Thread: Re: butter

"Dave Bugg" <[email protected]> dropped this
news:uY%zj.3544$4D2.2852@trndny06: in rec.food.cooking

> Tracy wrote:
>> http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food...amy_rich_and.h
>> tml
>>
>> or
>>
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/ypzgwr
>>
>>
>> At least it is still a pound package.
>
> I may be missing something, but what's the big deal? Sounds like a
> good idea to me. I hate having to re-wrap a messy portion of butter
> from which I have taken a measure.

It's a non issue here as well. Sometimes I'll make clarified butter out
of the bits and pieces if I accumulate enough.

Michael



--
"Ingredients as fresh as they were 27 years ago."
— Slogan of the Biscuitville restaurant.

To email - michael at lonergan dot us dot com

"Dave Bugg" <[email protected]> wrote

> I may be missing something, but what's the big deal? Sounds like a good
> idea to me. I hate having to re-wrap a messy portion of butter from which
> I have taken a measure.

The most important thing is those little sticks of butter are
so darned cute!!

Also, my store is having Land O Lakes butter $2 a pound
this week, maybe they're getting rid of the inventory of
1/4 pound sticks. Okay with me.

nancy

On Thu, 6 Mar 2008 19:40:40 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:

> "Dave Bugg" <[email protected]> wrote
>
>> I may be missing something, but what's the big deal? Sounds like a good
>> idea to me. I hate having to re-wrap a messy portion of butter from which
>> I have taken a measure.
>
> The most important thing is those little sticks of butter are
> so darned cute!!
>
> Also, my store is having Land O Lakes butter $2 a pound
> this week, maybe they're getting rid of the inventory of
> 1/4 pound sticks. Okay with me.

I just bought 4lbs of butter at Costco for $1.53/lb. I think I'm
making croque monsieurs for dinner...

-sw

In article <[email protected] 1>,
"Michael \"Dog3\"" <don'[email protected]> wrote:

> "Dave Bugg" <[email protected]> dropped this
> news:uY%zj.3544$4D2.2852@trndny06: in rec.food.cooking
>
> > Tracy wrote:
> >> http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food...amy_rich_and.h
> >> tml
> >>
> >> or
> >>
> >>
> >> http://tinyurl.com/ypzgwr
> >>
> >>
> >> At least it is still a pound package.
> >
> > I may be missing something, but what's the big deal? Sounds like a
> > good idea to me. I hate having to re-wrap a messy portion of butter
> > from which I have taken a measure.
>
> It's a non issue here as well. Sometimes I'll make clarified butter out
> of the bits and pieces if I accumulate enough.

Total non-issue in New Zealand, as butter is available in 500g "metric
pound" or 250g "metric half-pound" blocks. If you want any amount less
than that you have to cut if off the block and either use it or put it
on a dish. None of this farting about with "sticks".

Miche

--
Electricians do it in three phases

In article <[email protected]>,
Sqwertz <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Thu, 6 Mar 2008 20:36:44 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:
>
> > "Sqwertz" <[email protected]> wrote
> >
> >> On Thu, 6 Mar 2008 19:40:40 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:
> >
> >>> Also, my store is having Land O Lakes butter $2 a pound
> >>> this week, maybe they're getting rid of the inventory of
> >>> 1/4 pound sticks. Okay with me.
> >>
> >> I just bought 4lbs of butter at Costco for $1.53/lb. I think I'm
> >> making croque monsieurs for dinner...
> >
> > You like the Costco butter? I remember you had questions.
>
> Good memory. I've had trouble using it for candy-making -
> getting it up to toffee temps. I've had three successive failed
> attempts using that butter, but this christmas I bought store
> brand butter (HEB brand), and I made 3 or 4 batches without
> incident.
>
> Other than that, Costco butter has served me well for all other
> uses.

Huh. I wonder if it's had water added to it. Some butter does, and I
regard it as a nasty trick.

