Tricks to soften butter in record time

You’re about to make some toast or prepare that appetizing pastry recipe and… butter is harder than a rock. Do not panic! We review the best tricks to soften it fast.

If you are preparing a recipe – especially baking – and require soft butter, it may be too late if you just take it out of the fridge. According to experts, at room temperature, a stick of butter takes at least 45 minutes to soften. And put it in the microwave is not a good idea, because it becomes liquid.

However, do not give it all up for lost ahead of time. From Taste of Home, we detail some widely proven ways to soften butter quickly. Take note of them!

3 tricks to quickly soften the butter

• Cut the butter into cubes: It’s a really simple trick, although not as fast as the successive ones. The smaller the pieces, the faster they will reach room temperature. Cut the butter bar in half so you have two long rectangles side by side. Pile them together and cut them again. This produces four strips of butter. Keep them stacked and then cut them perpendicular to their cuts. The butter will fall into cubes and the cubes will soften quite quickly, in about 15 minutes. (Now is a good time to measure and prepare the remaining ingredients).
• Use a rolling pin: Although it is a bit more laborious than cutting it, this method will help the butter to soften even faster. With a rolling pin, roll or hit the butter so that it is flat. Whether rolling or hitting, the friction will heat the butter and the wider surface will encourage a faster softening. To minimize clutter, we like to flatten the butter between two sheets of waxed paper. This prevents the butter from sticking to the roller or the counter.
• Rub it on a metal cheese grater: Shredding butter is the fastest way to soften it. Partially unwrap the package, using the wrapped half as a handle for your clean hand and crush the hard butter using the larger holes of the grater. The butter will be reduced to a spongy mound, similar in appearance to the grated mozzarella cheese. It is an ideal technique for the mass of cold pie. If you are quite lazy you can beat it at low speed – so it does not jump out of the container.

Source | Taste of Home