A bitter butter battle

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October 11th, 2011 · 189 comments

“My two roommates have been locked in a butter war all week,” our submitter in Oregon reports. “One will pull out the butter to let it soften, and as soon as she walks away, the other will put it back in the fridge.”

Although our submitter says she’s made a point of staying out the debate, she spotted this note on her way out the door this morning…

By the time she returned home from class, a second note had appeared as well.

Adds our submitter: “I’m pretty sure the butter won’t actually kill me as the pink note says, but I also wonder how long the other roommate spent picking out a font for the printed note. Also: one roommate is a comm major and the other studies history. See if you can guess which is which.”

FILED UNDER: butter · college life · food · fun fact · rebuttals · roommates · sad face

189 responses so far ↓

#1 Mishee

That clarified butter fact really clarified things for me.

Oct 11, 2011 at 6:18 pm rating: 90

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#2 [dave]

yeah … butter doesn’t spoil.

Oct 11, 2011 at 6:18 pm rating: 90

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- #2.1 Seanette
  
  It does eventually, but that takes a lot longer than the time required for it to soften to usable.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 6:19 pm rating: 90
- #2.2 Kelly K
  
  That softened butter would give me terrible diarrhea.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 7:59 pm rating: 90
- #2.3 kermit
  
  It depends if the butter is salted or not. Salted butter doesn’t turn rancid as fast as non-salted butter. This is assuming that it’s real butter not some margarine crap or Crisco – which incidentally isn’t even displayed in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 8:26 pm rating: 90
- #2.4 Danny
  
  Margarine is in the refrigerated section at all the grocery stores I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen at least three grocery stores. Three!
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 9:49 pm rating: 90
- #2.5 Canthz_B
  
  Isn’t Crisco shortening? And isn’t it packaged in a hermetically sealed can? Canned goods aren’t found in the refrigerated section, and I’m pretty sure Crisco is in the baking goods aisle near the vegetable oils…but I can’t be 100% on that since I don’t use the stuff.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 10:48 pm rating: 90
- #2.6 Mishee
  
  Who in the hell would ever spread Crisco on their toast anyways? I mean, even margarine is pushing it… it’s called “buttering” your toast for a reason people! Keep it real!
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 11:07 pm rating: 90
- #2.7 Nunavut Guy
  
  Shortening lasts forever.It is the Vasco Degamma of bread spreads.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 6:23 am rating: 90
- #2.8 Jimmy James
  
  I don’t know, I’ve seen shortening turn yellow and smell funny after a year or so. (Not in my own apartment, mind you, but when I go to other people’s places and bake.) I keep mine in the fridge since I don’t use it that often.
  
  Honey- now there is something that never spoils and tastes delicious on biscuits. History roomie would probably be happy to tell you how they’ve found honey in jars in Egyptian tombs that was still edible when uncovered thousands of years later.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 9:01 am rating: 90
- #2.9 The Elf
  
  They also used to use honey to preserve corpses. Theoretically, that honey is still good too. I’ll pass on trying it, though.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 10:54 am rating: 90
- #2.10 quatfaux
  
  Jimmy James goes to people’s houses and bakes? I’d like some cookies fresh out of the oven when I get home today, please. Use the butter. It’s out on the counter.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 11:11 am rating: 90
- #2.11 kermit
  
  Mishee – No sane person would spread Crisco on anything except squeaky hinges and car engines in need of lubrication. Speaking seriously, from a baking point of view, vegetable shortening is designed to substitute butter / lard. The crap that comes in a Crisco container is hydrogenated to high hell because otherwise it would need to be refrigerated to keep it from going rancid.
  
  Perfectly sane people however spread lard/fat on their toast. French Duck fat spread on toasted garlic bread is truly to die for. And speaking of the French – they don’t refrigerate eggs, which when you think about it makes sense.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 5:37 pm rating: 90
- #2.12 Canthz_B
  
  Does the duck fat have to come from French ducks, or will the fat of ducks of any nationality do?
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 1:29 am rating: 90
- #2.13 kermit
  
  I think it depends on what French region you happen to be in. If you’re in Quebec, separatiste ducks are usually first on the chopping block.
  
  But seriously though, Duck fat or fois gras if you want to get all fancy pants about it, is delicious and surprisingly cheap (if you don’t order it in a restaurant).
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 2:44 am rating: 90
- #2.14 Canthz_B
  
  LOL…I didn’t feel a need to be all fancy pants about it. I was just playing with the wording “French Duck fat”.
  
  I agree that foie gras is tasty, but it’s duck or goose liver, not fat…but fattened liver, or more precisely, the liver of a specially fattened duck or goose.
  
  Not to be too fancy pants about it you understand, just saying that if someone is selling you duck fat and telling you it’s foie gras you may want to speak to them…unless they’re really selling you “fois gras”, because Lord only knows what that is.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 3:20 am rating: 90
- #2.15 Joshua
  
  Unfortunately for the no-refrigeration needed advocate: Oregon is not Scandinavia. As someone who had always left butter out, I was shocked when I moved to Oregon to find that, while it did not go rancid, it did go moldy quite fast. So unless you eat a stick of butter on your toast every couple of days, things can get pretty gross. I’d suggest they invest in a French butter press which will keep the butter soft, delicious and fresh.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 9:30 am rating: 90
- #2.16 Amy in Toronto
  
  “Fois” gras is “time/occasion” fat … which happens to me after a particularly cold winter where I don’t participate in physical activity as often as I otherwise would.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 9:35 am rating: 90
- #2.17 kermit
  
  CB – You’re totally right and I’m an idiot. See, this is exactly what happens when I post after having to stay alert for two days straight. PA is definitely not good tool unwind because now I really really want some duck fat.
  
  Foie gras, is of course liver. What I meant was graisse de canard. Humble apologies and so forth.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 10:21 am rating: 90
- #2.18 Canthz_B
  
  Fancy pants!
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 10:34 am rating: 90
- #2.19 AuntyBron
  
  Am I the only one wondering who the hell tasted the thousands-of-years-old honey that was found in a tomb?
  
