If you’re traveling to France in the near future and have dreams of picking apart the delicate, flaky layers of authentic croissant, be warned that these beloved pastries may be in short supply when you get there. Why? Apparently because people are eating more butter. [More]
butter
A Company You May Not Have Even Heard Of Supplies 1/3 Of America’s Butter
By 10.6.17
Grassland Dairy Products is a 113-year-old company that has been selling butter since it was hand-churned, and currently produces more than a million tons of the stuff each year. There’s a good chance you’ve eaten Grassland Dairy products, even if you didn’t realize it. [More]
Unilever Looking To Shed Country Crock & I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter As Americans Say No To Margarine
By 4.7.17
Consumer products conglomerate Unilever wants to sell its butter substitutes, which include Country Crock and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter in the United States, to another company. Why would it want to get rid of two such recognizable brands? Sales aren’t great, because Americans and consumers in other developed countries are losing their taste for buttery spreads. [More]
Dunkin’ Donuts Franchises Settle Lawsuits Over Butter Substitute
By 3.31.17 — Updated: 4.5.17
When you ask for a buttered bagel, what do you mean? Do you want a spread made from the milk of cows, or would you be fine with any spreadable facsimile thereof? A man who wanted the former sued Dunkin’ Donuts last year after getting a bagel that was slathered in butter substitute, and will now receive a settlement in the case. [More]
The Slow Business Of Fast Food: Why It Takes McDonald’s 6 Months To Change 1 Ingredient
By 6.22.16
Why does it take three years for Wendy’s to create a new summer salad? Why did McDonald’s spend decades not listening to customers who wanted all-day breakfast? Even a seemingly simple change, like moving from margarine to butter, requires at least six months for the Golden Arches to make. [More]
8 Gadgets Devoted Solely To Spreading Butter On Stuff
By 6.16.16
You know what would make that bread better, that corn on the cob more delectable, that muffing more muffin-y? Butter. Yet apparently so many people have difficulty spreading butter evenly that multiple companies have come up with supposed solutions to this age-old problem. [More]
The U.S. Has A Giant Cheese Surplus And Unfortunately, This Is A Bad Thing
By 5.2.16
In many cases, having too much cheese is the kind of problem that can be solved by pointing me in the direction of that dairy and letting nature take its course. But the surplus cheese and butter situation the U.S. now finds itself in won’t be sorted out so easily. [More]
Yes, You Can Freeze Milk, Eggs, And Cheese For Later Use
By 1.16.15
Yes, buying items in bulk definitely saves money, but what if you don’t use five gallons of milk per week? If you have the storage space in your freezer, it can be a good way to save trips to the store and get even more savings out of your membership to a bulk-buying club like BJ’s or Costco. [More]
Everyone Is Really Into Eating Butter Right Now, Sending Prices Soaring
By 9.2.14
When it comes to fatty spreads, it seems butter’s popularity is climbing these days. But because the butter industry can’t keep up with the spike in demand, you could be facing higher prices at the store. [More]
After Being Called Out Publicly, Joe’s Crab Shack Says It Should Be 100% Trans Fat-Free This Summer
By 4.17.14
Yesterday, restaurant chain Joe’s Crab Shack was called out by the Center for Science in the Public Interest for continuing to use margarine with a high level of trans fat, in spite of claims made on the eatery’s menu that Joe’s doesn’t use the controversial oils. In response, the company says it plans to get rid of this last bit of trans fat in the coming months. [More]
Health Advocates Say Joe’s Crab Shack Is Breaking Its “No Trans Fat” Promise
By 4.16.14
Seven years ago, the new owners of the 130-location Joe’s Crab Shack restaurant chain promised to completely stop using controversial artificial trans fats in the cooking of its menu items. But the folks at the Center for Science in the Public Interest say Joe’s is breaking this promise by serving up heaps of trans fat-heavy margarine on some dishes. [More]
Don’t Put Your Bread In The Fridge & Other Important Food Storage Tips
By 3.29.14 — Updated: 10.26.16
We’ve all got a somewhat innate sense of where to store the foods we eat in our modern cultures — you’re not going to stick your ice cream in the pantry and expect it to stay frozen, or freeze your fresh apples. But what about butter — countertop or refrigerator? Should I really use that “eggs” slot on the inside of my fridge door? Answer us, oh kitchen gods! [More]
We Tried Grilled Cheese Fried In Mayo And It Is Delicious
By 2.13.14 — Updated: 4.12.17
Odds are many of you out there in this vast country of ours are looking out the window and seeing a snowy/sleety/icy/otherwise yucky wintry landscape. What’s better than a warm, gooey grilled cheese on a day like today? Maybe a grilled cheese fried not in butter or olive oil, as you might be accustomed to, but in (drumroll, please)… mayonnaise. [More]
Dunkin’ Donuts Commits Crime Against Dairy, Sells “Buttered” Bagel With Margarine
By 9.30.13 — Updated: 3.31.17
A Dunkin’ Donuts customer asked for a buttered bagel. Is “buttered” the past tense of the act of spreading a congealed yellow substance on a bagel, or an adjective that describes the bagel itself after dairy-based butter has been applied to it? No, this is a real consumer question. Stop laughing. [More]
We’re Totally Unsurprised That Paula “Put A Glob Of Butter On It” Deen Has Her Own Butter Brand
By 6.6.13
Here’s the thing about Paula Deen: Anyone who’s watched her cooking on TV knows that the woman loves, and we mean loves to add dabs, globs and ginormous pats of butter to many of her recipes. So while we were momentarily confused by her paid endorsement of a diabetes management program, she’s back to doing what she does best — butter, by way of slapping her face and name on her very own butter brand to be sold at Walmart. [More]
Norway Is Running Out Of Butter Amidst High-Fat Dieting Fad
By 12.12.11
Fat-happy Norwegians seem to have eaten themselves into a corner, and that corner is bereft of butter. A popular fat-rich fad diet sweeping the country is turning into a butter shortage that could affect Christmastime baking. [More]
Wisconsin Rep Seeks To Repeal Anti-Margarine Law
By 10.5.11
A Wisconsin state legislative rep who Googled “Stupid Wisconsin Laws” has introduced a bill to overturn one of the dumbest ones he found: a law that forbids “colored margarine” from being served at a restaurant unless a customer asks for it. [More]
The Dunkin' Donuts Buttered Bagel Battle
By 4.28.11
Sometimes, the ripoffs that are the most frustrating are the smallest ones: small transactions that are repeated thousands of times and eventually add up to some real money. Brian has one such issue with his local Dunkin’ Donuts outlets: they keep charging him too much for a bagel with butter. Seems petty, doesn’t it? They charge him for a bagel with spread, then charge separately for the butter, at a difference of $1 for every bagel. If he buys a bagel five days a week, fifty weeks a year, that’s $250 over the course of a year. He could be halfway to buying an iPad, just on butter overcharges. [More]
