I find different brands are softer at room temp. I've heard different reasons for it, including some semi hydrogenation of certain brands but don't know if it's true.

Likely not relevant, but lately our butter has been too firm and it's because the cupboard is on an outside wall. And it's cold outside.

Some butter has air bubbles whipped in the mixture to make it softer.

dcarch

Different butters have different water percentages, and salt quantity is also a difference, but it's much more likely to be about room temperature. I doubt there's an appreciable difference. My kitchen is never that cold and more often quite warm, and all butter spreads (or liquifies) at room temperature. I also keep it chilled so it doesn't ooze all over, so I watch it warming often.

A crock or butter bell might help keep your butter the way you like it. If you have heavy stone counters that retain the winter chill (i.e., never get up to heated room temp because the heater isn't on long enough), it's likely to act as a chiller. Try putting the butter dish on a trivet or something to insulate it. A folded tea towel would do it.

My daughter uses a butter bell and swears by it. I prefer whipped unsalted butter - it lives on the kitchen counter and is always "spreading" temp, summer and winter.

Just in general, I think the European butters with higher butterfat spread better even when cold.

laceyvail "Just in general, I think the European butters with higher butterfat spread better even when cold."

I wondered about that and upon reading above I checked and found one chart showing brand-name butters varied from about 82-85% total "fat".

Yes, fat is the opposite side of the water equation. Most of the rest is "solids", which are the other things besides fat and water from the milk.

I don't notice a difference with higher fat content. It's a small difference. But that might be the quality of my "ordinary" butter. There might be leaner still.

Currently there are ads on TV trying to palm off cheap butter that has been mixed with oil (oil being significantly less expensive) for baking. They used to try to sell it as spreadable, and now they're trying to convince you that that just that much softer is going to make your last minute baking better! Never mind the fact that you need to aerate the butter anyway, so "softening" it is no big deal if you have a mixer. Oil in the butter will make your baking come out differently and can make your cookies spread too fast.

OTOH, for buttering toast or bread, there's nothing wrong with the "spreadable" butter with oil, and you might consider trying it, if the other suggestions don't help.