  Personally, I envision the scientists in the lab deciding that the honey shows no sign of being rancid so they had an intern or the janitor try it.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 1:18 pm rating: 90
- #2.20 The Elf
  
  Give it to Mikey, he’ll eat it.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 2:46 pm rating: 90
- #2.21 Canthz_B
  
  “He won’t eat it, he hates everything.”
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYEXzx-TINc
  
  Oct 18, 2011 at 2:29 am rating: 90
- #2.22 Jake
  
  I think he is right, honey is the only food that will never spoil. Even Twinkies spoil. This reminds me of a woman I lived in a house with who told me while I was making scrambled eggs that they always used milk for scrambled eggs. Unfortunately for both of us, I wasn’t making them for her becuase if I was, #1 she would have had learned what makes good scrambled eggs and #2 I would have scored the night before. As it turns out, I just told her that her mom didn’t know how to make scrambled eggs. That didn’t get me any closer to point #2 but I wasn’t in her league anyway.
  
  Nov 2, 2011 at 2:50 pm rating: 90
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#3 Seanette

I’d be inclined to solve this with separate butter containers, but that’s probably too practical to produce the desired level of drama.

Oct 11, 2011 at 6:18 pm rating: 90

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- #3.1 farcical aquatic ceremony
  
  Totally. And was I the only one who was hoping for SO MUCH MORE when I read: ““My two roommates have been locked in a butter war all week”?? I mean, where’s the nude , buttery wrestling? The slicked-down floors, railings, countertops, and doorknobs? The croissants tossed willy-nilly just to see where they’d stick..? *sigh*
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 8:22 pm rating: 90
- #3.2 Mishee
  
  That makes me think of this YouTube video with roommates in an actual butter war… its hilarious! (I promise its not a rickroll!)
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EEgM92_LGU
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 11:09 pm rating: 90
- #3.3 Grant
  
  Cut a small block off the fridge wedge and leave it in a butter dish to soften. Simple. Or have two packs. Or get Lurpak spreadable or something.
  
  Now that’s solved, get ready for Round 2. Pinkie has been keeping beetles with paddles in puddles in bottles. Her roomie has been feeding poodles with noodles. It’s bound to be a good one.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 3:56 am rating: 90
- #3.4 Jimmy James
  
  I just assumed there’d be some reference to Dr. Seuss’s Butter Battle Book.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 9:02 am rating: 90
- #3.5 ruthless
  
  Buy your own damn butter and quit bitching!!
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 4:26 pm rating: 90
- #3.6 Sue Wolfsong
  
  Seanette is the only one who works as I usually do: Sees a problem and seeks the simplest solution! Each having their own butter containers does the trick. Wouldn’t the world be a better (but far less amusing) place if everyone (especially those in government) subscribed to this method of problem solving?
  
  Oct 20, 2011 at 11:17 am rating: 90
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#4 1tennisplyr

That butter was fucking delicious.

Oct 11, 2011 at 6:20 pm rating: 90

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- #4.1 Palomon
  
  Spreads pretty fucking easy, too.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 8:31 pm rating: 90
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#5 James

That butter was much more fucking delicious when it was left out of the fridge.

Oct 11, 2011 at 6:20 pm rating: 90

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#6 Nathan

butter which hasn’t sat out is useless for spreading on bread. my family *always* keeps a stick of butter on the counter and have never once been sick from it.

Oct 11, 2011 at 6:22 pm rating: 90

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- #6.1 kermit
  
  Doesn’t every fridge have that butter container thing that’s specifically designed to keep butter soft? George Carlin marveled at it way back when so I assume it’s standard in all fridges now, along with a vegetable crisper.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 8:29 pm rating: 90
- #6.2 nativefloridian
  
  Spreading cold butter on soft bread is never a good idea. My family calls such an act ‘breadicide’.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 8:30 pm rating: 90
- #6.3 Palomon
  
  The butter bin doesn’t work for crap.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 8:33 pm rating: 90
- #6.4 FeRD
  
  The butter bin works about as well as the vegetable crisper. Which, as Patton Oswalt pointed out, should really be called the Rotter, “because that’s what it does!”
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 8:47 pm rating: 90
- #6.5 kermit
  
  I never felt the need to “crispen” my vegetables so I never put them in there in the first place. I don’t consume enough butter to be annoyed when it’s too hard to spread.
  
  If I want buttered toast I simply put some gobs of butter on a slice of bread, stick it in the toaster oven and let the heat do its thing.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 9:08 pm rating: 90
- #6.6 Canthz_B
  
  Hmm…has anyone ever tried spreading thin slivers of cool butter on their bread, or is everyone trying to spread quarter inch thick pats of butter? LOL
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 10:41 pm rating: 90
- #6.7 Canthz_B
  
  More importantly, are we really having this conversation? Really?
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 10:43 pm rating: 90
- #6.8 CS
  
  Canthz B, I have had many experiences using small slivers of cold butter. The sticks that were left on the counter were gone quickly when I was young because there were six of us, so I’d often get another stick from the fridge. Small slivers on warm toast is fine for someone who doesn’t like to have much in the first place.
  
  And yes, apparently we are really all having this discussion. It’s BUTTER and we are (mostly) Americans. There are bound to be strong opinions.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 12:40 am rating: 90
- #6.9 pony girl
  
  When I forget to leave the butter out to soften, I just scrape a knife along the top of the cold butter and get a cute little thin curl of butter. It looks pretty and spreads easily.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 6:47 am rating: 90
- #6.10 Canthz_B
  
  Apparently, too much like common sense, PG.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 9:52 am rating: 90
- #6.11 Canthz_B
  
  CS, a good number of small slivers should do the trick for those who’d like butterier toast.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 10:01 am rating: 90
- #6.12 The Elf
  
  Since I’ve cut down on the amount of butter I use, I always keep it in the fridge. Small slivers work fine. I don’t need it to spoil (if it would), I don’t need to be tempted by it, and I definitely don’t need the cat to eat it.
  