Miche

--
Electricians do it in three phases

On Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:16:43 -0800, Blinky the Shark
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>Hey, back in the day didn't butter come in sticks longer than today's
>little 3.25" stubbies? Seems like maybe they were half-pound sticks --
>same cross section but twice as long. I used marge for many years; when I
>came back to butter it seems like this change had happened. Or am I
>misremembering? Or is this a regional thing? In the middle there, I did
>move to the other end of the country.

Butter used to come in two half pound "slabs". Think the shape of two
undivided quarter pound sticks in today's shape. I still have a
butter dish for them (intact).

I don't buy brand name butter anymore, so I'd like to know if everyone
is getting rid of the tablespoon marks on the wrapper - or is that
limited to store brands?

--
See return address to reply by email
remove the smile first

sf wrote:

> On Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:16:43 -0800, Blinky the Shark
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>Hey, back in the day didn't butter come in sticks longer than today's
>>little 3.25" stubbies? Seems like maybe they were half-pound sticks --
>>same cross section but twice as long. I used marge for many years; when I
>>came back to butter it seems like this change had happened. Or am I
>>misremembering? Or is this a regional thing? In the middle there, I did
>>move to the other end of the country.
>
> Butter used to come in two half pound "slabs". Think the shape of two
> undivided quarter pound sticks in today's shape. I still have a
> butter dish for them (intact).

I sure don't remember those.

> I don't buy brand name butter anymore, so I'd like to know if everyone
> is getting rid of the tablespoon marks on the wrapper - or is that
> limited to store brands?

Store brand here. Marked in TSPs and 1/4, 1/3 and 1/2-cup portions.


--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org
Blinky: http://blinkynet.net

sf wrote:

> On Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:16:43 -0800, Blinky the Shark
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>Hey, back in the day didn't butter come in sticks longer than today's
>>little 3.25" stubbies? Seems like maybe they were half-pound sticks --
>>same cross section but twice as long. I used marge for many years; when I
>>came back to butter it seems like this change had happened. Or am I
>>misremembering? Or is this a regional thing? In the middle there, I did
>>move to the other end of the country.
>
> Butter used to come in two half pound "slabs". Think the shape of two
> undivided quarter pound sticks in today's shape. I still have a
> butter dish for them (intact).

I was right, according to wiki (which I quote below).

It's regional.

I spent about the first half of my life in Michigan:

"The dominant shape east of the Rocky Mountains is the Elgin, or
Eastern-pack shape. This shape was originally developed by the Elgin
Butter Tub Company, founded in 1882 in Elgin, Illinois and Rock Falls,
Illinois. The sticks are 4.75" long and 1.25" wide, and are usually sold
in somewhat cubical boxes stacked 2x2."

Then I moved to California;

"West of the Rocky Mountains, butter printers standardized on a different
shape that is now referred to as the Western-Pack shape. These butter
sticks are 3.125" long and 1.5" wide and are typically sold packed
side-by-side in a rectangular container."

So I grew up with thinner, longer ones (by 1 5/8 inches), albeit they
weren't as long as I thought I remembered them.


--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org
Blinky: http://blinkynet.net

On Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:03:53 -0800, Blinky the Shark
<[email protected]> wrote:

>sf wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:16:43 -0800, Blinky the Shark
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>Hey, back in the day didn't butter come in sticks longer than today's
>>>little 3.25" stubbies? Seems like maybe they were half-pound sticks --
>>>same cross section but twice as long. I used marge for many years; when I
>>>came back to butter it seems like this change had happened. Or am I
>>>misremembering? Or is this a regional thing? In the middle there, I did
>>>move to the other end of the country.
>>
>> Butter used to come in two half pound "slabs". Think the shape of two
>> undivided quarter pound sticks in today's shape. I still have a
>> butter dish for them (intact).
>
>I was right, according to wiki (which I quote below).
>
>It's regional.
>
>I spent about the first half of my life in Michigan:
>
>"The dominant shape east of the Rocky Mountains is the Elgin, or
>Eastern-pack shape. This shape was originally developed by the Elgin
>Butter Tub Company, founded in 1882 in Elgin, Illinois and Rock Falls,
>Illinois. The sticks are 4.75" long and 1.25" wide, and are usually sold
>in somewhat cubical boxes stacked 2x2."
>
>Then I moved to California;
>
>"West of the Rocky Mountains, butter printers standardized on a different
>shape that is now referred to as the Western-Pack shape. These butter
>sticks are 3.125" long and 1.5" wide and are typically sold packed
>side-by-side in a rectangular container."
>
>So I grew up with thinner, longer ones (by 1 5/8 inches), albeit they
>weren't as long as I thought I remembered them.

