How does one eat butter? From sandwiches and scones to brioche and banana bread

To butter, or never to butter (your bread)? This is the question.

It might initially seem that there’s little to debate here. In the end, where there’s bread - be it sliced bright white, airy artisanal sourdough or hot-from-the-tandoor naan - surely butter should be in close proximity.

But is that definitely the circumstance? Does butter deserve a space at the desk or a place on your toast, whatever? Where do you retail outlet yours and how do you spread it? And what role does butter play in a sandwich, if any?

These issues are contentious ones, so let’s ease our method in and first talk about technique. Some people are forceful, straight-from-the-fridge butter spreaders, while some favour a far more pliable room-heat slather. Some grate their butter, while a few happen to be fans of the meals hack that suggests reducing fridge-sound slabs with a cheese slicer.

The lactic, creamy tang of salted butter attracts some palates, while others think mellower unsalted may be the way to go.

Some subscribe to the idea a dropped slice of toast will more often than not land butter-side down. That is a pessimistic but quite correct point of view; it’s all to do with the angle of the toast since it slips from the plate and enough time it must rotate in mid-air.

No matter how you butter yours, when eating merely bread (toasted or elsewhere), we’d argue that butter is fundamental to your greatest eating pleasure. There happen to be, as always, a few exceptions compared to that rule, specifically if the bread involved has got been pulled from the oven secs before or if smoothly swirling it in a pool of essential olive oil feels extra fitting - when offered an Italian-encouraged grazing platter, mezze desk or tapas-design menu, for example.

People that have more austere diet plan recommend that adorning a slice of golden, egg-abundant brioche with yet extra butter could be regarded gilding the lily. Considering that the majority of us don’t ingest brioche every day, though, we’re inclined to state that when the opportunity arises, you might aswell indulge yourself.

Whether that applies to baked goods that masquerade seeing as bread - eyes you, banana bread, loaf cake and so on - is another matter totally and the one which we’ll leave to personal preference. Having said that, a toasted tea cake that doesn’t drip with pools of melted butter frankly doesn’t bear considering.