The Mesh Strainer Hack To Quickly Make Your Cold Butter Spreadable

Dec 10, 2023

A cold stick of butter, straight out of the refrigerator can be a nightmare to spread on your toast, pancakes, waffles, or your morning bagel. If you've ever encountered this issue, you know that trying to manhandle it leads to mangled bread and very little butter. Of course, if you try to soften your butter in the microwave, you may end up with a puddle of liquid golden deliciousness that doesn't taste quite the same as butter that is just on the cusp of its solid and liquid state. But with butter taking anywhere from 30 minutes to 45 minutes to reach that magical moment of softness at room temperature, you may be willing to make the sacrifice.

However, butter lovers will be happy to learn they don't have to wait a full hour to enjoy their buttered toast. There is a fine mesh strainer hack to ease all your buttery woes. Simply take the strainer — the very one you use to strain sauces, sift flour, and use to rinse rice and beans — and rub the stick of butter back and forth across the mesh. This will shred the butter into thin strands that you can then spread on your favorite breakfast food or even use in baked goods.

The strainer works due to both the heat coming from your hands and the friction of moving the stick of butter back and forth across the mesh. But if you don't have one of these strainers, there is another kitchen tool that will function in the same manner so don't despair. You can also try a cheese grater to accomplish this slippery task if you do not own a fine mesh strainer.

Regardless of which piece of gear you use, the technique is the same. Run the stick of butter across the grater just like you would a block of cheese and you will also end up with shredded butter. Those shreds may be a little larger than those you get when you use the strainer. These smaller pieces will soften up upon being grated and will be ready to use. But if you don't have a mesh strainer or a cheese grater, you can always use a vegetable peeler. Run the peeler over your stick of butter and you will end up with ribbons of this spread.