Blinky, I was brought up in Michigan too (so, you're a freshwater
shark?)... but my mom used margarine back in those days, so I have no
point of reference.

I've seen skinny sticks of butter, but it was here in California and I
thought they were trying to mimic European butter (what do I know?).

--
See return address to reply by email
remove the smile first

On Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:31:37 +1300, Miche wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>,
> Sqwertz <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 6 Mar 2008 20:36:44 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:
>>
>>> "Sqwertz" <[email protected]> wrote
>>>
>>>> On Thu, 6 Mar 2008 19:40:40 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:
>>>
>>>>> Also, my store is having Land O Lakes butter $2 a pound
>>>>> this week, maybe they're getting rid of the inventory of
>>>>> 1/4 pound sticks. Okay with me.
>>>>
>>>> I just bought 4lbs of butter at Costco for $1.53/lb. I think I'm
>>>> making croque monsieurs for dinner...
>>>
>>> You like the Costco butter? I remember you had questions.
>>
>> Good memory. I've had trouble using it for candy-making -
>> getting it up to toffee temps. I've had three successive failed
>> attempts using that butter, but this christmas I bought store
>> brand butter (HEB brand), and I made 3 or 4 batches without
>> incident.
>>
>> Other than that, Costco butter has served me well for all other
>> uses.
>
> Huh. I wonder if it's had water added to it. Some butter does, and I
> regard it as a nasty trick.

Well, by law, butter must be at least 80% butterfat. And almost
all of them declare 80-83%. I doubt the dairies that cater to
CostCo would risk a few percent butterfat at the risk of losing
the account.

The minimal differences in water content (up to +/- 5-7%)
wouldn't really affect candymaking that much - it would just take
longer to come up to temp.

The problem I was having is that the at about 260-270F, the
butter would separate back out from the sugar.

-sw

"Nancy Young" <[email protected]> dropped this
news:[email protected]: in rec.food.cooking

>
> The most important thing is those little sticks of butter are
> so darned cute!!

LOL... Yeah, until you plop it in a pan and melt it

>
> Also, my store is having Land O Lakes butter $2 a pound
> this week, maybe they're getting rid of the inventory of
> 1/4 pound sticks. Okay with me.

So how much butter you gonna buy?

Michael


--
"Ingredients as fresh as they were 27 years ago."
— Slogan of the Biscuitville restaurant.

To email - michael at lonergan dot us dot com

Miche <[email protected]> dropped this news:micheinnz-
[email protected]: in rec.food.cooking

> In article <[email protected]>,
> Sqwertz <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> Other than that, Costco butter has served me well for all other
>> uses.
>
> Huh. I wonder if it's had water added to it. Some butter does, and I
> regard it as a nasty trick.
>
> Miche

I'm not real picky about the brand of butter I'm buying. I think if I baked
a lot of things that require butter I'd be pissier about it. The moisture
content of butter is about the only thing I really concern myself with
because of sauces etc. that I make with it. Shop 'N Save butter can be had
fairly reasonably when it's on sale.

Michael



--
"Ingredients as fresh as they were 27 years ago."
— Slogan of the Biscuitville restaurant.

