Solving the Big Issues: Buttering the sambo

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I am very lucky to have Rob around in the mornings helping out with the kids, making me coffee, pointing out current affairs that are going on in the world and generally making me laugh. He points out that I am like a Whirling Dervish cleaning plates and knifes and cups before they are finished, I say I am just a well oiled machine.

This morning he was making the girls sandwiches when it occurred to me we make sandwiches differently. I’ve known this for some time, but never really commented on it, because I want to stay married, and I want him to keep making sandwiches.

But I did ask (nicely of course) why it was that he only buttered one side of the sandwich. WHY ROB WHY? Why only have one side of butter when you can have two? He pointed out a couple of things to me:

  1. It’s healthier for our children to only have one side of butter, in fact they should go butter less. NOT ON MY WATCH. NOT IN IN FAMILY.
  2. Things slide out of a sandwich with butter on both sides? I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO RESPOND TO THAT. It’s that stupid.

But I know that like toilet rolls, people do things one way and feel very strongly about it. So tell me, how do you butter a sambo?

One side or two?
And WHY?

Comments

  1. Only ever BUTTER!!!!
    Both side and all the way to the edge and spread rather thickly.

    Oh and I do also have butter with peanut butter, same with avo!!!

    Life is too short!!

    Happy Friday!

    • I’m in Carmel’s camp for everything here! Always butter, always to the edges. Yes with peanut butter and yes with avo! I sound like a Dr Suess Book! My 9 year old son makes his own lunches now and uses NO BUTTER EVER!!! It’s times like this I question his genetics!

  2. Definitely both , OR, avocado one side and aioli the other etc. But something on each side.

  3. One side. I don’t know why. Habit I suppose. Now I’m questioning my sambo making , 2 does make more sense. I’m in a spin about that now.

  4. Actually Beth – this is one of the world’s big issues and I am glad you raised it and I am sorry – I agree with Rob.
    Butter does impact on bread – in fact my kids no longer have butter on bread unless the buttier is actually the topping alone.
    Otherwise things slide out or go yuk – like sauce on ham in a sandwich – it is a big no-no to have butter in this kind of sandwich situation.

    Yours in the big issues

  5. Both sides and as thickly as possible. Why I ask you would anyone reduce the potential joy in their day by 50 percent from the get go? Insanity that’s what a one side butter job is. Miserable insanity! As for no butter… Yes it’s healthier but why live longer if it means being miserably half buttered for an extra couple of years? Strong feelings I know but you are so right Beth and while I am sure Rob may have many truly admirable qualities he is my friend very much WRONG on this one. Butter on with gay abandon I say!

  6. oh… we are a no butter at all family. Except with vegemite….

  7. Dear lord 2 sides Rob always 2 sides! And there’s a certain art to doing Vegemite sandwiches, but as a general rule it’s 2 parts butter to 1 part Vegemite. ?

  8. Only ever one side. But I grew up with a mother who believe butter (cream, milk, sauce, cake, chocolate oh the list goes on) is extremely fattening. So one side was/is very decadent for me.

  9. Sally Taylor says

    Who does one side? Ridiculous. I think the butter makes things stick to the bread and hold the sandwich together. But honestly if my husband made a sandwich I would be happy. He thinks all food is my concern. I may have told him loudly this morning that it was in actual fact a family issue. That everyone could be involved.

  10. 2 sides with butter, otherwise I find it all flops open & contents are lost with little kids trying to eat their lunch. The butter sticks it together!

  11. Hi funny stuff!
    I butter on both sides and even put mayo.It is a dilema in the mornings though, there is a quick second when i think should I or shouldn’t I??? Overall I do think more is better. I also think the most important things in terms of diet for kids is: food should be enjoyed, shared and give them nourishment. Also we as adults should lead by example: get out and be active and eat well. We forget that kids are smart, they will tell you when something is not right i.e.: too much butter or Yucky Mayo Mum! Have a great day! xx

  12. Butter both sides. I find without it, the cheese slides out. Butter makes it stick. Not heaps but enough. I still remember when Mum made my sandwiches at school and the butter was so thick, that I smiled with each bite as it was so delicious. Thanks Mum x

  13. Butter on both sides but only for specific sandwiches…vegemite, cheese, cucumber, jam but not ham, peanut butter or avocado. And proper butter, not that margarine crap.

