GROSS OR GREAT? FANCY BUTTER BOARDS SOAR AS SHORTAGE LOOMS

Legit gross or crazy delicious?

Butter boards, the polarizing stepchild of charcuterie, have taken TikTok to new food-craze heights as some horrified safety and nutrition experts look on. And now, heading into the holidays, the boards are landing on tables as quick, inexpensive alternatives to the meat and fancy cheese-laden OG despite a winter butter shortage projected for the U.S. that could drive up prices and make it more difficult to find in supermarkets.

"I wish they'd just go away. The idea of smearing something on a wood board with other food, sharing that with other people and having them all dip into it. It's a bacteria heaven," said Laura Cipullo, a registered dietitian in New York City.

Justine Doiron, who creates food content as @ justine-snacks on TikTok and Instagram, got the butter board party started on Sept. 15. She is credited with coining the term in a video that has her spreading it with abandon on a cutting board and topping it with, among many other things, edible flowers.

She got the idea — jazzed up butter on wood - from chef Joshua McFadden's 2017 cookbook with Martha Holmberg, "Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables."

"I think the draw is that it's super customizable, Doiron told. "You can be so creative with it, and people are always looking for something they've never seen before. It's a low-effort way to have some fun with food."

Side note: She has a plant named Butter.

Doiron went viral with her busy butter board and hand swipes with thick, crusty slices of bread. Copycat videos under the #butterboard hashtag have since racked up more than 240 million views on TikTok. Searches related to the topic have reached 10 billion on the platform, with decorated mountains of butter also going strong on Instagram.