With 26.3 million views for the hashtag #butterboard alone, butterboards are definitely exploding on the social media video platform. So don’t be surprised if during the next holiday season you show up at someone’s house for a festive gathering and you’re presented with a cutting board with thick butter and topped with all the kinds of things.
“Have you heard of a butter platter?” asks TikToker and recipe developer Justine Doiron (@justine_snacks) in a video that racked up 7.9 million views in just five days and sparked a craze. “This is what we look like and I want to make this the next charcuterie platter. Not to spoof charcuterie, but, like, maybe a little.”
In a video showing her liberally spreading two sticks of softened butter on a wooden cutting board (cute in the shape of a loaf), Doiron explains that the concept, which she credits to chef and cookbook author Josh McFadden, is perfect when hosting a group of people.
Basically, you “spread a bunch of softened butter on a plate, add tons of flaky salt, tons of lemon zest, whatever herbs or toppings you want,” advises Doiron, sharing that she adds “edible flowers and like a honey coriander situation” to its board.
The plank is meant to be served with hot bread and, she says, “It feels really communal. I love it.”
Even as Doiron’s video went viral, some commenters expressed skepticism.
“During Covid, everyone wore gloves, masks and stayed 6 feet away. Now we share tables of bites and scrape butter from the same plate,” one noted.
“No TY, I don’t trust double divers,” wrote another, before allowing, “I’d do that for me though.”
Doiron apparently felt compelled to weigh in on the controversy. “Didn’t expect this to explode but YOU CAN USE A KNIFE AS A CHEESE BOARD, CALM UP ok,” she wrote.
Other commentators were in, though.
“If hummus and pita are too exotic for you then this is exactly the thing for you,” one fan wrote.
“Sounds amazing omg,” another replied.
“I want to LIVE in this butter board!!” cried a third.
Other TikTokers took to Doiron’s viral post promoting McFadden’s butter board concept – and added their own twists.
@themodernnonna, based in Canada, prepares her butter board with fig jams, sliced fresh figs, warm honey and nuts “for the crunch”. “A butter board IS THE BRIGHTEST IDEA I have ever come across,” she exclaims in a video posted just three days ago and viewed over 2.6 million times. (She substitutes butter for creamy goat cheese, in another version.)
Food Network recipe developer Amanda Neal calls butter boards a “clever idea”. “It’s basically a compound butter but beautifully layered on a little cheese board,” says Neal.
For a better butter board, Neal recommends using salted butter and/or a generous sprinkle of flaked sea salt on top, “due to the ratio of butter to other ingredients.”
Guess we’re all jumping on this trend!