  14. One side?! Cray-cray! Always both sides, right into all the corners. And yep, all spreads have butter underneath – sometimes even avo. And while I’m at it, Costco have 1kg tubs of spreadable Lurpak. You’re welcome πŸ™‚

    • Oh my giddy aunt thank you. I have wanted a reason to sign up at Costco. My only issue with Lurpak has been the pathetically small tub. Those days will soon be a thing of the past. Again, thank you from the top to the bottom of my next sandwich and all hot buttery toast thereafter.

  15. Butter! Both sides!

    Honestly if you want to get into health debates with him look up low carb high (healthy) fat. Show him current research on margarine and how bad canola and vegetable oil are for you πŸ˜‰ Plenty of current research that supports our butter loving side.

    • I was at my sister’s yesterday and they use MARGARINE, and Equal, and drink diet soda. Both she and her husband have numerous health problems. I’ve been telling them for years to stop putting that junk in their bodies….but no one listens to me.

  16. When I was a kid my Grandma used to put butter on her sandwiches and I thought it was so strange. We lived in Chicago and we used either Miracle whip or Hellman’s mayo. When I moved to the West Coast people out here thought Miracle Whip was nasty and Hellman’s was called Best Foods. I now actually like butter on a sandwich. I say both sides… Either mayo on one side (the one the lettuce goes on) and mustard on the meat side.

  17. My husbo is in Rob’s camp and until now I had never known anyone else that does that! I am firm on the 2 sides and will not be convinced of any other way. Where there is bread there must be butter – ALWAYS!!!

  18. Butter both sides, accept no substitutes. I was backpacking in Spain once and ordered a ham sandwich (Jamon if you please!) and it was served with NO BUTTER! I remember thinking ‘how uncivilized’. I just had to survive on tapas after that!

  19. Totally ignoring the butter or not to butter question.
    I, too am a whirling dervish in the kitchen!
    My husband starts to make his coffee and before you can say Jack Robinson I’ve popped the spoon in the sink. He actually says “Where’s my !!!!!! spoon!” Haha!
    I clean up, wash up, unstack and stack like a well oiled machine as well .Its my happy place in housework world.
    I’m Gluten Intolerant so your posts on bread and butter make me salivate. When I toast my GF bread I put loads of butter too! Better than margarine!

  20. Two sides, butter of course. Never had a problem with fillings slipping out. Used to do no butter on my own sangers for a while then realised life is too short. Sometimes I have to pull my husband up on the incy smear of butter he uses on our sandwiches – I tell him that’s not how we do it in my country!! Being originally English he lets me pull that card on occasions!! He can do as he wishes on his own sandwich but our need butter to the edges, all over. He then calls me crazy and we leave it at that!
    I feel that my mornings are like that vid of the “getting the house ready for guests” that was doing the rounds – and leaving the house is just me yelling commands. I kind-of hate it.

  21. Oh the irony. Where does Rob stand on your slabs of Lurpak?
    This whole debate is probably a little bit redundant given many of your readership are surely here because we all share a mutual love of butter with you!

  22. I don’t want to offend anyone but no butter on bread for fresh sandwiches, just yuk, have I lived in a cave or what?
    However…toasties are another thing. Butter on the top of those babies like you mean business

  23. It must be butter not marg, it must be buttered on both sides and to the edges and it must be cut on the diagonal because I’m clearly a freak!!! ?

  24. Oh, dont get me started on sandwich making! I like butter on both sides and to the edge. If there is chutney or relish, it goes on the bottom then meat, salad fixings, tiny squirt of mayo then cheese then the bread top. I nearly fainted one day when our deli lady made my sanga and put meat first then chutney on top of that! Who does that??? I got quite twitchy! ?

  25. I think maybe Rob is inspired.

    I get grossed out when the fillings slip out with a slimy layer of butter on them – esp if there are little chunks.

    If I did half-half I could put the slipperier toppings on the non buttered side and they might ever stick to the non greased bread and there would be less slipping as well as salvation from fillings gooped up with the great joy that is butter.

