Perhaps the spiritual successor to the increasingly wild charcuterie and cheese boards that have been all over the internet, butter boards are the hot, inexplicable new thing taking over your TikTok feed. But what are they, and most importantly, why are we so obsessed?
@justine_snacks I like this one idk I’m in a silly goofy butter mood
♬ original sound – speed songs
Butter board videos, a history
Kicked off by tiktoker @justine_snacks who got the idea from cookbook writer Joshua McFadden’s book, Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables, the admittedly highly aesthetic, if unhinged, spreads have, well, spread like wildfire across the app.
@_fromtheground BUTTER BOARD VIRAL CHALLENGE – inspired by British afternoon tea ☕️ تحدي الزبدة#butterboard #butterboardchallenge #british #afternoontea #britishafternoontea #butter #viral #fyp #challenge #cheeseboard #زبدة #زبادي #تحدي_الزبدة #تحدي ♬ original sound – Meral.Jibouri
@royalajwa Butter board #butterboard #challange #trend #butter #board #fypシ #asmr #foryoupage #foryou #food #viral #fyp #fürdich #xzybca #satisfying #voorjou #royalajwa ♬ origineel geluid – royal ajwa
@homemadebyirene As a butter girl, I believe it is my civic duty to make this board for you all, and I humbly accept Thank you @Organic Valley for providing a perfect canvas #organicvalley #butterboard #fyp ♬ original sound – Irene Walton
Even the Kardashians have got in on it. (With a vegan spread, of course.)
@chefklosangeles Making some butter board appetizers for @kourtneykardashian 🖤 ##chefk##chefkla##butterboards##kourtneykardashian##kardashians##privatechef##celebritychef##cook##cooking##food##chef ♬ original sound – Chef K
And it’s not just butter. Apparently the advent of the butter board has shown people that you can just smear anything on a wooden board and serve it up, and there’s no longer any need to pretend it’s anything even vaguely resembling a charcuterie or cheese board. (Yes, they’re two different things.) Peanut butter, hummus, or vegan pumpkin brûlée boards anyone?
@healthylittlepeach If you love the viral Butter Board trend started by @justinesnacks then you are going to love this Hummus Board. #butterboard #hummustrend #hummusboard #appetizers #wine ♬ Luna, amore e no – Piero Piccioni
@thekoreanvegan #butterboard #pumpkinspice #storytime #foodtiktok #foodtok #storytime ♬ original sound – Joanne L. Molinaro (이선영)
Or what about one of the frosting boards that are multiplying at an alarming rate?
@vermomster #butterboard more like #buttercream board #frostingboard ♬ original sound – VerMomster
@areesa Would you rather have a butter board or a buttercream board? #butterboard #buttercream #dessertboard ♬ CUFF IT – Beyoncé
@allrecipes Thanks for asking @VerMomster 😉 what would you dip in this neopolitan frosting board?? #frosting #butterboard #cookies #brownies #frostingboard #sweet ♬ original sound – VerMomster
We’re even coming back around full circle to solid foods again with these inspired-by-butter-boards rice and pasta clips. Seriously anything can be a board because anything can be eaten on a board.
@thejarr #duet with @pastaevangelists #ButterBoard ♬ original sound – sana • rueloml
@knowtoriously Riceboard has entered the chat #butterboardwithoutbutter #riceboards #밥먹어요 ♬ She Share Story (for Vlog) – 山口夕依
But as much as people have jumped on this new, highly Instagrammable food trend, the hatred for it is multi-platform and sincere.
@kellyscleankitchen #greenscreenvideo sign my petition to stop butter boards #butterboard #food #cooking #foodtok #butterboards ♬ original sound – Chef Kelly Scott
The Federalist even called it a sign of the end times, so there’s that.
Seriously though, there are legitimate food hygiene concerns when it comes to the butter board. From the potentially germ-laden cracks in the wooden boards that could contaminate the butter to double dipping and leaving the dairy product to sit at room temperature for hours at a time, there are ways that the butter board could in fact make you sick. While they don’t make the top 50 of most concerning foods according to food safety specialist Benjamin Chapman, you do still need to be careful when preparing and serving them.
However, if the predicted butter shortage of the next few months comes to pass, well, then butter boards, and other such flagrant displays of conspicuous butter consumption, may soon prove to be a distant memory. So if you’ve got your heart set on trying to make one of these things the time is probably now.