Modernbutter spreader on a Swedishbutterdog [sv]Butter knives (and a jelly knife) byTowle Silversmiths ("Colonial Paul Revere pattern, 1901). Left to right: small butter spreader, butter knife pick, large butter spreader, butter knife, jelly knife[1]Multiple butter knives (top), a butter spreader (2nd from the bottom), and a butter pick (bottom). 1897.
During theVictorian era, a multitude of knife-like implements were invented to handle butter. The Victorians distinguished:
abutter spreader (alsoindividual butter knife of the 1890s[4]) It usually has a rounded point, so it does not tear the bread. Some spreaders are wider at the blade end. At 5 to 6 inches in length, this knife is the smallest one on the table;[5]
a serving butter knife (alsomaster butter knife or simply "butter knife" in Victorian times) that was a dull-edged knife, usually sharp-pointed, often with asabre shape, used only to serve out pats ofbutter from a centralbutter dish to individual diners' plates. These knives, dating back to the mid-18th century,[6] were not used to spread the butter onto bread: this would contaminate the butter remaining in the butter dish when the next pat of butter was served. Rather, diners at the breakfast, the luncheon, and the informal dinner table used an individual butter knife to apply butter to their bread.[7] At the end of the 19th century, the winter availability of fresh fruits in the United States greatly increased, reducing the need forpickle knives. As a result, some of these items were marketed assmall master butter knives;[8]
a drill-likebutter pick that dates back to the times when the butter was served inside chilledearthenware, so a pick was needed to pierce the butter and pull it out of the pot. By the mid-18th century picks were mostly replaced by the butter knives;[6]
a combinationbutter knife pick (see the illustration to the right).
The use of bread knives in the modern formal dining is closely tied to thebread-and-butter plate (B&B). In thetable setting, the spreader is laid on top of the B&B plate, either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.[9]
The availability of butter on the dining table varies with culture and setting and is closely related to the use of (otherwise dry) bread:[10]
at the formal dinners in Europe, B&B plate is optional;
a formal dinner in the private residence of North America is expected to provide all the taste and texture with the dishes (for example, themelba toast can be served with soup) and thus the B&B plate is not used;
a restaurant will typically provide bread so that the guests cancleanse the palate (and have something to do if the service is slow);
a formalluncheon has few courses and thus the B&B plate is present;
bread and butter are always served in informal setting (on the edge of the dinner plate is B&B plates are not used).
In the Middle Ages, thetrenchers were made of bread, but were not considered food, except by the poor, the bread intended for eating was served separately, on the left side (where the B&B plate is set up nowadays). A small dish,2+1⁄2 to3+1⁄2) inches in diameter, was used to hold a mound ("pat") of butter, and was called abutter pat. During the Victorian specialization "craze", two separate plates were used, one for bread and one for butter. The tendency of simplification after theFirst World War caused the plates to be combined into a single modern B&B one.[10]
If no butter spreaders are provided, adinner knife may be used as an alternative.[11]
^Splint, Sarah Field. The Art ofCooking and Serving. Cincinnati, Ohio: The Procter & Gamble Co., 1930. "Table Service in the Servantless House" pp. 3-4, "The House with a Servant" p. 27
^Stewart, Marjabelle Young. Comonsense Etiquette: A Guide to Gracious, Simple Manners for the Twenty-First Century. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. p. 50
.png)
.png)
.JPG)