  I love butter. When I was younger (and skinnier) I always kept it out to keep it soft and spread it on with a thick hand. Toasted whole wheat bread thickly spread with butter and topped with fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes is the best thing ever. If there’s a heaven, that’s what they are serving.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 10:44 am rating: 90
- #6.13 Rattus
  
  Some of us don’t like toast. That’s right, I don’t like toast. I don’t like the taste, I don’t like the texture and I really don’t like the smell. However, I do like to butter a piece of fresh baguette from Le Matine once in a while and for that I need room temperature butter.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 2:45 pm rating: 90
- #6.14 kermit
  
  CS – Of course there have to be strong opinions about butter when the vendors at the Iowa straw poll thing decide to deep fry butter sticks. What stoned individual – who is not Homer Simpson – actually thinks they such a thing is really delicious?
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 6:00 pm rating: 90
- #6.15 looney
  
  ok–I admit I could see the appeal in a deep-fried _pat_ of butter. as in something resembling a hot roll with a small amount of butter melted inside.
  
  but definitely not a deep-fried _stick_ of butter. that is definitely excessive
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 6:32 pm rating: 90
- #6.16 bookworm
  
  The crisper is where I hide the vegetables I didn’t want to eat anyway.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 9:34 am rating: 90
- #6.17 Canthz_B
  
  The crisper was invented by Ron Popeil…just set it there and forget it!!
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 10:20 am rating: 90
- #6.18 kermit
  
  Both the crisper and the butter compartment were invented by marketing people who needed a reason to raise refrigerator prices. It’s a freaking drawer, it doesn’t “crisp” anything.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 1:18 pm rating: 90
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#7 Ugh

Please…. clarified butter has the milk solids taken OUT so it won’t spoil as quickly. And you can totally leave butter out on the side for a day or so, it will be room temp so won’t keep as long. But it’s not going to go off in 24 hours. Geebs.

Oct 11, 2011 at 6:23 pm rating: 90

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- #7.1 Dr. Chalkwitheringlicktacklefeff
  
  Who the fuck buys clarified butter anyway? Is that a thing in American supermarkets? In the UK we just have butter; regular old butter with the milk solids still in. If you go to an ‘ethnic’ supermarket you can get something that in India is called ‘ghee’ which is just clarified butter. Other than that, I’ve never encountered clarified butter marketed as just butter.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 8:15 am rating: 90
- #7.2 emcd
  
  @ Ugh – thanks for culinary “clarification” – that was bothering me too.
  The room temp in said kitchen would have to pretty darn high to clarify a stick of butter properly. Then you would have to use only the clear melted part of the remnants – avoiding the milky residue altogether – in order to reap the non-rotten benefits of truly “clarified butter”.
  While I am not anti-Team Counter Butter, the whole “clarified” argument is a stretch at best.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 8:54 am rating: 90
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#8 LOL

It does last longer without going bad in the fridge. If you’re going to USE it it’s ok to leave it out. If not put it back in the fridge.
Once again I have saved the day here at PA!

Oct 11, 2011 at 6:25 pm rating: 90

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- #8.1 FeRD
  
  Well, sure… But, Twinkies will last longer without going bad if they’re kept in the fridge. Styrofoam plates will last marginally longer before breaking down if they’re kept in the fridge. There’s almost nothing that won’t last longer if it’s kept in the fridge!
  
  The fact that cooler temperatures slow decay, decomposition, and pretty much every other one of the destructive processes that chaos exerts on matter isn’t really an argument for storing everything at the coldest temperature we can find. By that logic, all of our food should be kept in the freezer at all times — you wouldn’t believe how much longer it’ll last if we make sure it stays in there!
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 8:58 pm rating: 90
- #8.2 kermit
  
  Rumor has it bananas won’t last longer if kept in the fridge. But I keep them there any way because there is nothing better than a rum soaked banana split with a cold banana.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 9:10 pm rating: 90
- #8.3 Canthz_B
  
  Not to put too fine a point on it, but bananas, like many tropical fruits, don’t really like the cold. A nice brown paper bag on the counter top will keep many fruits in good shape.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 10:36 pm rating: 90
- #8.4 Mishee
  
  Actually my mother hoards her bananas for banana bread, and since the demand doesn’t exceed the supply, when they get nice and brown (almost fruit fly status) she puts them in a ziploc and tucks them away in the freezer. It totally arrests the ripening process and she can use them at her leisure. I was shocked to discover this recently, but I swear its true!
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 11:13 pm rating: 90
- #8.5 Palomon
  
  Mishee- I know what you’re talking about. I once worked in a bakery and thought I was doing good thing by tossing a grocery bag full of blackened bananas in the dumpster. The owner explained- with a disappointed but understanding tone- that I had thrown out the makings of banana muffins. Poor guy had really been looking forward to them.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 12:01 am rating: 90
- #8.6 Mishee
  
  Hell yea… you use nice yellow bananas and all you have are muffins… all of the flavor comes the browner they get!
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 12:13 am rating: 90
- #8.7 park rose
  
  Sure – once the fruit has rotted away, or is at least at squishy status, I’ll make a cake from them. Same with the tomatoes – great for pasta sauces.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 5:51 am rating: 90
- #8.8 Grant
  
  My uncle got locked overnight in the walk-in fridge at the local meat packing plant and didn’t last very long at all.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 6:08 am rating: 90
- #8.9 redheadwglasses
  
  Bananas in the fridge DO last longer, but their peels turn brown right away, so it’s deceptive. Yes, lying bananas!
  
  Oct 14, 2011 at 12:11 pm rating: 90
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#9 Jennifer

Judging from the handwriting, the pink one appears to be written by my 11 year old and the other by an educated person.

Oct 11, 2011 at 6:29 pm rating: 90

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- #9.1 sparklechimp
  
  Comm major, 11 year old, that’s splitting hairs a little bit.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 7:48 pm rating: 90
- #9.2 2hats
  
  The typed one comes off as more uptight than educated to me. Team pink-handwritten-with-faces-on-things all the way!
  
  (Although I wouldn’t really want to live with either of them)
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 2:23 pm rating: 90
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#10 elangomatt

Maybe this apartment should buy a butter bell. You put the butter in the top and water in the bottom and it is supposed to keep the air away from the butter. According to the best eva source on the internet (wikipedia) butter can be kept for up to a month at room temperature with a butter bell.

Oh and if the butter is in stick form, would it actually be clarified butter? I’ve never seen clarified butter sold in stick form, but I suppose it could exist.

Oct 11, 2011 at 6:40 pm rating: 90

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- #10.1 raindog71
  
  BUY A BUTTER BELL!
  Best thing ever-butter stays soft and doesn’t go rancid.
  