    (but my Feb fast is no butter – I want my clothes to fit again – so I’ll have to wait to test until the deprivation is over)

  26. Filling sliding out is not something I have noticed before. However, sandwiches are made buttering both pieces of bread. Toasties are buttered both sides of both pieces. I see low carb was mentioned. yes, it does work. I used that when pregnant many years ago with each of three sons. The maximum I gained was thre kilos in the pregnancy. I was healthy, baby was full term and healthy and eac weighed more than I gained. However to talj about low carb diet using butter is fine but what’ts with the bread on such a diet!

  27. Haha I remember being very shocked several years ago when Mr Unprepared buttered only one side of a sandwich. I had no idea there was any other way than both sides! I like both sides because it means your bread is less dry and gross! Although, I like to completely forget about butter and use a mashed avo when I’m feeling fancy! x

  28. You know what spoils my sanga? The way it’s cut. It’s got to be in rectangles – not triangles! ick.

  29. I’m with Rob on this one, if I butter their sandwiches (sometimes I don’t, if the inside bits don’t need it as an adheseive) then I only do one side or if I do both to hold something in there it’s just a smattering. I have also got out of habit of not buttering bread rolls! Just because my kids (and I) have enough fat in their diet.

  30. Whitney Sigler says

    Both sides! Yep and when I’m using Mao the same. The hubby hardly adds any plus he hates a messy sandwich. I think those are the best.

  31. Have you been to my house – my husband does the same thing and I cannot understand it. I firmly belong to the butter both sides team but he only butters one – shits me to be honest because the filling doesn’t stay in as well

  32. My husband tried to get away with vegemite and no butter. I set him straight. Butter both sides (margarine has no place in my home). My only concession to health is to make the butter no too thick.

  33. My mum loved butter and would make our sandwiches with a layer of butter as thick as cheese. It managed to turn my brother and I both off butter for years (I know, the horror!) By 8 years old we were making our own sandwiches so we could control the butter situation because mum, like any true butter lover, just couldn’t help slathering it on even when we begged her not to!
    Now, as an adult, I love it but even still would only ever butter one side of the bread.

  34. I’m with Rob. No butter. Instead I use Tahini or homemade tapenade or homemade pesto. With toast topped with avo or tomato I use an excellent quality Aussie olive oil drizzled on the toast first. I believe Aussies eat and drink far too much dairy – Asian and Greek diets are far healthier. It’s a matter of discipline – but then I have made all my own bread by hand for 40 years – now from Spelt flour. I know butter is now considered a healthy fat – but only in moderation. Hate to mention this but a majority of Aussies by age 60 are on cholesterol lowering medication – probably best to try to avoid that. I’ll get off my hobby horse now.

  35. Now if we are talking toasted sandwiches then the butter also needs to be on the outside of the bread too. The lovely lunch ladies that run the little shop at the hospital I work at have this down pat thankfully πŸ™‚
    My mum brought me up on a solid diet of butter and cream. I remember eating slabs of it after school. So did my mum. And now my daughter does too πŸ™‚ Best way to calm a crying toddler. A spoonful of butter.

  36. I have no butter on sandwiches, but both sides on the outside of toasties.

  37. For me, butter on both sides unless there’s mayo, pb or jam. Or Nutella. Must have butter with vegemite.

    However, the bane of my existence is my 13yo daughter who has never in her life liked butter (or marg) on her bread. Full stop. I tried valiantly when she was a toddler and she always refused until eventually my mum told me to stop trying to force it. No MOTY award for me! She has recently decided she likes the outside buttered when it’s put in the sandwich press BUT….wait for it….. she doesn’t have anything INSIDE the sandwich! SMH!! I give up.

  38. One side only. Ever. I’m sorry, but Rob is correct. Although this is a sticking point in our house too.

  39. Both sides, to stop the other fillings from making my bread soggy…………well, that’s my excuse anyway!
    And because that’s just how it’s done! And yes, my husband only does it on one side too and yes, he’s wrong

  40. Lol. I’m with Rob, but Tony thinks I’m a nutcase. In general terms no butter (but if there is something it has to be BUTTER). Butter is for toast and for sandwiches that contain tomato, but only on the side where the tomato is (to stop soggy bread), and only THEN if you are packing the sandwich to eat later.

  41. Butter (not fake marg., or Nuttlex), edge to edge, both sides. No question – how could it even be a THING!. Avo may replace replace butter when rest of filling is salad-ish.

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