When is a pound of butter not a pound of butter?

[subfuscpersona]

QUESTION: when is a pound of butter not a pound of butter?

ANSWER: when it weighs less than a pound!

I weigh ingredients for baking and, over the past couple of years, noticed that a pound of butter was almost always a little short of a pound. I thought it was my scale.

I have since found that Rose Levy Beranbaum (author of several books on baking) mentioned the very same thing on her site in this post

i’ve been championing the use of scales for baking for years but now i have a new and persuasive argument that just might tip the balance! ...at first i thought it was a fluke but when i mentioned it to other bakers and chefs they also were puzzled and aware of it.

I’ve been finding more and more often that when i unwrap a stick of butter and weigh it, instead of getting the 4 ounces listed on the label, it weighs only around 3.87 ounces. I just don’t get it. there used to be laws and fines that encouraged manufacturers to go a little over the mark rather than risk going under (in more ways than one)!

I am getting discouraged about the state of the food industry in the US

 

[Andy M.]

Interesting!

I just weighed a stick of butter and my scale showed exactly 4 ounces - with the paper wrapper still on it.

 

[Shunka]

I always weigh just to make sure. BTW, Thanks for the link to Rose's site!!! I used her recipe for my daughter's wedding cake; years ago.

 

[YT2095]

I weigh ingredients for baking and, over the past couple of years, noticed that a pound of butter was almost always a little short of a pound. I thought it was my scale.

Hmmm... That`s not very good at all is it!

did you weigh it whilst the wrapper was on also?, I`m thinking that it might be an idea to take this issue up with trading standards and complain (I know I would)!

 

[black chef]

maybe, just maybe it has something to do with the moisture content when manufactured or processed compared to the trip to the store and sitting on the store shelves, etc.

just a thought...

 

[Shunka]

black chef has a valid point; if the butter had been frozen for a while, that would suck some of the moisture out.

 

[subfuscpersona]

did you weigh it whilst the wrapper was on also?

No. With the wrapper off.

maybe, just maybe it has something to do with the moisture content when manufactured or processed compared to the trip to the store and sitting on the store shelves, etc.

black chef has a valid point; if the butter had been frozen for a while, that would suck some of the moisture out.

Possibly freezing is a factor, however...

When purchased, the butter is (of course) not frozen. I do often freeze butter if I don't need it right away. On purchase, I double wrap the butter (in it's original wrapping) in plastic wrap and then put in a zip lock bag with the air squished out. I usually buy sweet butter , which has a lower water content than salted butter. The longest I keep butter frozen is about 3 months. How much water should it lose under these conditions?

If I hadn't come across Rose Levy Beranbaum's article I would have thought it was just me (or my scale). But she's a well-known cookbook author, so maybe its not just me.

 

[Veloce]

I just weighed two sticks of store brand butter (including the wrappers) with a balance I can trust. One is exactly 4 ounces. The other is under weight by almost 1/4 ounce.

 

[YT2095]

is you get "Frost/snow" in the bag you put it in then yes will lose some mass due to freeze drying, but from I`ve read I seriously don`t think this is that case, you`re being ripped off!

esp in light of Veloce`s post.

 

[Sararwelch]

I've never even thought about this before, I buy a couple of different brands of butter - I'll have to check and see what the weight is.

 

[StirBlue]

My friend and I took the measurements of a tupperware butter container and went from store to store looking for a product that would fit. We did not find any. We did have many interesting measurements.
So this weight is probably why one day your recipe turns out really well and the next time it's a little off.

 

[auntdot]

I had a couple of pounds of butter in the fridge, holiday season (and we are having lobster on Christmas, and always use a lot at this time). One was a brand name we all would know and one was the store brand.

Both weighed just a tad less than a lb, with paper on.

Was a chemist for many years and I do know that the calibration of instruments can, and will, vary. And therefore if exact weights are important, must be checked regularly. So we used to have a series of standardized weights that we would use to test and, when necessary, adjust the scales periodically (sometimes we were dealing in the nanogram range and accuracy, and precision, were very important).

No such luxury on the battery run thing we have at home, or I will guess those which most home folks have accessible. Nor do we need it.

Just one possible reason for variance.

And I would guess the butter has to weigh exactly one pound when it leaves the factory. If the product loses water over time I have no idea.

Just one thought.

 

[Billdolfski]

114.01 for a stick of refridgerated
113.55 for a stick of frozen

(grams)

 

[jayco]

I just checked a pound recently bought. Each stick weighed exactly 4 ounces with the wrapper on. The brand is Land 'O Lakes. The brand I always buy.

I can't guarantee that my scales are 100% correct but I trust them.

 

[Katie H]

Been weighing all my butter and margarine since reading this thread. Never had any weigh less than a pound. I use an electronic scale, which I check for accuracy every couple of months so my scale is pretty accurate.