I’ve found one problem here is that they use real butter and it’s stored in a walk-in fridge. As such, when I come to use it to make a sandwich, it’s rock solid. I can barely chip a bit off let alone spread it on a soft baguette.
The simple solution is to whack it with a mallet and pop some onto a plate (without the tin wrapping), then nuke it in the microwave. The trick is to ensure you don’t leave it in there too long.
Ten seconds is too long. I wish I could show you pictures, but I’m cameraless right now. Suffice to say I was pouring it on my bread rather than spreading it. One extreme to the other. With experimentation I may get it right, but I fear it’s more than just a timing thing.
See, microwaves cook from the inside out as we all know. So the butter looks (and indeed is) fine on the outside while the interior turns into a superheated molten core. This heat is transferred out, and the whole thing made much worse when you poke your knife into it. The flesh-burning interior spills out and lands on the still-solid “crust” causing it to also melt.
If you don’t leave it long enough (1-2 seconds), then the inside has just gone soft and doesn’t even have a hope of affecting the outer layers – which are still like clay anyway. Given the variables, such as oven efficiency; original temperature of butter; oven wattage; chemical make-up of the patty and so forth, I don’t think there’s any simple method of calculating the ideal thaw time.
Mind, it’s fun just melting it.
Oh, and yes. I’m very, very, very busy working here…
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hahaa, mind boggling stuff, actually. Let’s face it, we’re more affected by these humdrum everyday things than say, the US election, or the Hubble getting a repair, true?
anyhoo, i think the trick is to set the microwave on “defrost” or some very low power level. so the inside doesn’t get cooked to quickly. So say down to 30W or lower, for about 20-30 seconds. That’s how i’d do it anyway.
Lol, great microwave lesson, but think Amy is right, you need to set to defrost.
Or buy spreadable butter…
hmmm, i thought you said you were busy over there!! 😉
melting butter, contemplating different way of melting butter, then testing out theories….. i suppose that counts as being busy, kind of
im very busy…obviously….. sitting here skiving while someone else teaches my class 🙂 ah, having a student is great.
Trust women to know how a kitchen-thing works. That’s why you should all be making food instead of trying to run the world and therefore why Sarah Palin won’t become president ever.
That and the fact she’s madder than a box of rabid badgers being poked with sharp sticks coated in chilli oil.
Leah: And, yes, busy. Honest. Can you send your student over here to do my job for me, please?