Butter producers

[Brad Ballinger]

I looked in both the Cooking and Pastry & Baking forums, and couldn't find mention of this topic (at least not with "butter" in the topic title).

It seems to me that the sticks of butter I purchase in the store lately have less than 8 tablespoons per stick. I have not actually weighed the "pound" of butter I buy, so I don't have any scientific support for this claim. But, solely using the tablespoon markings on the wrapping as my "measurement standard," It seems I'm getting short-changed.

So two questions, I guess. 1) Can I trust the tablespoon markings? 2) Am I indeed getting less that 8 tablespoons per stick?

This isn't just smaller portions being packaged (such as ice cream "shrinking" from a half gallon to 1.75 quarts). At least those tell me the portion has shrunk. With butter, it appears to me I'm getting 7.5 tablespoons packaged as 8.

[srhcb]

Is the butter marked for sale by weight or volume?

SB (maybe you're getting 6.5% denser butter )

Edited May 30, 2007 by srhcb (log)

[Brad Ballinger]

I'm pretty sure it's sold by the pound, and I'm making the assumption one pound = 2 cups = 32 tablespoons. Maybe that's an unfair assumption. Would that make me or the butter more dense?

[srhcb]

I'm pretty sure it's sold by the pound, and I'm making the assumption one pound = 2 cups = 32 tablespoons.  Maybe that's an unfair assumption.  Would that make me or the butter more dense?

←

The specific gravity of butter is 865, meaning it weighs 86.5/100 that of an equal volume of water.

If your butter has a higher or lower water content it would alter the volume.

SB (who, however, is NOT a chemist or physicist, NOR did he stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night)

[Restorer]

I'm pretty sure it's sold by the pound, and I'm making the assumption one pound = 2 cups = 32 tablespoons.  Maybe that's an unfair assumption.  Would that make me or the butter more dense?

←

The specific gravity of butter is 865, meaning it weighs 86.5/100 that of an equal volume of water.

If your butter has a higher or lower water content it would alter the volume.

SB (who, however, is NOT a chemist or physicist, NOR did he stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night)

←

That would make a pound of butter have greater volume than a pound of water - 37 tablespoons instead of 32 in a pound.

[JanMcBaker]

The entire package should be a full pound of butter. But as you've seen, there's no guarantee that each stick will be four ounces-- especially if each stick is marked 'not labeled for individual sale'. By law, one-pound or half-pound packs of butter shouldn't be sold by the stick for this reason-- you can't be assured of getting a full four ounces per stick.

[srhcb]

I'm pretty sure it's sold by the pound, and I'm making the assumption one pound = 2 cups = 32 tablespoons.  Maybe that's an unfair assumption.  Would that make me or the butter more dense?

←

The specific gravity of butter is 865, meaning it weighs 86.5/100 that of an equal volume of water.

If your butter has a higher or lower water content it would alter the volume.

SB (who, however, is NOT a chemist or physicist, NOR did he stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night)

←

That would make a pound of butter have greater volume than a pound of water - 37 tablespoons instead of 32 in a pound.

←

For most in-home use of butter that wouldn't matter, but it's another example of why quantities in commercial recipes are figured in weight rather than volume measurement.