bog. Firkins of such buried butter are a common archaeological find in
Ireland; the Irish National Museum has some containing "a grayish
cheese-like substance, partially hardened, not much like butter, and
quite free from putrefaction." The practice was most common in Ireland
in the 11th–14th centuries; it e;[29] and acidity measurement.[30] These and other ADSA publications helped standardize practices internationally.
Butter also served as a source of extra income for farm families. Wood presses featuring intricate decoration were used to press the butter into pucks or small bricks to be sold at a nearby market or general store with the decoration identifying the farm which produced the butter. This continued until production was mechanized and butter was produced in less decorative stick form.[31] Today butter presses continue to be used for decorative purposes.
Per capita butter consumption declined in most western nations during the 20th century, in large part because of the rising popularity of margarine, which is less expensive and, until recent years, was perceived as being healthier. In the United States, margarine consumption overtook butter during the 1950s,[32] and it is still the case today that more margarine than butter is eaten in the U.S. and the EU.[33]
Size and shape of butter packaging[edit]
In the United States, butter is usually produced in 4-ounce sticks, wrapped in waxed or foiled paper and sold four to a one-pound carton. This practice is believed to have originated in 1907, when Swift and Company began packaging butter in this manner for mass distribution.[34]
Western-pack shape butter
PCC Dairy Butter, made from Philippines' water buffalo's cream milk. (Philippine Carabao Center)
These sticks are commonly produced in two different shapes:
The dominant shape east of the Rocky Mountains is the Elgin, or Eastern-pack shape, named for a dairy in Elgin, Illinois. The sticks are 121 millimetres (4.8 in) long and 32 millimetres (1.3 in) wide and are typically sold stacked two by two in elongated cube-shaped boxes.[35]
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 80 millimetres (3.1 in) long and 38 millimetres (1.5 in) wide and are usually sold with four sticks packed side-by-side in a flat, rectangular box.[35] The shape was altered for the West Coast because of the higher average temperature; having a smaller surface-area-to-volume ratio allowed the stick of butter to remain on the counter longer without melting.[36]
Both sticks contain the same amount of butter, although most butter dishes are designed for Elgin-style butter sticks.[35]
The stick's wrapper is usually marked off as eight tablespoons (120 ml or 4.2 imp fl oz; 4.1 US fl oz); the actual volume of one stick is approximately nine tablespoons (130 ml or 4.6 imp fl oz; 4.4 US fl oz).
Outside of the United States, butter is packaged and sold by
