Move over charcuterie and grazing boards, there’s a new fancy pants board in town that ANYONE of any skill level can make – perfect for the upcoming entertaining season. We’ve seen some questionable food trends arise from the depth of TikTok, but butter boards are one I can get on board with, literally!
TikTok food trends take off again!
Not everything that emerges from TikTok is a winner, but it appears that the butter board is taking the world by storm, one butter knife at a time! The original creator behind the butter board trend is Justine Doiron, whose first butter board TikTok has blown up, fetching a staggering 8.4 million views – that’s a whole lot of butter lovers folks! You can watch the video that started it all below.
@justine_snacksI like this one idk I’m in a silly goofy butter mood♬ original sound – speed songs
Butter boards – the easiest of ALL the boards to make
Impossible to screw up and open to endless creations, the butter board can be mastered by even the most inexperienced of foodies. At the end of the day, it’s just decorated butter on a board!
How to make one is easy. Just leave your butter out at room temperature for around 20 minutes, until it’s of a spreadable consistency. No one wants to be chipping away at a block of butter. Use the back of a spoon or a spatula to spread the butter on a clean serving board and then artistically drop any amount of toppings or mix-ins on top.
Toppings for butter boards to consider!
How your butter board looks is just as important as it tastes, this is after all a visual dish. You want people to see it and want to scoop up the experience, literally.
Butter is naturally light in colour, providing the perfect blank canvas for creating a bit of drama. You can make your butter board a frenzy of beautiful colour with bright-coloured toppings and edible flower petals or if you’re settling in for a cosy night, keep it to a subdued warm and toasty palette with walnuts, honey and some sliced figs or chopped dried apricots- whatever your taste buds fancy.
Here is a handy list of toppings to consider:
- Lemon, orange or lime zest
- Dukkah
- Fresh herbs – thyme, parsley, chives, mint or basil
- Roasted garlic
- Drizzled honey or maple syrup
- Nuts – walnuts, pecans and pine nuts
- Salt flakes – pink salt, truffle salt or decorative salts
- Edible flowers or petals – lavender, nasturtium, rose and violas
- Drops of a favourite jam
- Fruit – figs, raspberries, dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds and dried apricots
- Grated cheese, shaved parmesan, crumbled feta or goats cheese
- Caramelised onion
- Cooked bacon pieces or chorizo pieces
As I said, the butter board opportunities are endless! You’re not limited to bread either – you could even do a whipped butter board drizzled with maple sauce and chopped nuts to serve with waffles or pancakes.
A butter board doesn’t need to be big, you could make a simple and sweet mini board (the side of a side plate) as a pretty side dish to offer with bread or alongside grazing options. Yummy!
Serve butter boards with…
Pair the board with delicious bread (sourdough would be a brilliant choice), toast, crackers, or anything you desire to scoop up the butter to transport it to the belly! You can either encourage guests to go for the direct scrape, running their piece of bread through the board or provide some spoons or knives to make it a little less messy.
A word on butter: There is nowhere for the butter to hide in this showstopper trend, so you must make sure you use good quality butter (not margarine or butter spread). Keep an eye out for premium brands and grass-fed butter on special at the supermarket and keep a couple handy in the fridge so you can wow a crowd when friends drop in.
Butter boards are perfect for showing off
Honestly, if butter boards are the only fancy pants thing you contribute to the Christmas or party table this year, DO IT. You might not be able to roast a whole turkey or roll a roulade but BUTTER BOARDS, YOU CAN DO. It shows you care to go the extra mile, even for staples like bread and butter – and I promise it’ll impress!
What do you think? Are butter boards a fleeting beautiful (but cholesterol-building) trend or do you think they’re here to stay?
