How do you use a butter knife?

[tomBitonti]

Since we are into details ... Jam, Jelly, and Preserves are different:

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/question84.htm

Jelly, jam and preserves are all made from fruit mixed with sugar and pectin. The difference between them comes in the form that the fruit takes.

In jelly, the fruit comes in the form of fruit juice.

In jam, the fruit comes in the form of fruit pulp or crushed fruit (and is less stiff than jelly as a result).

In preserves, the fruit comes in the form of chunks in a syrup or a jam.

Pectin is an indigestible carbohydrate (fiber). It is found in the cell walls of most fruit. When heated with sugar in water, it gels, giving jam, jelly and preserves their thickness.

Jell-O is entirely different. It is made from gelatin, which is a protein made from animal skins and bones. For information on gelatin, see this Question of the Day.

Jellies are usually clear / transparent, with no obvious fruit bits, while jams usually have quite a bit of fruit "flesh" in them and are more paste-like.

Thx!

TomB

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Going back to butter & cheese...

1) I'm an American and I like butter on certain sandwiches, usually those that are grilled or on toasted bread. One spectacular sandwich I had in Moscow was buttered (non-toasted) pumpernickel with cilantro and smoked salmon. That was it.

2) grilled cheese: while Velveeta or American cheese tend to be the norm, they're not the only ones I use. A nice Gouda- especially a smoked one- makes for a pleasurable experience. I have also mixed cheddar with parrano and swiss. Butterkäse makes for an interesting change of pace as well. And a place near my house makes what they call their "BLT"- a grilled Brie, lettuce and tomato sandwich.

 

[tomBitonti]

To say, while as an American, I never put butter on sandwiches, I did find Jambon-beurre (ham with butter on a baguette) to be quite amazingly good:

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jambon-beurre

The page describes this as the "most consumed food in France"!

Thx!

TomB

 

[billd91]

2) grilled cheese: while Velveeta or American cheese tend to be the norm, they're not the only ones I use. A nice Gouda- especially a smoked one- makes for a pleasurable experience. I have also mixed cheddar with parrano and swiss. Butterkäse makes for an interesting change of pace as well. And a place near my house makes what they call their "BLT"- a grilled Brie, lettuce and tomato sandwich.

Smoked Gouda also makes for a fantastic macaroni and cheese.

 

[billd91]

As for cheddar not being orange, that's news to me. though not all cheddars are orange. I suspect it might be a coloring the Wisconites induce to brainwash us into thinking only real cheese is orange.

Or I could be wrong.

You can't blame us for introducing orange Cheddar. That's been going on, apparently, since the 1860s in the UK.

You can blame us for making orange Colby cheese... but then, we're responsible for Colby cheese in general.

 

[Morrus]

Red Leicester is orange. I don't ever recall seeing orange Cheddar

 

[Janx]

Red Leicester is orange. I don't ever recall seeing orange Cheddar

Wisconsin apparently invented orange Cheddar (per billd91 who was kind enough to break his oath of silence from the Order of the Wheel of Cheese).


Side note: Wisconsin takes its dairy, butter and cheese heritage VERY seriously. When margarine was invented, they apparently passed a law requiring butter to be served at every meal in restaurants, in order to promote their own product in the state.

Side Side Note: Minnesota (where i am from) is also a dairy making state, but like our football team, we don't take it as seriously as the Wisconites do. As such, we are prone to using Wisconsin as the butt of many jokes.

Also, just to be clear, "American Cheese" to us Americans refers to a specific "bland" cheese product, usually served in slices for sandwiches (ala Kraft Cheese slices). The term would be inappropriate to use to refer to all cheese made in America (per the states that are VERY proud of their cheese making heritage and don't want their product associated with the specific product called "American Cheese"

I can't say if these places in America make cheese that is as highly regarded as european cheeses (which also often include their place of origin in the product name), but the people making them are proud of their heritage and have probably been making these cheese flavors since before their respective state was admitted to the union (meaning some of these cheese lines are older than what we consider Antique furniture).

 

[Storminator]

Grilled cheese or ham and cheese requires butter, as does grilled bacon and cheese, roast beef and cheese and . . . . .

I typically use mayonnaise or bacon grease instead of butter.

PS

 

[jonesy]

I don't understand mayonnaise. It doesn't taste like anything to me. It just creates a creamy surface texture. If someone offers me food that already has it I don't mind. But I'd never use it myself. And no, I've never tried american mayo, so maybe that's something different. Over here they sometimes sell it with different added flavours, which just makes it weirder since then I could just use the foodstuffs that normally have that flavour instead. Like, wasabi mayo? Why not just use wasabi?

 

[Quartz]

When you use a butter knife to apply something, (butter, nutella, jelly, etc.), to a slice of bread, which side of the knife do you use?

Neither. I use the butter knife to cut the butter and transfer some of it to my side plate. I then use my knife to butter my bread or toast. Jelly, marmalade, etc are handled similarly but with a spoon.