To email - michael at lonergan dot us dot com

Blinky the THIEF wrote:
> sf wrote:
> > On Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:16:43 -0800, Blinky the Shark
> > <no.s...@box.invalid> wrote:
>
> >>Hey, back in the day didn't butter come in sticks longer than today's
> >>little 3.25" stubbies? �Seems like maybe they were half-pound sticks --
> >>same cross section but twice as long. �I used marge for many years; when I
> >>came back to butter it seems like this change had happened. �Or am I
> >>misremembering? �Or is this a regional thing? �In the middle there, I did
> >>move to the other end of the country.
>
> > Butter used to come in two half pound "slabs". �Think the shape of two
> > undivided quarter pound sticks in today's shape. �I still have a
> > butter dish for them (intact).
>
> I was right, according to wiki (which I quote below).
>
> It's regional.
>
> I spent about the first half of my life in Michigan:
>
> "The dominant shape east of the Rocky Mountains is the Elgin, or
> Eastern-pack shape. This shape was originally developed by the Elgin
> Butter Tub Company, founded in 1882 in Elgin, Illinois and Rock Falls,
> Illinois. The sticks are 4.75" long and 1.25" wide, and are usually sold
> in somewhat cubical boxes stacked 2x2."
>
> Then I moved to California;
>
> "West of the Rocky Mountains, butter printers standardized on a different
> shape that is now referred to as the Western-Pack shape. These butter
> sticks are 3.125" long and 1.5" wide and are typically sold packed
> side-by-side in a rectangular container."
>
> So I grew up with thinner, longer ones (by 1 5/8 inches), albeit they
> weren't as long as I thought I remembered them.

When you post information that you gleaned off the net it's honest to
include attributions.

You stole all that from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butter

Blinky the THIEF

Sheldon wrote:
> Blinky the THIEF wrote:
>> sf wrote:
>>> On Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:16:43 -0800, Blinky the Shark
>>> <no.s...@box.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>>> Hey, back in the day didn't butter come in sticks longer than
>>>> today's little 3.25" stubbies? ?Seems like maybe they were
>>>> half-pound sticks -- same cross section but twice as long. ?I used
>>>> marge for many years; when I came back to butter it seems like
>>>> this change had happened. ?Or am I misremembering? ?Or is this a
>>>> regional thing? ?In the middle there, I did move to the other end
>>>> of the country.
>>
>>> Butter used to come in two half pound "slabs". ?Think the shape of
>>> two undivided quarter pound sticks in today's shape. ?I still have a
>>> butter dish for them (intact).
>>
>> I was right, according to wiki (which I quote below).
>>
>> It's regional.
>>
>> I spent about the first half of my life in Michigan:
>>
>> "The dominant shape east of the Rocky Mountains is the Elgin, or
>> Eastern-pack shape. This shape was originally developed by the Elgin
>> Butter Tub Company, founded in 1882 in Elgin, Illinois and Rock
>> Falls, Illinois. The sticks are 4.75" long and 1.25" wide, and are
>> usually sold in somewhat cubical boxes stacked 2x2."
>>
>> Then I moved to California;
>>
>> "West of the Rocky Mountains, butter printers standardized on a
>> different shape that is now referred to as the Western-Pack shape.
>> These butter sticks are 3.125" long and 1.5" wide and are typically
>> sold packed side-by-side in a rectangular container."
>>
>> So I grew up with thinner, longer ones (by 1 5/8 inches), albeit they
>> weren't as long as I thought I remembered them.
>
> When you post information that you gleaned off the net it's honest to
> include attributions.
>
> You stole all that from:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butter
>
> Blinky the THIEF

Shellie the blind. Read ALL of his post!

">> I was right, according to wiki (which I quote below)."

"Michael "Dog3"" <don'[email protected]> wrote

> "Nancy Young" <[email protected]> dropped this

>> Also, my store is having Land O Lakes butter $2 a pound
>> this week, maybe they're getting rid of the inventory of
>> 1/4 pound sticks. Okay with me.
>
> So how much butter you gonna buy?

At least five pounds ... maybe more later in the week if I
wind up there. What really holds me back is that those
pounds of butter take up a lot of freezer room after a while.

nancy

"Dave Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> Dave Bugg wrote:
>
>>
>> > At least it is still a pound package.
>>
>> I may be missing something, but what's the big deal? Sounds
>> like a good idea
>> to me. I hate having to re-wrap a messy portion of butter
>> from which I have
>> taken a measure.
>
>
> FWIW. most butter here is sold in one pound blocks. Some of
> the better quality
> butters are also sold in half pound blocks. Not surprisingly,
> they are half as
> big as the one pound blocks. Very few brands are sold in
> sticks. In the grocery
> store where I usually shop they have 5 or 6 brands of butter,
> some of which
> sell salted and unsalted. Two of them also sell half pound
> sizes. Only one
> (premium) brand comes in boxes of sticks, both salted and
> unsalted.