  Not my site, but if anyone’s interested:
  https://www.butterbell.com/
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 7:18 pm rating: 90
- #10.2 FeRD
  
  Aw. And I was hoping it was some sort of comical egg-timer device, used to shame members of Team Butter-on-the-Counter into putting the butter back in the fridge once its allotted “excursion time” was up.
  
  …Hmmm. If that’s not what a butter bell is, that must mean there’s still an untapped market for such a product.
  Late-night infomercials, here I come!
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 8:44 pm rating: 90
- #10.3 amazon
  
  I was going to suggest a butter bell as well. We keep ours on the counter, and the butter lasts for weeks. We haven’t died yet. In fact, only rancid butter I have ever come across was one that had been in the fridge.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 12:45 pm rating: 90
- #10.4 Nikki
  
  Thank you. You just said everything I was thinking about both the butter bell and the clarified butter.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 3:09 pm rating: 90
- #10.5 KJS
  
  And as they are in Oregon I can tell them exactly where to get one: Bob’s Red Mill. And probably other various kitchen stores closer to home. But everyone should go to Bob’s Red Mill and then swing over to Dave’s Killer Bread after.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 9:08 pm rating: 90
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#11 rtuko

As far as I know butter DOESN’T go bad all that quickly, given that you eat it within a reasonable time.

And it’s pretty funny to see how two notes can demonstrate such different personalities/educations.

Oct 11, 2011 at 6:47 pm rating: 90

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#12 Yar

College dweebs of the world:
STOP spelling it “roomie” … it is NOT “roomie” !!!

Oct 11, 2011 at 6:49 pm rating: 90

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- #12.1 olivia
  
  Yes it is. Perhaps you’re confusing it with the adjective “roomy”. But the short form of “roommate” is “roomie”.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 7:09 pm rating: 90
- #12.2 Jake
  
  It’s actually “roommie”.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 8:55 pm rating: 90
- #12.3 olivia
  
  Trying googling each variation.
  I have never read “roommie” in my entire life. Maybe it should be spelled that way given that it’s derived from “roommate”, but it isn’t.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 9:04 pm rating: 90
- #12.4 Frank
  
  YYaarrs of the world: STOP forgetting to upper-case proper nouns. The “R” in “Roomie” is capitalized, because it’s a proper noun.
  
  In any event, “Roomie” is not the shortened form of “roommate,” because “room mate” is two words. It’s the lengthened form of “room”.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 10:07 pm rating: 90
- #12.5 Canthz_B
  
  The shortened form of roommate is “That pain in the ass I lived with after college”.
  
  The lengthened form of room is “rooooooooom”.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 10:29 pm rating: 90
- #12.6 The Elf
  
  This debate makes me want my momie.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 7:41 am rating: 90
- #12.7 Dr. Chalkwitheringlicktacklefeff
  
  Surely if you just share a house with someone they’re your housemate, not your roommate. Unless you actually share a bedroom. In which case your relationship is probably more intimate than you realise.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 8:18 am rating: 90
- #12.8 Jimmy James
  
  I prefer “flatmate”, since I’ve only ever shared an apartment, not a house. “Apartment-mate” is cumbersome, whereas “flatmate” lets me pretend I’m British.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 9:10 am rating: 90
- #12.9 Janey
  
  Dear Frank,
  
  “Roomie” is not a proper noun as it does not name a specific person, place, or thing. Roomie takes a similar approach as that of mom or dad. For example, if I were talking about “my roomie” it would not need to be capitalized.
  
  Feel free to brush up on capitalization by checking out this Grammar Girl podcast. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/Capitalizing-Proper-Nouns.aspx
  
  Oct 20, 2011 at 3:35 pm rating: 90
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#13 Jon

Dairy: “a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk”.

Nope. Butter is not “a dairy.” Unless this is some British English crap I’m not aware of. Is it?

Oct 11, 2011 at 7:23 pm rating: 90

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- #13.1 Jasmine
  
  Wikipedia (the knower of all things) says butter is a dairy product (which it defines as things that come from a cow or domestic buffalo’s milk).
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 7:32 pm rating: 90
- #13.2 1tennisplyr
  
  If butter is “a dairy”, then an apple is “a grocery”.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 7:33 pm rating: 90
- #13.3 Sera
  
  An apple is “a grocery”.
  
  In other words: an apple is a “food or other commodity sold by a grocer”.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 8:24 pm rating: 90
- #13.4 FeRD
  
  An apple is “a grocery”.
  
  Um, in English we refer to the apple as “a grocery item”. That gets you the noun that sentence needs. (Butter would be “a dairy item”.)
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 9:02 pm rating: 90
- #13.5 Sera
  
  Someone better go tell Websters that.
  
  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grocery
  
  It’s perfectly acceptable in English to call something you’d buy from a grocery store a “grocery”.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 9:47 pm rating: 90
- #13.6 Canthz_B
  
  Butter is a dairy product, not a dairy.
  An apple is a fruit. An apple picked from an apple tree is not a grocery.
  If purchased from a grocer both apples and butter (not to mention apple butter) can be called “groceries”
  
  This debate…well it’s just gross eerie.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 10:20 pm rating: 90
- #13.7 Frank
  
  Umm, you need to get out of the city a bit more, Tennis. Apples are not made in the grocery store – which, BTW, is the same place you probably get butter. Rather, apples grow on “trees” located in “orchards”. The analogy would more appropriately be “…then an apple is an orchard”.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 10:30 pm rating: 90
- #13.8 Dr. Chalkwitheringlicktacklefeff
  
  Other way around; some American English crap that you probably should have heard of but are right to be disdainful of. Along with referring to fruit and veg as “produce”, as though meat and bread and such aren’t.
  
  The funny thing is, a lot of American English really is the right way to go about things. Cookies and biscuits really are totally different things, and ‘sidewalk’ is a pretty reasonable description of the function of the thing.
  
  But yeah, milk and butter aren’t a dairy.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 8:21 am rating: 90
- #13.9 Jimmy James
  
  And if I don’t love you, then grits ain’t groceries, eggs ain’t poultry, and Mona Lisa was a man.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 9:11 am rating: 90
- #13.10 Dalamara
  
  @ Dr. Chalk, Webster’s dictionary defines produce(noun) as “agricultural products and especially fresh fruits and vegetables as distinguished from grain and other staple crops.” So, no meat and bread are not included in the meaning of produce.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 10:22 am rating: 90
- #13.11 Somebody Else
  
  Over here, we call zeppelins “blimps”.
  
