In the U.S., a half-cup of butter is equal to a quarter-pound. This is equal to 0.42 cups or 118.29 millilitres in the British Imperial system. A quarter-pound of butter is sold as a stick in the United States.
In other parts of the world, butter is not measured by the stick, as it is in many American recipes. Instead, they use a kitchen scale to measure butter by weight. A stick of butter is equal to 113.4 grammes when using an American cookbook as a guide. In the U.S., butter is often sold in boxes of four sticks, which is equal to 1 pound or 453.6 grammes.