getting the direct content of an html element encapsulated in an jquery object

getting the direct content of an html element encapsulated in an jquery object

I have an piece of html in a jquery object.  When I say $(this).html I get:

<span class="value">4</span><span class="type">teaspoons</span>butter

I want to get only the piece of text from this html segment that is not in the spans. in this example, it is butter.

How do I get that?

Thanks!