  Does that help?
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 2:43 pm rating: 90
- #13.12 Canthz_B
  
  Zeppelins have a rigid frame. Blimps have no rigid frame. The Hindenburg was a zeppelin. Best Buy flies blimps.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 1:38 am rating: 90
- #13.13 The Elf
  
  And Led Blimp would be a really terrible band name.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 7:24 am rating: 90
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#14 southerngirl

Ooooh I would be mad if someone kept sticking my soft butter back in the fridge. I leave my butter out for days, and I have never had a problem with it.

Oct 11, 2011 at 7:28 pm rating: 90

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- #14.1 Dr. Chalkwitheringlicktacklefeff
  
  I do have one problem; my cat eats it. I really should get a butter dish with a lid, but I keep forgetting.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 8:23 am rating: 90
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#15 tuqoa

Bahaha. Oh paranoid people are so cute. I’ve been eating left-out butter for 30 years, and I’m not dead yet, nor do I suffer digestive or abnormal health issues.

Fun compromise: Buy a 2nd butter dish. 1 stick of butter gets left out, and another stick of butter gets left in the fridge. Happiness for everyone.

Oct 11, 2011 at 7:56 pm rating: 90

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#16 AZB

I happen to be a food writer and many of the recipes I use need softened butter. I’m afraid Miss Food Nazi has her panties in a wad over nothing. Butter will spoil but it takes a long, long time. In fact, I keep some some in a ceramic crock on my counter for quick use. I’ve yet to find it spoiled before I use it up. What a whiny little moron. I’d probably have to beat her about her head and neck if she kept replacing butter I had out to use in a recipe!

Oct 11, 2011 at 8:07 pm rating: 90

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#17 mandy

Tell them to get a butter bell! Problem solved!

Oct 11, 2011 at 8:12 pm rating: 90

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#18 Jen

I’m pretty sure spreading cold butter onto bread is one of the things they make you do in hell. How does the first note-writer even enjoy life?

Oct 11, 2011 at 8:15 pm rating: 90

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- #18.1 Canthz_B
  
  Warm muffins? Biscuits maybe? Toast? Hot vegetables?
  Comm majors do not live by sliced bread alone.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 10:09 pm rating: 90
- #18.2 Grant
  
  She probably uses Silk, Lube, KY or one of a dozen other lubricants. It must be so, so frustrating to have the heat of passion dissipated by cold lube.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 3:42 am rating: 90
- #18.3 von der Neeth
  
  But, ummmm, wouldn’t the, you know, Fires of Hell help keep the butter fairly soft?
  Just sayin’.
  
  Oct 14, 2011 at 6:52 am rating: 90
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#19 K

Life is enjoyed by mutilating the slices of bread and making holes in the helpless, unsuspecting bread by thick chunks of butter. Ugh! Did that make anyone gag by the thought of putting that in your mouth?

Oct 11, 2011 at 8:35 pm rating: 90

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#20 FeRD

Holy shit you’d make a great poster-child for birth control!

Oct 11, 2011 at 8:37 pm rating: 90

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#21 Palomon

Whoever bought the butter wins the argument. But still:
Team Softened Butter! Comm Majors FTW!

Oct 11, 2011 at 8:37 pm rating: 90

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#22 kelbelz

ahhaahahah, yeah…the com major is the sane, well spoken one. not.

Oct 11, 2011 at 8:43 pm rating: 90

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- #22.1 Palomon
  
  We doing “not” again? I miss those jokes.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 9:25 pm rating: 90
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#23 Sue

Why not just get your own butter and keep it wherever you like.

Oct 11, 2011 at 8:47 pm rating: 90

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- #23.1 The Elf
  
  Because that would solve the problem. Clearly, these roommates have no intention of taking such drastic measures.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 7:23 am rating: 90
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#24 jmc

Besides, clarified butter and stick butter aren’t the same thing. Clarified butter is known as drawn butter here in the US; I’ve heard it called ghee as well. Made it once, from stick butter. Melt it, it separates, the clear bit is what you want.

Oct 11, 2011 at 8:48 pm rating: 90

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#25 litchic

I feel like you people know entirely too much about butter. I mean, of course we all knew how much it was enjoyed in 12th century Scandinavia — that’s just common knowledge …

Oct 11, 2011 at 9:44 pm rating: 90

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- #25.1 RubeMcCube
  
  Personally, while I’m skeptical about the lethal threat posed by softening butter, I have to wonder about the wisdom of using 12th Century Scandinavia as the yardstick for modern food hygiene practice.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 7:26 am rating: 90
- #25.2 The Elf
  
  Yes, this from the people that brought us lutefisk.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 7:37 am rating: 90
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#26 Quite Contrary

Is it a safe guess that the two warring roomies are also girls?

Oct 11, 2011 at 9:47 pm rating: 90

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- #26.1 Palomon
  
  I bet they’re butter faces.
  
  Oct 11, 2011 at 10:11 pm rating: 90
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#27 Stefan

Apparently journalism and other writing classes are not part of roomie #1′s comm curriculum, like they were at my college. “Butter is A dairy”? Seriously?

Oct 11, 2011 at 11:41 pm rating: 90

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- #27.1 Palomon
  
  I’m going with typed note responder as the comm major. The reference to Hyperborean milk conversion does not convince me the writer is a history major. I infer that he simply found a reference to illustrate his point.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 12:17 am rating: 90
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#28 pony girl

What the hell is clarified butter? I’ve only seen salted and unsalted.

Is it really butter? or is it that plastic-y margarine crap?

