I thought everyone did it this way...

[jmarvellous]

The idea of peanut butter with butter makes my stomach turn. No thanks!

I do not butter bread unless I'm having plain toast or cinnamon toast or garlic toast. Sometimes I even just toast my bread unbuttered for "grilled cheese."


I don't much like condiments, though I'll add mustard if it's not the bright yellow stuff and is on a sandwich that compliments it, and I might add hummus or another thick spread (avocado is all I can think of at the moment) sometimes.

[rose red]

I've never done this and don't know anyone who does this.  Although I don't ask what others put on their sandwich so maybe I do know people who do this .  I'm not a big fan of butter anyway, except maybe on baked potatoes and corn.  I don't even butter rolls or toast.

[nutraxfornerves]

I once looked up the US preference for mayonnaise over butter on sandwiches. Adapted from a post of mine on another forum--

The core spread is often mayonnaise, although not usually with peanut butter. (When I was a teenager, I had a job as a daytime babysitter for a family. One kid wanted peanut butter & mayonnaise sandwiches for lunch every day.) Mustard runs second. A 2011 survey (admittedly sponsored by a mayonnaise company), found that "When it comes to condiments, nearly two in three (61 percent) would choose mayo over mustard (22 percent) or oil and vinegar (8 percent) if they could only use one type of condiment on their sandwiches for the rest of their lives."

I think that mayo as a sandwich spread is a relatively new thing. My older cookbooks, such as the 1940's Joy of Cooking,almost always call for butter. The The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink says that butter was the most common sandwich spread until the early 20th Century, when commercial mayo, which was a lot more stable than homemade, became available and affordable.

My old cookbooks talk about butter being used to keep filling from soaking into the bread. However, the fillings weren't meat and cheese. The sandwiches are more of the dainty "tea" variety, with fillings like cucumber or watercress or fish paste or jam. The Oxford book says that the invention of commercial pre-sliced bread stimulated the idea sandwiches as a kids lunch--the kids could slap some boloney on bread slathered with mustard or mayo, without having to go near a sharp knife. An easy-to-make and portable lunch was also popular with workers, who were increasingly unable to go home for a hot lunch.

[Ms_Cellany]

As a kid, I made sandwiches of peanut butter, butter, and honey.

[zyrs]

Butter keeps the bread from becoming soggy if you use a moist filling. (Kitchen tip from my mom)

This - have always buttered the bread first.  Grew up in the Pacific Northwest, so maybe it's regional.

[Kaypeep]

I'm from the US but when I went to London I noticed the buttered bread for sandwiches thing, and it didn't bother me.  I've taken to doing it myself here, but it depends on the sandwich.  I like ham and cheese with butter, or chicken cutlet sandwiches with melted cheese and butter.  I'll then sprinkle some garlic salt on the butter for that one.  Turkey and cheese is also good with butter, but not if I'm putting lettuce and tomato on it.  Then I go for mayo.  For italian meat sandwiches (salami, capicolla, etc.) I skip spreads and just put roasted peppers on them, for moisture and to balance the salt in the meat.

[Pen^2]

If I'm making a sandwich with a soggy filling, like chili con carne (don't judge me!), then I'll butter the bread because it helps maintain structural integrity so the bread won't fall apart. It depends on the filling. For something like lettuce, tomato, and ham, though, I'll often not bother, unless I'm in the mood for that specific taste. This is more because I'm lazy than anything else. DH prefers it buttered, though, so if I'm making sandwiches for both of us, then I'll butter at least one.

I once had vegemite without butter and it was horrid. It really depends on the filling and your taste preferences.

[guihong]

Maybe this is a stupid question, but is there a difference between mayo and Miracle Whip?

I love a thick PB & J, but I'm not fond of butter itself.  My mom would make BLT's but without butter. 

I do remember how she made fancy little cucumber sandwiches with some kind of butter or spread, then trimmed off the crusts.  Somehow, she could peel and cut the cucumbers into pretty shapes as well. 

[Outdoor Girl]

Maybe this is a stupid question, but is there a difference between mayo and Miracle Whip?

Are you trying to start a war?   

Proponents for one or the other tend to hold very strongly to their opinions.

I'm a Miracle Whip girl for the very few times I use something like that.  I find it has more flavour.  But mayo is less processed, when you read the label - less chemically things in it.  It is mostly just eggs and oil, I think.

[Yvaine]

Maybe this is a stupid question, but is there a difference between mayo and Miracle Whip?

Yes, and each has its devoted adherents.  Miracle Whip is sweeter, IMO, which is either good or bad depending on what you like.

[EMuir]

Western Canada here, and every sandwich has butter on the inside, except for grilled cheese, where it's on the outside.

[Hillia]

The Oatmeal has a pretty definite, pretty gross opinion that is firmly in the mayonnaise camp.

My understanding is that real mayo contains eggs, so it must be refrigerated after opening.  Miracle Whip or generic 'salad dressing' does not, so it can be stored in the cupboard.  I prefer mayo, which to me has a creamier, more savory taste.  Miracle Whip does have a definite mild bite to it, a little more tangy.

[daen]

At this point in my life, I prefer mayo in my sandwiches. Toasted sandwiches may be buttered on one side, but not always. Toast is buttered unless peanut butter is involved.

There are some people I know who are firmly in the "one spread per bread" camp, so one chooses either butter or jam for one's toast.

I've been on three tours where I was billeted in someone's home for the night, and mine host provided a bag lunch for the next day. The variety of sandwich-making protocols is surprising. My best billet, hands down, interviewed me the night before to ask exactly how many sandwiches I wanted, and how to build them: white/brown/rye bread? dinner roll? turkey, roast beef, or bologna? mustard/mayo/butter/ketchup? I think the only thing she didn't ask was if I preferred the sandwich cut vertically, horizontally, or on the diagonal.

[Jones]

I have never had a sandwich with butter, unless it was grilled, and even then I generally use the Pam spray to get an even color instead.

I tend to skimp on sandwich dressings, all the way around, though. Spicy mustard OR mayo, OR Muracle Whip, and just a lite spread of whatever it is anyway.

[MindsEye]

Butter keeps the bread from becoming soggy if you use a moist filling. (Kitchen tip from my mom)

This!  This is how my Mom used to make my sandwiches when I was in grade school.  Butter the bread (butter inside) and fill with cheese, onions, meat, and lettuce.  I haven't had a sandwich like that in years... I am not much of a sandwich person these days...

I was born in (and grew up in and currently live in) the US Midwest.  Ohio, to be specific.