A small request :-) Could people who use the word "here" check
that it is apparent where it is? I only found out that Dave
Smith was talking about Canada when I saw his address as I began
to compose this response. I could have asked for details of the
message too, I suppose, but that's extra work too.



--
Jim Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

On Mar 6, 7:08*pm, Sqwertz <swe...@cluemail.compost> wrote:
> On Thu, 6 Mar 2008 20:36:44 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:
> > "Sqwertz" <swe...@cluemail.compost> wrote
>
> >> On Thu, 6 Mar 2008 19:40:40 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:
>
> >>> Also, my store is having Land O Lakes butter $2 a pound
> >>> this week, maybe they're getting rid of the inventory of
> >>> 1/4 pound sticks. *Okay with me.
>
> >> I just bought 4lbs of butter at Costco for $1.53/lb. *I think I'm
> >> making croque monsieurs for dinner...
>
> > You like the Costco butter? *I remember you had questions.
>
> Good memory. *I've had trouble using it for candy-making -
> getting it up to toffee temps. *I've had three successive failed
> attempts using that butter, but this christmas I bought store
> brand butter (HEB brand), and I made 3 or 4 batches without
> incident.
>
> Other than that, Costco butter has served me well for all other
> uses.
>
> -sw

You should be using unsalted...

James Silverton wrote:

>
> >
> > FWIW. most butter here is sold in one pound blocks. Some of
> > the better quality
> > butters are also sold in half pound blocks. Not surprisingly,
> > they are half as
> > big as the one pound blocks. Very few brands are sold in
> > sticks. In the grocery
> > store where I usually shop they have 5 or 6 brands of butter,
> > some of which
> > sell salted and unsalted. Two of them also sell half pound
> > sizes. Only one
> > (premium) brand comes in boxes of sticks, both salted and
> > unsalted.
>
> A small request :-) Could people who use the word "here" check
> that it is apparent where it is? I only found out that Dave
> Smith was talking about Canada when I saw his address as I began
> to compose this response. I could have asked for details of the
> message too, I suppose, but that's extra work too.

Aside from the fact that, like a lot of people here, I am on the RFC
map, have frequently said that I live in the Niagara Peninsula, and my
address has that identifying .ca, I am not sure that it really mattes
where I live. The fact remains that around here ( Niagara Peninsula of
southern Ontario, Canada) the vast majority of butter is sold in grocery
stores is 1 lb. blocks.

Dave wrote on Fri, 07 Mar 2008 17:59:56 -0500:

??>>> FWIW. most butter here is sold in one pound blocks. Some
??>>> of the better quality butters are also sold in half pound
??>>> blocks. Not surprisingly, they are half as big as the one
??>>> pound blocks. Very few brands are sold in sticks. In the
??>>> grocery store where I usually shop they have 5 or 6
??>>> brands of butter, some of which sell salted and unsalted.
??>>> Two of them also sell half pound sizes. Only
??>>> one (premium) brand comes in boxes of sticks, both
??>>> salted and unsalted.
??>>
??>> A small request :-) Could people who use the word "here"
??>> check that it is apparent where it is? I only found out
??>> that Dave Smith was talking about Canada when I saw his
??>> address as I began to compose this response. I could have
??>> asked for details of the message too, I suppose, but
??>> that's extra work too.

D>Aside from the fact that, like a lot of people here, I am on
D>the RFCmap, have frequently said that I live in the Niagara
D>Peninsula, and myaddress has that identifying .ca, I am not
D>sure that it really matteswhere I live. The fact remains that
D>around here ( Niagara Peninsula ofsouthern Ontario, Canada)
D>the vast majority of butter is sold in grocerystores is 1 lb.
D>blocks.

..


I was just interested in where butter was sold in 1 lb blocks: a
reasonable request, I thought. I certainly don't think I am so
famous that everyone knows where I live nor that my address will
appear with the post :-)

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not