I always rip my toast trying to spread butter straight from the fridge. Picked up this butter mill from Maxspace last month and it’s honestly pretty nice. It grinds the butter into thin flakes so it melts fast without tearing anything up. The twist handle is easy and cleanup is quick since it goes in the dishwasher.
Do you guys have any tricks for dealing with hard butter? Or is there something better than these mills? Do you just leave butter out all the time instead?
by tigercat300
24 Comments
I leave a small amount of butter out (in a closed container) all the time, but I have seen some pastry recipes that call for frozen butter to be grated into the mix.
There’s a style of butter knife that has tiny holes in it. When you spread the butter, it extrudes through the holes into little butter worms that do pretty much what you’re describing from the butter mill.
I use a butter bell to keep room temp butter available. It works pretty well! The water keeps it fresh. Mine hold about 1 stick, but if the kids aren’t going to be home, I might only put 1/2 a stick in.
Other than leaving butter out to soften, use a vegetable peeler (Y shaped) to shave curls of butter off of a cold butter block.
Yea it works
Butter bell.
[https://www.allrecipes.com/article/what-is-a-butter-bell/](https://www.allrecipes.com/article/what-is-a-butter-bell/)
I have cheap food service gloves around, but you could also grab a piece of plastic wrap, use it to grab a little butter, then massage it in your hand until it’s spreadable. I run warm though, if you have cold hands it might not work(or be pleasant).
I just keep my butter in a covered butter dish on the counter. It’s never gone bad. I do grate butter when I’m using it for pastry, biscuits or pie dough.
I use a fork and rake in a grid then just scoop it up and spread.
A couple of different approaches come to mind:
– Using a microplane and grating the cold butter. Works great, and is dishwasher safe.
– Dividing the butter up into separate containers so that a portion of the stick stays in the fridge and another portion stays on the counter and remains soft. This is my normal approach, and I usually divide the stick in half and keep it in a covered dish or gasketed food container. Keep the container away from heat producing appliances, including the dishwasher!
– Softening the butter in the microwave. This runs the risk of melting around the edges, but going in 5 second intervals is a good place to start. Check as you go! My grandma absolutely had this approach down cold, I’ve found it hit and miss but good in a pinch.
– Whipping it in a stand mixer until soft. Effective, satisfying in its own way, but makes for more dishes. I save this for when I’m already baking.
Salted butter in a butter dish. Stays out all the time.
I use a coarse cheese grater for cold butter.
Little butter worms warm up and spread easier.
Just try the “soften butter” program on your microwave.
Inverter microwaves usually have a butter mode. Much gentler than full power!
I use a mini grater for cold butter on toast/bread
there’s a kickstarter now for a rechargeable heated butter knife. I went for it. we’ll see, but check it out [here](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2036671513/flashslice-dual-temp-slice-and-melt-instant-heat-butter-knife)
Yes, I’ve put a frozen stick in the food processor. Though typically just for baking. For spreading, I have the butter bell like others on here talk about.
If I have hard butter, I will use my fine hand grater.
I stick the butter in the freezer and use a cheese grater
If I’m somewhere that the only butter available is cold, I’ll get it out of the fridge and slice it thin before I start the toast. Then let it sit on the freshly toasted bread until it softens.
At home I just have a butter dish to keep it room temperature and spreadable.
Cheese grater or vegetable peeler with cold butter
a butter mill works great, but other easy tricks are using a microplane to grate cold butter, slicing thin pats with a vegetable peeler, microwaving the stick for 5–8 seconds or simply keeping a small amount in a covered butter dish at room temp for a few days if your kitchen isn’t too warm, which is what a lot of people do.
I started buying spreadable butter in a tub. It’s a little more expensive, but worth it because it’s so much easier to use. It’s just butter with either olive oil or canola oil added, there’s no other ingredients. The oil keeps it from hardening in the fridge, and it tastes the same as regular butter to me.
Edit: I only use it for spreading on things, I use regular butter for baking.
I use my citrus peel zester