To ask how you keep your real butter useable?

[SpudsandGravy]

Hello all,

Following on from the yummy food worth paying extra for thread, how do those who use it keep 'real' i.e. block butter (not spreadable versions) usable? I always have some in a butter dish and I keep it out of the fridge, but for large parts of the year I can't use it for sandwiches etc.

What am I missing?

In the summer we have to keep it in the fridge when it’s really hot, or if warm weather then we only put about a quarter of a block into the dish at a time.

In the winter, we have a tub of spreadable butter in the fridge just for spreading on bread, and use the block butter for everything else.

Use a French butter dish. It works really well butter at perfect temperature and keeps outside of the fridge for a month. Just change the water regularly

Cut a chunk off and put on a phage. Fill a glass with boiling water for a minute or do then pour our water and the glass should be really hot. Put the Glass over the butter on the plate upside down for 4-5 minutes...soft butter.

I have always kept it in the fridge. I just scrape really thin slices off that are almost translucent but in all honesty we don't use butter in sandwiches as DS hates it, he prefers mayonnaise and I rarely eat sandwiches. I do use it on toast though

Great ideas

If you have crumpets you can take the covering off the end of the butter and rub it over the crumpet and it will melt, totally decadent

We have an insulated butter dish. It's great in Spring and Autumn but not so great in Summer and Winter.

In summer I only put a third of a block out and keep the rest in the fridge.

In winter I curse the insulated butter dish for not doing a good enough job.

Insulated butter dish lives in cupboard normally. It's metal.

Just shows how cold our kitchen gets. Peanut butter and chocolate spread are more difficult to spread in winter too.

I use a y shaped vegetable peeler for both butter and cheese, it works wonderfully well.

Leave it in the butter dish on the side year round (in very hot temperatures I occasionally have to put in the fridge)

@Almostslimjim

Ours doesn't last long enough to go off!

@Imaginetoday

I leave the toast in the toaster for about 20/30 seconds after it pops - generally enough time to press go on the coffee and walk across the kitchen to get milk out the fridge.

It means the toast isn’t steaming hot so the butter doesn’t melt so much and make is soggy - gives an extra crunch.

Melt it on some really hot, thick, granary toast! Sorry no help for sandwiches but I love toast and butter with marmite or jam.... Or Crumpets....

Knife in cup of hot water first

I have a french butter bell ... in winter use as is. In summer you can put crushed ice and/or chilled water in the cylinder that the receives the bell < which is suspended upside down from the lid > depending on the temperature. I also, pp mentioned, use a potato peeler for cheese 🧀.

@Buttercup2021

Insulated butter dish from Lakeland. It’s on the counter all day and night - we don’t need to put it in the fridge except in high summer.

I've got one of these too - works reasonably well, plus only put about 1/4 of a pack in at a time.

I turn mine into spreadable by blitzing it with sunflower oil then store in containers in the fridge. (I've tried olive oil but the taste is too bitter). It is so much cheaper than the commercial equivalent (Lurpak spreadable etc.) and I can choose between salted/unsalted etc. So, not strictly speaking just butter but tastes like it and not full of chemicals like some spreads.

Cut a slice off, into the microwave on defrost for 5-10 seconds.

My Ultimate Secret: Use the hard block to rub it against (warm) toast!

I stick a little bit on my bread and give it a blast with a cook’s blowtorch. Softens it enough to spread, takes seconds and doesn’t dirty another dish.

If it's melting, you're doing it for too long or on too high a power in your microwave. I do medium low for 10 second bursts in mine until it's just soft.

I have a ceramic butter dish, keep the butter on the worktop all year round. Our kitchen can be warm (Oil range) but no issues with going off or too soft. Mind you a pack doesn't last very long in our house esp with 3 of us home working now.

French butter jar, keeps butter at room temperature, and you just feel more cosmopolitan than the average joe

I never put butter in the fridge unless it’s really hot. Try it.

Cut a large piece off in morning and put in ramekin and microwave for ten seconds until soft enough to spread but not melting.

Use this for breakfasts and do the same again later. Wouldn't use if it's been left out more than a couple of hours. I'm very fussy about my butter.

@SpudsandGravy

Hello all,

Following on from the yummy food worth paying extra for thread, how do those who use it keep 'real' i.e. block butter (not spreadable versions) usable? I always have some in a butter dish and I keep it out of the fridge, but for large parts of the year I can't use it for sandwiches etc.

What am I missing?

Titanium knife.

Sounds so twattish but it does work. It conducts the heat from your hand very quickly so is slightly "warm" after a few seconds