# An Ode To Butter **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505 "2011-03-30T13:29:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/1 "2011-03-30T13:29:06Z")
Let us take just a moment and acknowledge the splendor and awesomeness that is butter. Sweet/salty, creamy, spread of bread, caresser of pancakes, nectar of noodles. Is it not your favorite fat? Is it not nature’s soft gold? Take all your bright yellow margarines, your obnoxious oleos, your “buttery” spreads and put them on the next moon rocket. You say you Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter? I damn sure can. In fact, I Can’t Believe You Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. Keep that unspreadable ointment far from my focaccia, allow it not to molest my muffin, it shall not pass over my pumpernickel. Give me instead my soft-churned happy crème de la crème, my lobster’s lake, my erotic emulsion that will caress my crumpet like a lover. My dear butter, there is no utter. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/2 "2011-03-30T13:48:27Z")
You may wish to take a look at [this site](http://www.igourmet.com/search/search.asp?keywords=butter). ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/3 "2011-03-30T14:05:54Z")
I’ve been buying [hand-rolled butter](http://blogs.citypages.com/food/2009/12/local_goods_han.php), and it’s amazing. Forget that review - it is not just slightly different than the butter he compares it to, it’s WAY different. It’s like butter plus plus. Highly recommended, if you can find it. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/4 "2011-03-30T14:13:23Z")
Buttered toast is one of the most divine basic foods imaginable. And there’s simply no single right to exist for the abomination that is margarine. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/5 "2011-03-30T14:20:31Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Is it not your favorite fat? No, olive oil. But I like good, real butter too. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/6 "2011-03-30T14:42:54Z")
Peppery olive oil mixed with melted butter on popcorn. Oh yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/7 "2011-03-30T15:32:06Z")
I loves me some butter, but mustard is mean! Seriously, butter is worth buying. There is no spread compared to it. In times of deepest poverty, oatmeal with butter and sugar was one of my favorites. The first five days I had the cast on my arm, I was not hungry and ate very little. The sixth day, I was in the grocery and saw a sale on whole grain bread. Mmmmmm…whole grain bread with butter. I bought both, and sat outside in the freezing cold chowing down. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/8 "2011-03-30T16:01:13Z")
For me, it’s all about European-style cultured butter. Rich, creamy, with a little bit of tang. My widely available go-to is Lurpak. Better still is Vermont Butter & Cheese’s cultured butter. Plugra, if you can find it, is also pretty good, although I don’t think it’s actually cultured, just has some flavorings added (like lactic acid) to mimic the cultured taste. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/9 "2011-03-30T16:23:10Z")
Butter and olive oil are definitely worth the calories. Butter substitutes are vile substances that do not belong near an actual human’s mouth. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/10 "2011-03-30T17:47:43Z")
Damn, that igourmet is food porn … I would be off in the kitchen but i may hit my bunk instead @\_@ ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/11 "2011-03-30T20:54:59Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Damn, that igourmet is food porn … I would be off in the kitchen but i may hit my bunk instead @\_@ No shit. They now carry Queijo de Serra cheese, which I haven’t had since living in Portugal. But they want $40 for a pound of it. But it’s damn near worth it, I can tell you. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/12 "2011-03-31T01:46:47Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > For me, it’s all about European-style cultured butter. Rich, creamy, with a little bit of tang. My widely available go-to is Lurpak. Better still is Vermont Butter & Cheese’s cultured butter. Plugra, if you can find it, is also pretty good, although I don’t think it’s actually cultured, just has some flavorings added (like lactic acid) to mimic the cultured taste. Yes, yes, YES, OH, GOD YES! ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/13 "2011-03-31T10:54:17Z")
/me offers Runs With Scissors a cigarette ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/14 "2011-03-31T11:08:16Z")
Making your own butter is remarkably easy, too. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/15 "2011-03-31T12:44:08Z")
My Mom frequently wore a T-Shirt [exclaiming](http://www.jeanesadorableadoptables.com/listings/images/an-pin-butter.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/16 "2011-03-31T13:11:14Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > For me, it’s all about European-style cultured butter. Rich, creamy, with a little bit of tang. My widely available go-to is Lurpak. Better still is Vermont Butter & Cheese’s cultured butter. Plugra, if you can find it, is also pretty good, although I don’t think it’s actually cultured, just has some flavorings added (like lactic acid) to mimic the cultured taste. > [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](#): > > Yes, yes, YES, OH, GOD YES! Just FYI - the above mention hand-rolled butter beats all of the above. Really. You gotta find this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/17 "2011-03-31T14:35:58Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Just FYI - the above mention hand-rolled butter beats all of the above. Really. You gotta find this stuff. I’ll be on the lookout for it. Rochdale Farms, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/18 "2011-03-31T14:54:09Z")
I was raised on butter, but turned to margarine when I got out on my own, seduced by its low, low price. I splurged one time and switched back to butter on an impulse, even though I really couldn’t afford it at the time. I’ve never gone back. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/19 "2011-03-31T15:37:29Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Making your own butter is remarkably easy, too. _Remarkably_ easy. A few days ago we were making waffles but had no butter. I dimly remembered making butter in grade school, had some heavy cream on hand, so figured I’d give it a shot. Just ten minutes a touch of experimentation later (started in a blender, then moved to hand mixer and a couple different sized bowls), and there was awesome buttery goodness in the house–so simple!! Now that I know how easy and quick it is, I can’t wait to try baking some bread and preparing some herbed butters to go with it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505/20 "2011-03-31T15:41:09Z")
I thought there would be an actual ode to butter in this thread. \*O, Butter! Thou art so creamy! Thou spreadest upon my toast and muffins And mixeth tastily with my Vegemite! Thy richness doth imbue mine potatoes With silky goodness And thou floatest upon clam chowder Like unctuous gravy! Butter! Butter! Indispensable for omelettes! And too, for the white and fluffy Sweet potato! Butter! Thou art the King of Spreads!\* [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ode-to-butter/576505.md?page=2)