"I usually like butter on rye toast. I've been eating it this way for
years.
Can I also use butter on whole wheat toast? I see nothing on the butter

wrapper or bread package which sheds any light on the issue. Help!"

Ha! You're clearly a toast connoiseur, and know your ways around the
noble crust. You're right, Big Butter isn't interested in accuracy or
helping
out us little guys. I remember, back before butter had gone corporate,
they
used to care about the consumer and address things like this. You
can't
blame them I suppose; Parkay kind of ruined it for everyone - the dairy
industry
had to keep up somehow. But I miss those days.

The first thing you have to consider is whether or not your whole wheat
is really
"whole" wheat, or is just what's labelled "wheat bread," which can
have any amount
of whole wheat flour. These breads can be overwhelmed by a really good
butter, although
with standard Land-O-Lakes or store brand, they work fine. It goes
with out saying that you're
using unsalted.

You might be lucky enough to live somewhere near a developing artisan
buttermaker. These folks
are bringing back the ancient noble art of churning as it was meant to
be. Many use organic milk from their
own cows. This stuff is the best. If you're using this, then you
either should be baking your own bread or
using artisan baked stuff.

Plugra, or finnish butter, is availlable in specialty stores and
high-end groceries like Whole Foods. It might even
be availlable in normal stores like Kroger or Albertsons or Aldi. You
can probably also buy it over the internet.

What are you burning your bread with? I tried the fork method like
they do in the UK, but I just couldn't master it. Maybe if I had a
roaring fire, but it doesn't work with a gas range. I know some people
like those retro styled hulks like Cuisinart is selling, but those are
mostly overpriced flash. I've had perfectly good results with a thrift
store hamilton beach two slicer. I don't like the color, but hey,
isn't that what spray paint is for?

Good luck and enjoy.

Greg Zywicki
I'm not sure who I'm making fun of.