Oct 12, 2011 at 6:54 am rating: 90

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- #28.1 pony girl
  
  eeewww. Clarified butter looks gross.
  I’m team fresh butter, softened or not.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 6:56 am rating: 90
- #28.2 olivia
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarified_butter
  
  It’s butter with the milk solids and water removed, meaning it can be used to cook at higher temperatures without burning, and also has a longer shelf life than regular butter.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 7:31 am rating: 90
- #28.3 Dr. Chalkwitheringlicktacklefeff
  
  It’s when you melt butter so it separates into the oil and the solid, then you scoop off the milk solid and dispose of it. It’s used in stuff like cheesecake bases and cakes. It’s not really gross; it’s just melted butter basically.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 8:26 am rating: 90
- #28.4 Canthz_B
  
  Where’s the Galloping Gourmet (Graham Kerr) when we need him most?
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 10:27 am rating: 90
- #28.5 sleeps
  
  Isn’t it also the yummy melted butter they give you for dipping crab legs?
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 11:09 am rating: 90
- #28.6 The Elf
  
  I suppose. It might improve the inferior flavor of frozen crab or over-steamed seafood. In Maryland, where crabs is king, you generally don’t dip the meat at all. Some places provide clarified butter or malt vinegar, but straight from the shell is the way to go, with that hit from Old Bay on your fingers.
  
  So now you know. Get a bush(el) of crabs. Steam them, douse them with the powder, but don’t dip the meat in.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 11:51 am rating: 90
- #28.7 sleeps
  
  Uh yeah, I live in Kansas, so… next time I voyage to a coast, I’ll take your advice.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 1:59 pm rating: 90
- #28.8 merkin4
  
  Sorry, The Elf, but that Old Bay seasoning was the poison in Romeo and Juliet. Nasty beyond belief. And yes, I’ve lived in Baltimore. I suspect the seasoning is the only thing able to mask the taste of the oil in the bay.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 2:41 pm rating: 90
- #28.9 Somebody Else
  
  Team Old Bay Seasoning here. And Elf, thanks for reminding me:
  
  “Virginia is for Lovers” and “Maryland is for Crabs”
  
  As a wee child, I used to catch crabs from my own backyard (we lived in a house on the Chesapeake Bay) … which makes me Team Maryland (especially the T-shirts).
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 2:56 pm rating: 90
- #28.10 Dara
  
  I grew up in Baltimore and I have to agree. No dipping the crab in anything, except a pile of old bay seasoning. I live in NY now, and I miss having crabs. Wait…
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 10:34 pm rating: 90
- #28.11 lili
  
  But does clarified butter come in sticks? I’m confused. The butter most people in the Americas and Europe buy is just butter, not clarified butter.
  
  I don’t think that butter spoils that quickly (in fact, I know it doesn’t) but I don’t get the clarified butter argument.
  
  Love the title.
  
  Oct 15, 2011 at 9:54 pm rating: 90
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#29 Heather

Stick butter isn’t clarified. And it doesn’t contain preservatives. Still won’t spoil on the counter though…

Oct 12, 2011 at 7:28 am rating: 90

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#30 The Elf

On the last day of summer, ten hours before Fall…

my Roommate took me out to the wall.

For a while he stood silent. Then finally he said, with a very sad shake of his very large head, “As you know, on this side of the Wall we are Yooks. On the far other side of this Wall live the Zooks.”

Then my Roommate said, “It’s high time that you knew of the terribly horrible thing that Zooks do. In every Zook house and in every Zook hold every Zook eats his bread with the butter kept cold!”

“But we Yooks, as you know, whether below or aloft, spread our bread,” Roomie said, “with butter that is soft. That’s the right, honest way!” Roomie then told. “So you can’t trust a Zook who spreads bread that is cold! Every Zook must be watched! He has kinks in his soul! That’s why, as a youth, I made watching my goal, watching Zooks for the Zook-Watching Border Patrol!

Oct 12, 2011 at 7:31 am rating: 90

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- #30.1 notolaf
  
  genius
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 10:27 pm rating: 90
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#31 Dr. Chalkwitheringlicktacklefeff

Team Butter-Leaver-Outer,
Butter is fine at room temperature, and if it’s kept in the fridge it’s too hard to spread. Butter keeps just fine for weeks, and so the chances of it going bad before it gets used up are slim.

Oct 12, 2011 at 8:09 am rating: 90

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- #31.1 Dr. Chalkwitheringlicktacklefeff
  
  Although my house is an old stone house and the kitchen’s room temperature is not much above fridge temperature anyway, even in summer.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 8:12 am rating: 90
- #31.2 Somebody Else
  
  There’s your reasonable compromise: leave the butter out, and lower the temperature of the entire house.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 3:02 pm rating: 90
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#32 Michele

http://www.chow.com/food-news/89074/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-out-at-room-temperature/

The FDA has dealt this debate and says it’s perfectly safe to leave butter out, so long as it’s well wrapped or in a butter dish. Cold butter should be reserved for making pie crusts and other pastries.

Oct 12, 2011 at 8:38 am rating: 90

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- #32.1 The Elf
  
  It’s totally not safe to leave butter out! Not because it will spoil, but because that damn cat will eat an entire stick if I gave him half a chance.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 8:58 am rating: 90
- #32.2 Michele
  
  I solved that problem by getting one of these babies: http://cookware.lecreuset.com/cookware/product_Butter-Crock_10151_-1_20002_10144_10108
  
  The cat has yet to figure out how to open it, but he does know what’s inside it. He comes running whenever he hears me take the top off!
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 10:10 am rating: 90
- #32.3 The Elf
  
  That totally wouldn’t stop the worst offender. If he couldn’t figure out how to get it open, he’d just push it off the counter. It wouldn’t be the first dish he’s destroyed. He’s a very determined little kitty.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 10:48 am rating: 90
- #32.4 Michele
  
  It’s heavier than it looks so most cats (save for a giant super cat, I suppose) can’t push it without teamwork. If they’re working together, then god help you!
  
  Also, have you considered putting tin foil on the counter when you’re not using it? Apparently they hate how it feels on their feet or something… Made my cats stop jumping up for fear of the foil being there!
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 4:06 pm rating: 90
- #32.5 Somebody Else
  
  I just love the mental image of a whole bunch of cats working together to achieve their nefarious objectives. Thank you, you just made my day.
  
  Kind of reminds me of the movie “Willard”, in a strange way … Which, in turn, reminds me: did y’all know that Mitt “Mitt” Romney has his own birth certificate problem? His real name is Willard!
  
  Did you notice my use of “y’all” just above? That comes from ingesting copious quantities of Old Bay Seasoning, or so I’ve been told.
  
