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To butter or not to butter

(78 Posts)
Cillafan Wed 07-Aug-24 10:56:41

Hello, when you have Brie or Camembert on a French stick, is it the done thing to butter the bread as well, or just spread the cheese on it alone ?, I don't have a clue !

Romola Thu 08-Aug-24 14:34:49

And as for people who put butter on their croissants..... have they actually ever actually looked at the recipe?

Dinahmo Thu 08-Aug-24 14:39:16

What happens if the Brie of Camembert isn't runny?

On the subject of butter does anyone have a reference between salty and not salty? I prefer salty which goes particularly well with apricot jam on toast.

Dinahmo Thu 08-Aug-24 14:41:39

Romola

And as for people who put butter on their croissants..... have they actually ever actually looked at the recipe?

Er yes? but what's wrong with extra butter?

Some French bakers use lard not butter. Taste the difference.

Joseann Thu 08-Aug-24 14:54:13

On the subject of butter does anyone have a reference between salty and not salty? I prefer salty which goes particularly well with apricot jam on toast.

Yes, Dinahmo, this one. I can't find it in the UK. I have a few packs in my freezer.

And yes, to extra butter on croissants. 😲

Joseann Thu 08-Aug-24 14:55:58

Here

Danma Thu 08-Aug-24 15:00:54

Oops, that’s a rule of etiquette I must have missed out on 😉
I’d have butter and enjoy it 🤣🤣🤣

AreWeThereYet Thu 08-Aug-24 15:04:03

Romola

And as for people who put butter on their croissants..... have they actually ever actually looked at the recipe?

Guilty yer 'onour.

Jam too shock

MissAdventure Thu 08-Aug-24 15:25:37

Oh, no!!
Is there no end to this loutish, unseemly behaviour?

I shall have to lie in a darkened room with a cold flannel on my head, now.
I have one of my headaches coming on.

widgeon3 Thu 08-Aug-24 15:52:32

Witzend
"The only U/non-U I’m aware of re bread and butter, is that you’re supposed (supposedly!) to break pieces off a bread roll before eating it (buttered or not) rather than either cutting it or biting bits off it."
This depends upon how fresh the bread roll might be. If you start sawing at a fresh warm roll with a metal knife, it causes the crumbs to clump making the cut surface have a finish like that of undercooked bread. Even my favourite French beurre d'Isigny doesn't help here
If you tear at Fresh bread, it allows the crumb to remain separate and is far more palatable when you apply whatever else you choose

sodapop Thu 08-Aug-24 16:15:55

I have very rarely been offered butter in french restaurants and I live in France. I do live in a rural area though. It may be different in more cosmopolitan cities.

Mojack26 Thu 08-Aug-24 16:18:07

I detest butter so have never used it on anything for me in my life but These are creamy cheeses so I would say not.

M0nica Thu 08-Aug-24 20:11:56

sodapop

I have very rarely been offered butter in french restaurants and I live in France. I do live in a rural area though. It may be different in more cosmopolitan cities.

The French generally eat their bread without butter every where in the country. I can count on the fingers on my foot the number of times I have been offered butter with bread in France, unless as a clear concession to British visitors who ask for it. We were given butter but no French people were.

TillyTrotter Thu 08-Aug-24 20:17:40

When the Brie is ripe and gooey, it’s all I need on French bread or wheat crackers.

Joseann Thu 08-Aug-24 20:19:17

Meanwhile in Brittany last month with 4 Breton friends. Bread and butter!

RosiesMaw2 Thu 08-Aug-24 20:28:18

Joseann

^On the subject of butter does anyone have a reference between salty and not salty? I prefer salty which goes particularly well with apricot jam on toast^.

Yes, Dinahmo, this one. I can't find it in the UK. I have a few packs in my freezer.

And yes, to extra butter on croissants. 😲

Can I recommend ALDI and also the Waitrose equivalent. .

Urmstongran Thu 08-Aug-24 20:54:55

I’m a salt fiend too Joseann. 😊

Urmstongran Thu 08-Aug-24 20:56:12

Super photo too btw!

Joseann Thu 08-Aug-24 21:10:21

Thanks RosiesMaw and Urmstongran. There's quite a few Breton butters with salt crystals too. Our French friends put a little blob on French radishes for a snackwith an aperitif. The butter is supposed to tone down the spicy flavour of the radishes.

grannybuy Thu 08-Aug-24 23:13:30

No butter with cheese for me. If making a cheese sandwich, I’d add a little mayonnaise, and tomato or cucumber, but on a cracker or oatcake, cheese only.

kittylester Fri 09-Aug-24 07:41:24

Love Waitrose salted butter and have a voucher!!!!

dustyangel Fri 09-Aug-24 08:19:41

This is probably the only time in my life that I could read a whole thread about whether to butter or not fresh crusty bread, without the immediate desire to go and eat some. 😁

Joseann Fri 09-Aug-24 08:22:55

Sorry to bang on about Brittany, but if you're over there a crêpe au beurre is de rigueur. And if you're feeling very naughty, there's a caramel butter too!
I wonder if cholesterol levels are higher in Northern France than in the Mediterranean?

LadyGracie Fri 09-Aug-24 08:31:11

I love butter, I eat it with everything I can. It's got to be real British salted butter though.

mokryna Fri 09-Aug-24 09:55:26

Speaking from France I would not mix butter with cheese on my baguette, maybe I have live too many years here. Nor would I eat butter with pâté. However, everyone to their own taste.

Mollygo Fri 09-Aug-24 10:11:14

Joseann

Sorry to bang on about Brittany, but if you're over there a crêpe au beurre is de rigueur. And if you're feeling very naughty, there's a caramel butter too!
I wonder if cholesterol levels are higher in Northern France than in the Mediterranean?

I remember those. Beurre sucré as well!
Lovely -yes. Healthy?
Mind you, in Italy a couple of weeks ago, it seemed the healthy life-style they shared with us included alcohol. At every meal except breakfast we were given an aperitif-usually Aperol and after we paid the bill, a shot of either limoncello or grappa. I’m not complaining, but next time the doc asks do you drink, I could say not usually, but in Italy, a year’s worth in a week!