An American woman in Paris sparked a transatlantic debate for saying it's 'weird' that French people butter their sandwiches, and now Europeans are clapping back

• An American living in Paris sparked a transatlantic debate on TikTok about buttered sandwiches.
• Amanda Rollins said many Americans think it's "weird" that people in France butter sandwiches.

An American blogger living in Paris left her European TikTok followers baffled after saying she thought it was "weird" that French people use butter in their sandwiches.

Earlier this week, Amanda Rollins, a US citizen who has been living in Paris for five years, shared a video of her preparing sandwiches for her and her boyfriend to take on a hike. While making the lunch, she said it struck her that Americans would find it "strange" that French people use butter as the primary spread of their sandwiches.

"It occurred to me that French people do something very weird with sandwiches that I think you guys would find strange," she says at the start of the clip, which has over 163,000 views. Rollins proceeds to bring a slice of butter up to the camera. "This is butter," she said. "What they do, it's like a classic sandwich. It's ham, cheese, and butter."

"No mayonnaise, no mustard, just butter," she adds, breaking out into laughter.

"I know you might be thinking that sounds gross, but it's actually so good. Is it healthy? No, of course not," Rollins said. "What do you think of that? It's kind of crazy."

Mayonnaise, which Rollins indicated is more commonly used as a sandwich spread in the US, is "basically fat as well" but has "at least some flavor," she said.

Nevertheless, Rollins concluded her video by saying she'd recommend putting putter in sandwiches to other Americans: "Don't knock it until you try it."

Europeans reacting to Rollins' TikTok are shocked many Americans don't butter their sandwiches

As surprised as Rollins was to discover the French custom of using butter in sandwiches, Europeans reacting to her TikTok seemed equally shocked to find out that people in the US don't.

"How on earth is that strange," one user wrote in a comment beneath Rollins TikTok which has over 3,930 likes.

Another TikToker who said they are from the UK said it's not just a French thing. "Butter before anything," they wrote.

To that, Rollins responded by writing: "I promise you no one in the Us is doing this, at least not on the east coast."

A TikTok user who said they are from Lithuania also chimed in, writing that buttering sandwiches has always been "normal" to them. "But I've never thought it to be weird to americans," they added.

Rollins says she gasped reading comments from Europeans who think it's 'weird' to put mayo on sandwiches

While she understands why Europeans may have been confused to learn people in the US don't butter their sandwiches, Rollins told Insider she was shocked to discover that some Europeans responding to her TikTok thought the American tradition of using mayonnaise in sandwiches is "weird."

"A lot of people were saying mayonnaise on a sandwich is weird — to which I GASPED," Rollins said.

"In the US we are big condiment people," she said, adding that one of the first things she noticed after moving to France is how grocery stores tend to have fewer condiments on offer. Mostly, it's Dijon mustard, "moutard flavored" mayonnaise, and "tomato sauce," she said.

She also said she's received comments from some Americans who say they use butter in their sandwiches, but said that, in her view, they are the minority in the US.

"I know for a fact we do not add cold butter to bread on normal sandwiches in the Northeast, South, or West Coast," Rollins said. "Maybe because our go-to bread is sliced white bread and not a baguette, which can actually support butter."

For the most part, she said people in the US don't view butter as a condiment, but rather as a cooking ingredient and "sometimes a toast lubricator."

And while Rollins said she will continue to use butter in her sandwiches, she said she'll stick to only doing so when making a French-style ham and cheese baguette.

"You would never catch me slabbing cold butter onto a regular sandwich," Rollins said.