What started as a simple toast hack turned into a full-blown internet debate—and now, one woman is both amused and bewildered by the backlash.
Marf May, a 28-year-old TikToker (@marfmaay), recently posted a video of her morning routine that’s racked up over 2.1 million views and 46,000 likes. The controversy? Her method of buttering toast: rubbing a cold stick of butter directly onto the warm bread. No knife. No dish. Just straight-up swipe-and-serve.
“It just feels like the easiest way to do it when the butter is cold from the fridge,” May explained. “It’s a nightmare to spread with a knife when it’s cold!! And I don’t own a butter dish.”
She added, “I was not expecting it to be so controversial—so many people saying it’s genius and loads saying I should be in jail for such a crime.”
In her now-viral clip, May breaks down the system: she keeps one butter stick for cooking and a separate stick exclusively for toast. As for the crumbs? She shrugs them off—literally. The warm bread helps the cold butter melt instantly, and she doesn’t seem too fussed about a few leftovers clinging to the stick.
“Does that offend people or what’s our thoughts?” she asks viewers in the video.
Well, the internet definitely had thoughts.
Some people were all-in:
“IT’S GENIUS and I don’t care what anyone else thinks,” one user declared.
“I asked for a butter bell for my 35th birthday and it’s my fav thing. Pack that baby with Lurpak and enjoy life,” another shared.
Others, not so much:
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING,” exclaimed one horrified commenter.
“I love it and I hate it, how does that work?” summed up another.
“The crumbs going mouldy scares me,” wrote Grace, echoing a common hygiene concern.
One celiac user chimed in with a hard pass: “I will not be eating at your home. But as we don’t know each other that’s fine.”
Meanwhile, TikToker Blair Norsand offered a practical solution: “If you use butter daily, get a butter bell… and keep it on the counter.” (A butter bell, in case you’re wondering, is a ceramic container that keeps butter soft and spreadable at room temp without spoiling.)
According to Trewithen Dairy, a Cornish dairy brand, the “proper” way to butter toast is still the classic: use real, room-temp butter in a covered dish, slice it thin (or use a butter curler), and spread with a knife. It’s more hygienic, and yes, keeps crumbs out of your butter.
But while traditionalists may cringe at Marf’s crumb-filled butter block, others see her shortcut as clever, efficient, and—let’s be honest—relatable.
And that’s the beauty of the internet: one person’s breakfast habit is another person’s viral moment.
