Toast is licensed, not sold. You are given a perpetual non-exclusive license for use of resultant toast. Upon termination of contract, you are to return all toast in its original form to the licensing entity (whoever it is this week).
My grandmother made those in her Sunbeam toaster before loading them with room-temperature butter and Laura Scudder's smooth peanut butter. (Yes, my grandmother kept butter at room temperature but refrigerated the eggs. Go figure... grandmothers.)
> My grandmother made those in her Sunbeam toaster before loading them with room-temperature butter and Laura Scudder's smooth peanut butter. (Yes, my grandmother kept butter at room temperature but refrigerated the eggs. Go figure... grandmothers.)
American commercial eggs (and this has been true for a long time) need refrigeration because thet are washed, which reduces surface pathogens but compromises the eggs natural resistance to environmental pathogens and spoilage. Meanwhile, in most climates, butter is safe out of refrigeration. So, your grandmother was doing it right.
We buy the single brick of European butter for toast and daily use. It stays in the butter bell on the counter. We also buy sticks of unsalted butter for cooking and baking. Those live in the fridge until needed. Thaw on the counter in the morning if you need it soft when cooking.
You don't keep all the butter on the counter, just one stick in a butter dish at room temp so it's spreadable.
I assume that's what you're talking about. Keeping the butter dish in the fridge at all times would be pretty strange--butter is good for weeks at room temp, far longer than a single stick is likely to last.
City folk vs country folk? Wagering a guess, chilled butter won't squash during handling so manufacturers, transporters, and retailers keep it cold? I think it's odd to keep open sticks of butter in the fridge. Spreading cold butter is a pain. Ghee is seen in stores outside of refrigerated sections.
Butter starts to go off after a few weeks at room temp, which is plenty for a single stick in the butter dish at home but mildly inconvenient for shippers and retailers, or people who like to buy staple ingredients in bulk. It lasts for many months refrigerated, though.
One cube goes in the tray, the rest stays in the fridge. Otherwise making toast for breakfast would be impossible because you'd have to wait an eternity for the butter to soften, at which point you'd be late for work/school/etc.
Take out the butter you need beforehand to thaw. Or I’ve seen people microwave for 5 seconds. My family stopped using butter outside of occasional uses years ago though due to saturated fats.
Generally, I see people using the spreadable alternative to butter though.
