Editing Butter (section)

====United States====

In the United States, butter has traditionally been made into small, rectangular blocks by means of a pair of wooden butter paddles. It is usually produced in {{convert|4|oz|lb g|adj=on|frac=4}} sticks that are individually wrapped in waxed or foiled paper, and sold as a {{convert|1|lb}} package of 4 sticks. This practice is believed to have originated in 1907, when [[Swift and Company]] began packaging butter in this manner for mass distribution.<ref name="parker">{{cite web
 |first        = Milton E.
 |last         = Parker
 |title        = Princely Packets of Golden Health (A History of Butter Packaging)
 |year         = 1948
 |url          = http://drinc.ucdavis.edu/research/butter.pdf
 |access-date   = 15 October 2006
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20061006150533/http://drinc.ucdavis.edu/research/butter.pdf
 |archive-date = 6 October 2006
|url-status     = dead
 |df           = dmy-all
}}</ref>
Due to historical differences in butter printers (machines that cut and package butter),<ref name="cooksill"/> 4-ounce sticks are commonly produced in two different shapes:
{{multiple images|total_width=350px
|image1=Stick-of-butter-salted.jpg
|caption1=Eastern-pack shape salted butter
|image2=Western-pack-butter.jpg
|caption2=Western-pack shape unsalted butter
}}
* The dominant shape east of the Rocky Mountains is the Elgin, or Eastern-pack shape, named for a dairy in [[Elgin, Illinois]]. The sticks measure {{convert|4+3/4|x|1+1/4|x|1+1/4|in}} and are typically sold stacked two by two in elongated cube-shaped boxes.<ref name="cooksill">{{Cite journal
| title=A Better Stick of Butter?
| journal=Cook's Illustrated
|issue=77
|date=November–December 2005
| page=3
}}</ref> Most US butter dishes are designed for Elgin-style butter sticks.<ref name="cooksill"/>
* West of the Rocky Mountains, butter printers standardized on a different shape that is now referred to as the Western-pack shape.  These butter sticks measure {{convert|3+1/4|x|1+1/2|x|1+1/2|in}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Commercial Butter Making and Packaging Machines|url=http://www.schiercompany.com/ButterEquipment.html|website=Schier Company, Inc.|access-date=19 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180520054543/http://www.schiercompany.com/ButterEquipment.html|archive-date=20 May 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> and are usually sold with four sticks packed side-by-side in a flat, rectangular box.<ref name="cooksill"/>