There is some truly exceptional news today for those readers who have ever tried to replicate the infamous scene from Last Tango in Paris only to whip the butter out of the fridge and find it is rock-hard and completely unspreadable on even the hottest surface - the computerised ButterWizard.

Yup, the UK has proved once again that it is at the cutting edge of life-enhancing technology with the butter dish which maintains your spread at the optimum temperature - be it for "super-soft bread, crusty toast or delicate biscuits".

The 35-quid ButterWizard boasts an integrated fan and chip which allows it to heat or cool the butter to taste. Nutritionist Fiona Hunter told Reuters: "There are over 16 million UK households buying butter on a regular basis, but one complaint I hear time after time is the lack of spreadability of real butter. Butter has been part of diet for thousands of years. The important thing is to spread butter thinly."

Not according to Marlon Brando it isn't - the more the merrier. For the record, the official optimum temperature for butter spreadability is 18.5°C - so now you know. Get spreading. ®