Worship the butter knives

In Sweden we make the best butter knives. We like butter. To treat the butter with proper respect you need a proper butter knife.

Making a butter knife out of metal, or even worse plastic, simply does not make the softness and golden creaminess of the butter justice.

Butter knives must be made out of slightly dark, big grained, flexible wood with a slight scent of fresh spring forest.

Thickness is important, so as to get the right flex when scooping up the butter with a precise sweeping motion (just the right amount, wiping excess butter from the knife on to the sides of the box is a capital offense when it comes to proper butter worshipping in Sweden) and the right resistance when applying the butter to the bread.

Another crucial factor, often done poorly in the cheap knockoffs we see flooding the country from places like Russia and Finland where they use any kind of crap wood for the butter knives, is of course the surface finish. Properly done, you should not be able to feel the difference between a swan feather and a Swedish butter knife stroking the inside of your thigh.

Swedish butter knives come in various shapes and sizes. Size is not important, neither is shape. The only important thing is that the handle is more narrow than the blade. It should be comfortable to hold and use, so nothing distracts you from enjoying the butter.

Some families in Sweden actually have individual butter knives, one for each family member. I have also dined with families where different knives are used for different kinds of bread, or different occassions (like Christmas, Easter, Midsummer and so on) depending on what time of year it is (can affect the quality of the butter, and type of bread used) if you are outside or indoors (affects the hardness of the butter) and if there is extra salt in the butter or not.

Above all, you must never use the butter knife to spread anything but butter! In doing so, the knife has been soiled and must be discarded from the box of butter knives making sure it doesn't spread the contanimation to the knives still pure.

There. An insight into the Swedish mentality, and how seriously we treat our butter.

Comments

[Andrew Humphrey]

Hello Magnus. I emailed you at the address given on your blog, but it bounced back.

Anyway I stumbled on your blog, and see that you are a neighbour and a fellow foodie.

Not sure how popular Tupperware products are in Sweden, but they have
not been available in the UK for a few years, following a heyday in
the 1970s. This message is just to let you know that Tupperware is
back in the UK, and I am your local Tupperware man!

Tupperware is a design classic, and as well as the famous storage
boxes, there is now a whole range of kitchenware including very cheffy
silicone cookware for microwave and conventional cooking.

There is more info on my website. If you fancy hosting a Tupperware demo, you would get free and half
price products as a reward. I reckon it would be something fun and
interesting to blog about too!

Anyway, wishing you well.

Andrew Humphrey

[AJ]

Hej Magnus,
What a distinctly Swedish thing the wooden butter knife is.
I have recently tried to buy some more, but Ikea in Australia don't sell them anymore, and no other store know what I am talking about.
I found a site in the US that sells them, but they look a bit tacky with a Dala häst cut into the handle.
Maybe I'll have to go back to Sverige to buy some more. (Mental note: go in Summer two winters in Orebro taught me something)

[Manne]

Amazing, Swedish butter knives on the other sied of the globe. I have to tell my Aussie friends, to make them realise just how important proper wooden butter knives are to have. ;)

If you can't find any, send me your address and I could try and find some here in London and send over, or next time I am in Sweden I could pick some up.

[Colon Cleanse Geek]

I promise to never butter my bread using just any regular knife....egads. Our friends from Sweden shipped us some butter knives for Christmas. I secretly think they were hinting at us that we were buttering things up the wrong way;-)

[Smith]

My friend found good collection of knives at most discounted prices at Kitchen Collection store through Couponalbum.com site.....!