Butter is very spreadable without adding canola to it. The misunderstanding are people thinking you have to refrigerate butter. You dont. Keep it in a covered container on your table or countertops. As long as it is room temperature, the stick of butter will last a few weeks. Keep the sticks you aren’t using in the fridge but leave the one you are using out. Even after 2 weeks, it’s not dangerous, just starts to separate and doesnt taste as good.
Salted butter keeps for several days at room temp, without loss of quality, but unsalted butter start to fade after 2 or 3 days. I haven’t bought margarine for at least 40 years, but it’s getting really pricey. Our regional dairy stores used to sell their cultured butter for $3/pound, on sale. Now their sale price is $3.50/pound, which is still cheaper than anywhere else.
Yes, what you said. We only put the covered butter dish in the fridge, if we are leaving town for a few days.
What you posted about leaving butter on the table (in an antique butter dish in our case) is absolutely correct.
We keep a stick of butter (in a small tupperware) on the counter. In the summer, it might get a little runny, but it’s still good.
I keep several pounds in the freezer, defrost them in the fridge as needed - no problems.
Yup. No margarine in our house for a long time. Butter in the cupboard in a container.