  I love this thread! Who knew that butter battles could be such fun? I mean, except for The Goddess …
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 12:24 pm rating: 90
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#33 PANs_Labyrinth

Well, I do have to give some credit to roomie #1; thank god she at least didn’t try to write the note from the butter’s point of view:

“Dear Roomie; are you aware that I’m a dairy? If you leave me out I will quickly soften and spoil, and then I may have to kill you all.”

Oct 12, 2011 at 9:11 am rating: 90

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#34 Whit

I would buy them each their own stick of butter to stop the insanity.

Oct 12, 2011 at 11:44 am rating: 90

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#35 Kate

Am I the only non American here who is amazed at the amount of butter being eaten?

I don’t think I know anyone who uses butter for spreading on bread or toast. In cooking maybe but not for just regular eating.
I have Utterly Butterly or I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.

However when I have had butter in the past I had a thermal butter dish. It kept it slightly cool but soft enough to spread. It never went in the fridge.

Oct 12, 2011 at 12:09 pm rating: 90

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- #35.1 DLW
  
  I never used to eat butter really, but the trend seems to be swinging back towards it…if you believe trans fats are Teh Evilz.
  
  We don’t go through tons of butter, but a stick left out (and covered) will usually get used up before it spoils. I also make my own bread and the recipe calls for a couple of softened tablespoons per loaf.
  I usually cook with olive oil.
  
  Now I totally want one of those butter bells.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 2:02 pm rating: 90
- #35.2 sleeps
  
  What does your nationality have to do with butter usage?
  
  You, and everyone you know, truly enjoy the taste of butter-flavored vegetable spreads over real butter? How strange. I don’t know anyone who prefers vegetable spreads over real butter.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 2:11 pm rating: 90
- #35.3 Kate
  
  I don’t prefer it. It’s just that butter is so high in fat.
  
  Nationality has loads to do with what you eat.
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 2:29 pm rating: 90
- #35.4 sleeps
  
  Oh. I didn’t know you knew the nationalities of all the other posters. Sorry for your dietary restrictions that don’t allow for butter consumption!!
  
  Oct 12, 2011 at 7:34 pm rating: 90
- #35.5 kermit
  
  Kate no offense – and at the risk of starting a health debate – the hydrogenated fat that is Crisco, margarine, I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-butter and other abominations that really belong in the lubrication section of the hardware store – do more damage to than the fat in butter.
  
  Yes, butter has fat in it. That’s why people should eat it in moderation, not substitute it with something “similar” that they’ve rationalized as okay to over-indulge.
  
  It’s your body and you get to decide what’s best for you to eat. I’m just saying that maybe you should do a bit more research into how “healthy” such artificial butter substitutes are.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 3:08 am rating: 90
- #35.6 Canthz_B
  
  Both butter and marginal…er…margarine are fine in moderation. Margarine just happens to cost less, be a decent substitute and leave more milk on the market for other uses.
  It’s possible that without butter substitutes the cost of heavy cream would skyrocket given the demand for butter, the by-product of which is butter-milk.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 10:31 am rating: 90
- #35.7 Heather
  
  Normal margarine is worse for you than butter. While butter is high in saturated fats, margarine is high in trans fats, which are worse for your heart than saturated fats. Given this, margarine increases overall cholesterol and increases LDL while decreasing HDL. Look at the labels, make sure you’re purchasing margarine that is trans fat free.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 5:38 pm rating: 90
- #35.8 Kate
  
  Seems that UK and US margarines have quite different ingredients.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Can't_Believe_It's_Not_Butter!
  
  Oct 14, 2011 at 4:13 pm rating: 90
- #35.9 Food
  
  People with lactose intolerance or any kind of problem with dairy product will be healthier eating margarine (and yes, the ingredients vary greatly from a country to another and from a brand to another, some spreads are actually made out of animal fat instead of vegetal fat).
  
  In any case, there is no real threat for one’s health as long as the diet is rather balanced.
  
  Nov 3, 2011 at 7:07 am rating: 90
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#36 KJS

Growing up, my parents kept the butter out on the counter. I used to walk by and swipe chunks of it with my fingers and lick them clean. In hindsight, that was pretty gross. But my parents must have been firm believers of soft butter because they never did put it out of my reach and into the fridge.

Oct 12, 2011 at 9:24 pm rating: 90

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#37 Rae

As far as which is the communications major and which is the history major, I actually almost don’t want to pick which is which.

Although it would seem obvious that the second roommate, who wrote about 12th century Scandinavians, is the history major; I am hesitant to give those labels out that way, because I actually think the typed note is written better. The Scandinavians almost seem like a non-sequitur on the first read through, but it actually is a well composed note.

I think it is a little sad that three words, “12th century Scandinavia”, are the only things that give it away that the typed note is written by the history major, not the communications major.

Oct 13, 2011 at 7:34 am rating: 90

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- #37.1 WhiteApe
  
  The fact that the second note is written better is exactly why I picked that person as the history major. History majors spend a lot more time practicing formal academic writing than Communications majors–unless Comm is something different than when I was in school, Comm is about radio and TV and the internets–which would explain the pink writer’s use of a graphic element to support and enhance a short blurb of text.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 8:31 am rating: 90
- #37.2 kermit
  
  If we’ve learned anything from Sarah Palin it’s that communications majors can’t communicate.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 7:18 pm rating: 90
- #37.3 katie k
  
  I don’t think that’s the only thing that gives it away. Have you ever seen a group of comm majors? Go to the closest liberal arts university and find a comm class. Then find a history class. Compare.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 8:16 pm rating: 90
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#38 Kim

While I am Team Counter Butter, the second note writer has no clue what clarified butter means.

Oct 13, 2011 at 7:41 am rating: 90

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- #38.1 katie k
  
  Although she is right about clarified butter having a long shelf life.
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 8:19 pm rating: 90
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#39 charmaine

I like how the submitter threw in a fun fact of their own.

Oct 13, 2011 at 10:38 am rating: 90

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#40 kes

Couldn’t they just… buy two butters? One to leave inside the fridge and one to leave outside? So one group could choose to follow the “keep in refrigeration” note in the back and the other could follow XII century Scandinavian wisdom.

Oct 13, 2011 at 1:04 pm rating: 90

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- #40.1 katie k
  
  Shh…that would be rational.
  
