d by fluid measure (centiliters or fluid ounces), this is rare. Butter for commercial and industrial use is packaged in plastic buckets, tubs, or drums, in quantities and units suited to the local market. Worldwide[edit]

 weight only, not by volume (fluid measure) nor by unit (stick), but the package shape remains approximately the same. The wrapper is usually a foil and waxed-paper laminate (the waxed paper is now a siliconised substitute, but is still referred to in some places as parchment, from the wrapping used in past centuries; and the term 'parchment-wrapped' is still employed where the paper alone is used, without the foil laminate).
In the UK and Ireland, and in some other regions historically accustomed to using British measures, this was traditionally ½lb and 1 lb packs; since metrication, these countries have shifted to the same system the rest of the metricated world uses.
In the remainder of the metricated world, butter is packed and sold in 250g and 500g packs (roughly equivalent to the ½lb and 1 lb measures) and measured for cooking in grams or kilograms; although melted butter could be measured by fluid measure (centiliters or fluid ounces), this is rare.
Butter for commercial and industrial use is packaged in plastic buckets, tubs, or drums, in quantities and units suited to the local market.
Worldwide[edit]

In 1997, India produced 1,470,000 metric tons (1,620,000 short tons) of butter, most of which was consumed domestically.[37] Second in production was the United States (522,000 t or 575,000 short tons), followed by France (466,000 t or 514,000 short tons), Germany (442,000 t or 487,000 short tons), and New Zealand (307,000 t or 338,000 short tons). France ranks first in per capita butter consumption with 8 kg per capita per year.[38] In terms of absolute consumption, Germany was second after India, using 578,000 metric tons (637,000 short tons) of butter in 1997, followed by France (528,000 t or 582,000 short tons), Russia (514,000 t or 567,000 short tons), and the United States (505,000 t or 557,000 short tons). New Zealand, Australia, and the Ukraine are among the few nations that export a significant percentage of the butter they produce.[39]
Different varieties are found around the world. Smen is a spiced Moroccan clarified butter, buried in the ground and aged for months or years. Yak butter is a speciality in Tibet; tsampa, barley flour mixed with yak butter, is a staple food. Butter tea is consumed in the Himalayan regions of Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal and India. It consists of tea served with intensely flavored—or "rancid"—yak butter and salt. In African and Asian developing nations, butter is traditionally made from sour milk rather than cream. It can take several hours of churning to produce workable butter grains from fermented milk.[40]
Storage and cooking[edit]



Hollandaise sauce served over white asparagus and potatoes.