock hard in this cold weather. When making toast or a sandwich I am using way too much and often ripping the bread.

I scrape it very thinly from the block, sometimes use the bread board to soften it more, hold the knife over the toaster to warm it, (but for a sandwich this doesn’t work), and keep just going back to my anchor spreadable so I can get the job done.

What am I doing wrong? Any tips please, or should I just give up and go back to spread for sandwiches?

Bleugh

Spreadable is yukky

Butter only

Cut off a knob (of butter) snigger😁

Butter in a dish in sunmer, spreadable in winter!

Marg really isn't as terrible and 'yucky' as everyone is making out

Grate it?

Oh grief have I missed another ‘banned’ food? We use Clover, are we terrible people?

Get better bread. I find no matter how soft the butter supermarket bread is prone to tear.
A decent properly risen loaf from the bakery has a tighter crumb and can handle the butter.
Tastier too
Yes, also more expensive but the difference between spending one pound or two on such an essential food stuff is worth it in my opinion and I am lucky enough to be able to afford it.

Lakeland Insulated Butter Dish. Kerriegold butter.

Perfectly spreadable and butter keeps fresh :-)

Put the butter dish in Cupboard.

Er...yes it is Patterned.. It totally is.

We switched to butter as party of an effort to cut down on plastic waste. I blast a bit in the microwave for 10s for sandwhiches.

Just mash up a section on the tub with the knife

Lurpak spreadable is your answer.

I’ve been happily browsing spreadable butters now! I can’t stand the Olive oil spread we’ve been buying, I literally can’t eat it. Has anyone tried Countrylife spreadable?
Mind you I’d love a nice butter dish!

Store butter in the oven overnight (on a really low setting) in a ceramic dish.

Ooh Horehound do you find a cupboard is warmer than the worktop? I might try this.

There are some seriously dodgy ingredients in some spreadables (from personal experience of working in a factory that produces a major brand) - proper butter all the way, for taste and being a natural product.

@RandomLondoner - you honestly think that as butter and marg resemble each other they must basically be the same?!
Marg has over 20 ingredients. Including things that are unidentifiable as food. Butter has two ingredients - milk and salt. They are vastly different products. The marg producers just managed to chemicaly alter it enough so that it resembles butter.
Sorry, slightly off-topic, but Lakeland do a great little hand held butter churner for £10. You just use room temperature double cream and shake it for three minutes and a little block of butter drops to the bottom, leaving the buttermilk to use in pancakes/baking, etc. You can even add your own flavours.
Definitely stick with butter, OP.

"Yukky"?
How old are we, 3?!

I buy spreadable butter for the kids. I'm quite happy with cheese spread, mayonnaise, salad cream etc. In sandwiches. I keep butter too, though, for potatoes and vegetables. And occasionally for crumpets done under the grill (and back under again to make sure it's melted) before adding a swirl of marmite. Spreadable lurpack is just about passable for cooking with but pretty expensive, and I still prefer butter and the kids don't seem to know their Anchor Spreadable from their Utterly Butterly so I just get whichever is on offer.

Margarine is a nasty collection of chemicals - read the label.
And read the history of its invention.

Butter is 100% natural - especially unsalted.
Lots of suggestions for making it easier to spread, but nothing wrong with a thin slice on bread etc.

Our house is freezing too, particularly the kitchen, and the butter is rock hard even out of the fridge. It had to be kept in the utility room where the boiler is for us to be able to use it! (Utility room also used for keeping honey at spreadable and ripening bananas!)

Use mayonnaise for making sandwiches.

Use cold butter in thin or thick slices for everything else. Sorted - without the monstrosities that are margarine or microwaved butter you can't taste because it's saturated the foodstuff.

I have to endure a DP who not only leaves the butter out at all times and then microwaves it, he buys and leaves the ersatz butter tubs and leaves those out too. I've taken to pouring the contents into the bin if it's left out and I see it.

He's slowly getting the idea that real butter kept in the fridge doesn't disappear in the same way.

I always use block butter. If it's solid I warm the knife on the hob (gas flame) for a few seconds first

We keep our butter on the counter in its usual wrap and it’s usually nicely spreadable unless the kitchen is unusually cold.