  (Of course, it would also be rational for them to leave the butter out in a dish, but I have a feeling that won’t matter much to someone who only thinks as far as butter=dairy and dairy=spoil therefore omgnevertakethebutteroutofthefridge!)
  
  Oct 13, 2011 at 8:13 pm rating: 90
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#41 Heather

Butter can sit out for several days before going rancid. How long it lasts varies with temperature, humidity, exposure to light, and whether it’s wrapped. Most people keep their butter on a “butter dish” or crock, which is advisable. It is best to use one that is ceramic as opposed to one that is glass as the glass ones allow in more light and heat.

Oct 13, 2011 at 5:24 pm rating: 90

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#42 katie k

I keep my butter on the counter in a butter dish specifically designed for this purpose. I wonder if the roommate thinks those dishes are so your butter looks pretty in the fridge.

Oct 13, 2011 at 8:10 pm rating: 90

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#43 Eileen

There’s nothing worse than spreading cold butter on (or rather, through) soft bread. I microwave mine for five seconds if it’s straight out of the fridge. Just enough to soften it a bit, not melt it completely.

Oct 13, 2011 at 10:55 pm rating: 90

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#44 redheadwglasses

You don’t get clarified butter just by letting it sit out and get too soft. You have to actually do stuff, like remove the milk fat solids yourself. There are centrifuges just for this purpose.

One word for clarified butter is “ghee,” which I think is a neat word!

Also: I bake cookies 1-3 times per week, so I always have sticks of butter on a plate on the counter so they’re soft and ready to go. Sometimes for days. I’ve never had a problem.

Oct 14, 2011 at 12:14 pm rating: 90

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#45 redheadwglasses

And the MATURE solution is for each of those two roommates to own their own butter for their own use.

Oct 14, 2011 at 12:15 pm rating: 90

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#46 PANs_Labyrinth

12th century Scandinavia is a really poor example anyway, as the ambient temperature there was close to what is found inside a modern refrigerator.

Oct 15, 2011 at 7:48 am rating: 90

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#47 Tony

Yeeeah, salted butter will last at least a couple weeks at room temperature. Even unsalted butter will last a couple days.

Oct 15, 2011 at 3:05 pm rating: 90

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#48 Amy

That’s not clarified butter. Clarified butter has had all the milk solids removed and is in fact… clear!

Oct 15, 2011 at 3:07 pm rating: 90

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#49 Emily

If it were not ok to leave butter out at room temperature, I doubt there would be so many butter holders/keepers available for sale. I always have a stick of softened butter in the butter keeper on my counter and if someone put that shit in the refrigerator I would choke a bitch. Americans are so refrigeration-happy, it’s ridiculous. We refrigerate so many things in this country that do not need it! My room temperature butter hasn’t killed me yet….

Oct 16, 2011 at 3:43 pm rating: 90

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#50 Kreaper

I’m Team Butter-Leaver-Outter all the way. Cold butter is horrible for making garlic breaded chicken, you got to have the warm butter to properly attach the garlic bread crumbs. Also, I have no clue who would actually eat Crisco; I use mine as hair styling gel, works like a charm.

Oct 16, 2011 at 9:13 pm rating: 90

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#51 Lauren

my ex-roommate used to complain about this same thing.

but yet he took out the trash a total of twice the year I lived there. and never once cleaned.

priorities!

Oct 18, 2011 at 12:37 am rating: 90

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#52 Michelle

I live in NZ and the majority of people here use Margarine. Most of the products are trans-fat free and have the Heart Foundation’s approval, so I’m unsure why everyone is so against it unless it’s different in the Northern Hemisphere?

As for nationality making a difference, I think it kinda does. Different countries have different products available and different ‘norms’.

I think the typed author is the comms major simply because of the grammar and sentence structure. Not sure what comm majors learn over there, but down here they are taught to write with good sentence structures and to always have examples to back up statements.

Just my humble opinion.

Oct 19, 2011 at 12:58 am rating: 90

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- #52.1 Kate
  
  I think that margarine in the states (I’m fairly sure most of the posters here are in the USA as they talk about sticks of butter) is nowhere nearly as nice as it is in other countries. Just looking at the link to I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter I posted earlier on they look to be very different products.
  
  The cynic in me wonders if this is to keep the dairy farms going in the US rather like the use of corn syrup rather than sugar keeps the corn farmers going.
  
  Oct 23, 2011 at 9:47 am rating: 90
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#53 Woman

Such fond memories of college pettiness, I miss it so! PEOPLE, get a grip and stop with the power struggles and just get your own GDm’d butter!

Oct 19, 2011 at 5:32 am rating: 90

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#54 xanthina

Interestingly enough… in Plimoth Plantation, the milk from cows was too vital for the calves to be consumed by the Pilgrims, for quite a while. Their butter was shipped over from England, so it took months to reach them.

What we consider “rancid” they considered normal. Fresh butter wasn’t eaten, but aged first.

Oct 27, 2011 at 3:33 am rating: 90

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#55 Alex

We always leave one stick of butter on the counter in a covered butter dish and keep the rest in the fridge or freezer until we need another one. The butter on the counter is nice and soft and spreadable, it takes us weeks to use up one stick, and it’s never spoiled or made us sick. It is regular salted butter.

Oct 29, 2011 at 6:12 pm rating: 90

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#56 liz

While I agree that leaving the butter out for a little bit won’t kill anyone, both of these roomates are incorrect.

Clarified butter does not mean it has preservatives. It means that the butter has been heated to remove the milk solids so that the butter is completely clear.

Butter is dairy, (not A dairy), and will spoil if left out too long, but unles these two live in a hot climate, the butter is likely fine.

Nov 1, 2011 at 10:05 am rating: 90

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#57 Krystle

Easy. The idiot with the “pink” note is the COMM major, because that’s not a legit course of study and she is a moron if she thinks butter goes bad over night (what do you think butter dishes were invented for genius).

Nov 4, 2011 at 1:28 pm rating: 90

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#58 kristina

in response to the Margarine haters and people who use sweeping transfat arguements. It’s hardly ever true as long as you buy decent margarine. IN fact Margarine has been shown to reduce cholesterol while butter increases it.

Nov 7, 2011 at 7:57 am rating: 90

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