Grate the Butter to Soften It Quickly
“I need some new shortcuts in the kitchen,” I recently told my mother-in-law. “These days I don’t have much time and need to pick up my pace. “
“Grate the butter,” she said.
Sorry, that?
“When you need softened butter,” she explained, “but you don’t have time to wait, grate it and it will soften.”
For baking
Shredded butter is especially satisfying when you half-mix the ingredients for a cookie recipe before realizing the next step is to add a little softened butter. And all you have is cold, solid variety.
For a large amount of butter (which I broadly define as more than half a stick), a standard grater is best. I tear off the wrapper, trying to keep my hands clean. It takes less than 30 seconds to go through the whole stick. When you’re done, toss the freshly soft puffed butter into a bowl and stir.
Grating is also good for recipes that require you to “chop” chunks of cold butter into dry ingredients. Grate, toss and stir with a fork.
For distribution
However, my favorite daily use of grated butter is to sprinkle on toast for breakfast. When I want to spread butter evenly on bread or muffins without tearing them apart, I rub some butter on top. A hand-held cheese grater works well for these fast-growing grates.
You can grate the bread directly on top of the bread, or you can grate it ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. The grated butter in a bowl is still much easier to scoop up and spread over than chopping straight from the stick.