unspreadable butter

newuser89

This gets me so annoyed when i try makes sambos for work and i take out some foreign butter and its rock hard and i end up tearing holes in my bread.why do so many brands have such resilient butter its just not fair on the average man.

hohojojo

its because it is probably real butter and real butter is supposed to be kept at room temp not in the fridge that is way you used to see butter dishes not really common anymore because of magarine type spreads

jeckle

Cut off a section, put in a dish & microwave for 5 to 10 seconds.

iMax

First world problems eh ?

Keep it in the press

dr.bollocko

There is spreadable softer butter now... It's 100% butter too, not butter mixed with evil crap. It's not perfect but it's an improvement.

huskerdu

I'm fascinated to know why you blame " foreign butter" for this.

Butter which is at 4 degrees in the fridge is rock hard. Its a basic fact, and always has been.

Solution

Put some butter in a butter dish and keep it out of the fridge
Buy some spreadable stuff
If you are stuck, warm a very small amount in the microwave to soften it.

emeraldstar

huskerdu wrote: »

I'm fascinated to know why you blame " foreign butter" for this.

Me too. Butter is butter.

newuser89

huskerdu wrote: »

I'm fascinated to know why you blame " foreign butter" for this.

Butter which is at 4 degrees in the fridge is rock hard. Its a basic fact, and always has been.

Solution

Put some butter in a butter dish and keep it out of the fridge
Buy some spreadable stuff
If you are stuck, warm a very small amount in the microwave to soften it.

Lidls finest is mainly the problem.with everyones help i should be able to spread in peace tonight lol

BaZmO*

Bleedin foreign Butter! Coming over here and taking our Butter's jobs!

woodchuck

As others have said, the best solution is to keep some in a butter dish out of the fridge. Spreads perfectly at room temperature! The only time this can be a problem is during a heat wave (which is rarely an issue anyway :P) when it gets TOO soft and melty. In those cases I keep it in the fridge and just give a small bit a quick blast in the microwave before I use it.

rubadub

jeckle wrote: »

Cut off a section, put in a dish & microwave for 5 to 10 seconds.

Yep, keep an eye on it, the split second I see it start to melt I turn off. Another trick its to microwave a plate with a little water on it, dump off the water and put the butter on the warm plate.

I also scrape off bits with a fork, then mash it into a plate with the fork and it sort of heats up and becomes spreadable, you can use the same fork to spread it (on toast anyways). Can also be done with a knife, just "working it", but I prefer the fork.

Mellor

So used to "spread" you called called actuall butter foreign.

To be fair this happens to me too, I like real butter but its too hot for me here to leave it out. In the fridge is goes too hard.
So I have to settle for dairy spread. Butter the odd time for certain things

Blisterman

Use a knife to spread it against the lid of the tub several times until it gets soft enough to use.

phormium

I bake a lot and find a huge difference in butter between the different supermarkets. I prefer Dunnes butter for the cake mix as it is much softer even at room temperature than the others, Lidl is rock hard and I use that for icings as it sets better when cool. Tesco is kind of in between the other two. The Dunnes packet of butter is actually quite a bit bigger than the Lidl pack, the both weigh the same, I checked! maybe there is more water left or something in the Dunnes one which would make the pack bigger and softer.

rubadub

phormium wrote: »

The Dunnes packet of butter is actually quite a bit bigger than the Lidl pack, the both weigh the same, I checked! maybe there is more water left or something in the Dunnes one which would make the pack bigger and softer.

The nutirional values would be similar if they are both genuine butters (no added water). Some spreadable butters have oil added, kerrygold use olive oil

http://www.kerrygold.com/intl/index.jsp?1nID=93&2nID=98&pID=104&nID=120

I would have guessed for genuine 100% butter which is spreadable they introduce air into the butter so it is a bigger volume and easier to spread. Sort of like a wispa bar is less dense than dairy milk bars but the same chocolate.

Being airy would make it more "workable", as I described with the fork & plate and Blisterman using the lid. I buy the blocks so have no lid, you can take a slice off, like cheese to make it more workable. Thers probably other tricks, I expect a garlic press might work, you get lots of stringy bits which would melt and spread easier.

EDIT: found this on wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butter

Several "spreadable" butters have been developed; these remain softer at colder temperatures and are therefore easier to use directly out of refrigeration. Some modify the makeup of the butter's fat through chemical manipulation of the finished product, some through manipulation of the cattle's feed, and some by incorporating vegetable oils into the butter. "Whipped" butter, another product designed to be more spreadable, is aerated via the incorporation of nitrogen gas—normal air is not used, because doing so would encourage oxidation and rancidity.

loyatemu

http://www.butterbell.com/

not sure if you can buy them locally, ebay perhaps?

rubadub

loyatemu wrote: »

http://www.butterbell.com/

not sure if you can buy them locally, ebay perhaps?

They look nice, but unless I am missing something they just predate decent sealing jars. I have an old miced garlic jar I used to keep butter in. The mini bonne maman jars would be a good size if you do not use much, or you replenish it once or twice a week. The taper on the jar make is easy to clean. Probably best kept in the dark in a cupboard or bread bin.

efb

I French Butter, you can keep your Kerrygold moustachioed angry granny