{"id":20,"date":"2026-06-10T07:16:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T07:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wearstreamtext.com\/?p=20"},"modified":"2026-06-10T07:19:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T07:19:48","slug":"why-we-love-butter-while-chinese-people-rarely-eat-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wearstreamtext.com\/?p=20","title":{"rendered":"Why We Love Butter, While Chinese People Rarely Eat It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Affiliate Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no extra cost to you.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Butter is an essential staple in American and Western diets. We spread it on bread, use it for frying steak and baking desserts, and it appears at almost every meal. However, butter only sits quietly on the corner of dairy shelves in Chinese supermarkets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Data shows New Zealanders consume 37 kilograms of butter per capita every year, while China\u2019s per capita butter consumption is less than 0.2 kilograms \u2014 nearly 180 times lower. Why is this popular dairy fat so rarely used in ordinary Chinese households?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re looking for high-quality everyday butter for baking, steak and breakfast toast, check out this top-rated creamy butter on Amazon: [Go to Amazon to purchase]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Different Civilizations and Food Origins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most European and American regions have mild, wet climates with lush grasslands, perfect for large-scale cattle farming and abundant milk supplies. Before refrigeration was invented, fresh milk could not be stored for long. People turned excess milk into butter and cheese, which last longer and provide rich fat and energy. This tradition has lasted for thousands of years, and the United States fully inherited this butter-eating culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China has long been an agricultural society. Cattle were mainly working animals for farming and protected by ancient laws, not raised for milk. Large-scale dairy farming only arrived in China in modern times. For most of history, dairy products were luxury goods for nobles and rituals, never popular among common people. Without a stable milk source, butter never got a chance to take root in Chinese daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lactose Intolerance Creates a Natural Barrier<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

More than 80% of adult Chinese people are lactose intolerant. Their bodies produce little lactase after growing up, leading to bloating and stomach discomfort after eating dairy food. Although butter contains less lactose than fresh milk, it still causes digestive issues for sensitive groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, most Westerners can digest lactose easily. This physical difference makes many Chinese people avoid butter by instinct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Butter Does Not Suit Traditional Chinese Cooking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Western cooking mainly relies on low-heat frying, baking and roasting. Butter has a smoke point between 120\u00b0C and 150\u00b0C, which works perfectly for our cooking styles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional Chinese food features high-heat stir-frying, which requires oil to withstand temperatures above 200\u00b0C. Butter burns easily at high heat, producing bitter taste and harmful fumes, so it is totally unsuitable for Chinese stir-fry dishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese people already have ideal cooking oils. Lard, soybean oil, rapeseed oil and peanut oil all have high smoke points and rich flavors. In 2025, China\u2019s per capita consumption of edible vegetable oil reached 28 kilograms, over 140 times that of butter. Local oils fully meet all daily cooking needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For authentic high-smoke-point Chinese cooking oil ideal for stir-fry, deep frying and daily home cooking, shop this trusted vegetable oil via Amazon: [Go to Amazon to purchase<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

High Price & Inconvenient Storage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Butter is much more expensive than regular cooking oil \u2014 around 15 times the cost of soybean oil. For families cooking every day, using butter for daily meals is not cost-effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides, butter requires refrigeration and goes bad quickly after opening. Many Chinese families end up throwing away unused butter. Lard and vegetable oil can be stored at room temperature with a long shelf life, which is far more convenient for daily use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Butter Only Gains Popularity in Niche Scenarios<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With the spread of Western food and baking culture, butter has become popular among young Chinese people. They use it for baking pastries and making Western-style meals, driving steady sales growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even so, butter remains a specialty ingredient for desserts and steak. It has no practical use in traditional Chinese cuisine and will never become a mainstream cooking oil for ordinary families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Butter\u2019s different popularity in America and China is not about which ingredient is better. It is simply the result of distinct geography, civilizations, eating habits and physical conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Butter fits Western pastoral culture, while lard and vegetable oil match Chinese agricultural cuisine. Every food choice is a practical solution formed over thousands of years. When it comes to eating, the best choice is always what suits your own taste and lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pick creamy butter for Western baking and steak, or stable high-heat vegetable oil for classic Chinese stir-fry using the Amazon affiliate links shared earlier in this post.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Affiliate Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. Butter is an essential staple in American and Western diets. We spread it on bread, use it for frying steak and baking desserts, and it appears at almost … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[11,9,8,13,10,12],"class_list":["post-20","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-butter-vs-cooking-oil","tag-food-culture-between-us-and-china","tag-lactose-intolerance-and-butter","tag-traditional-chinese-cooking-oil","tag-why-butter-is-popular-in-america","tag-why-chinese-dont-eat-butter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wearstreamtext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wearstreamtext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wearstreamtext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wearstreamtext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wearstreamtext.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/wearstreamtext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28,"href":"https:\/\/wearstreamtext.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions\/28"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wearstreamtext.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wearstreamtext.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wearstreamtext.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}