We've always saved our butter wrappers after using up all the butter that lives inside. They come in quite handy for several different things around the kitchen, plus they can be an inexpensive resource and time saver...
• Use Them To Grease Pans: We keep each wrapper folded onto itself in the freezer and ready to go whenever a pan needs to be greased. Since we are trying to be a paper towel free home it helps give support to that small, yet important bit of butter!
• Make Rice Krispie Treats In A Snap: The most frustrating part (at least for us) to making this favorite past time snack (because we're still kids at heart!) is pressing them into the pan without getting our hands covered in butter! We remove a wrapper from our bag in the freezer and use them to push the sticky treats into place. No mess, no fuss, no extra hand washing!
• Use In Place Of Non Stick Spray: Often times we keep a can of non-stick spray on hand when we need just a little fat for sauteing. We don't really want our food to take on the taste of the fat, but aren't too keen on having food stick! The small amount of butter left on the wrappers, especially with those containing a bit more butter, work perfectly for this!
• Separating Hamburger Patties: It doesn't matter if you're planning on pattying up burgers for the next few weeks and keeping them frozen, or on hand for a party in a few hours, this trick works great either way! Simply patty up your meat and between each one place a wrapper. They won't stick to each other or themselves and can help keep things stacked together and taking up less space in your fridge or freezer!
Do you keep your butter wrappers? Do you use them differently? Let us know in the comments below!
Related: Recipe: DIY Butter
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Great idea to use as seperators between hamburger patties!
I've never saved a butter wrapper, or heard of anyone doing this. Good tip!
I've never even thought of saving my old butter wrappers. What great ideas! My husband may just wonder if I've lost my head when he finds them in the freezer, but I think it's worth it.
i learned to use the wrapper to butter the pan for things i'm baking, but anytime i use up a stick and don't have a pan to butter i feel bad just throwing it away. never thought to freeze them! brilliant!
I put them on the floor and let my dog lick them clean.
Mine tend to be completely shredded by the time I'm done with them (mostly butter is for cooking so the wrapper gets cut when I'm measuring it out) but I will take a larger piece and use it to butter the pan. Then they go into the greenwaste.
I never thought of freezing them, either. Though if I had a dog I'd use them like spossberg.
I'm always cutting tablespoons of butter off the stick, leaving the remainder wrapped up; so I rarely have a whole butter wrapper laying about, just a whole bunch of very small ones. They're not good for much.
But yes, I definitely use the big pieces to grease pans.
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I've just been throwing them out without any thought of reusing them. These are awesome ideas! I am going to start doing this immediately.
honestly, i made oatmeal cookies on sunday and threw the butter wrapper out thinking "well, i don't need to butter this cookie sheet, so..."
duh, fold in half and put in a baggie in the freezer, save it for later!
like other folks, i had never considered saving them. until now. great tip! especially for buttering a pan. this will, however, force me to stop my habit of chopping neat portions butter for baking in the wrapper. i'll live.
seriously? :)
I guess I don't use butter that much, and when I do, it's mostly for testing recipes in which I use a tablespoon at a time.
But ocasionally I do use the wrapper to butter the bottom of a pan when baking brownies.
I do re-use the wrappers if I am using an entire stick at the same time. I've never thought about freezing them-thanks for the great idea!
I save mine for baking as well. Works great!
I've never thought of putting them in the freezer - I just keep mine folded up in the fridge butter compartment since I seem to go through them pretty quickly. Maybe I'll try freezing if I ever start to build up a collection...
Hmm, I've never even given it a thought. I go through so much butter, though, that I think I would end up with way more wrappers accumulating in the freezer than I could ever use. I will start using it to grease pans with, when applicable!
i know this doesn't really have to do with butter wrappers, BUT... when you make rice krispie treats, the best way to keep them from sticking to your hand is to wet your hand a bit w/ some cold water. works like a charm!!!
Another reluctant tosser happy to pop them in the freezer. I always felt bad chucking them, because they are useful if you've got an immediate use for them! Do you have to let them defrost or do you find they work just as well frozen?
Thanks for this post, I've been having such eco-anxiety throwing my butter wrappers away. Does anyone know if they are compostable?
cmcinnyc - I've found they work just as well frozen, and usually save my hands from getting slimy/buttery in the process!
What great ideas! Even if you aren't into recycling (though I am), you can beat something that is useful and already pre-greased!
I have two dogs and I would never even think of giving my dogs the butter wrapper. I don't think that sounds very healthy for your pooch.
Used butter wrappers are great when you want to saute onions on a low heat; it keeps the steam in, so they soften without colouring.
Malooba - Are you placing them over the top of the onions as they cook? Or greasing your pan with the wrappers first? I'm so curious!
I just tuck them directly around the chopped onions, and then pop the lid on the saucepan at a slight angle (to let the steam escape).
If you are especially lazy, you can drape a wrapper over the top of hot toast for a lightly buttered breakfast...
Can't do this now with paper wrappers but back in the early 60's my mom used the foil wrappers instead of aluminum foil for baking potatoes. Of course she came of age in the depression and never wasted anything, bless her heart
I used to use the wrappers to butter the pans but now have a dog that LOVES butter. So he gets the wrappers, can't imagine 2-3 butter wrappers a year is going to hurt his health.
My neighbor uses butter wrappers for two things:
1) When making sticky candy like toffee or caramel, she cuts them into smaller pieces (or pieces of appropriate size) and uses that instead of wax paper (unless, of course, it's for a gift!). It's so creative and I've tried to convince her to do it when she sends the candies as gifts too; it's so cute with the measuring marks and all!
2) When she goes camping, she makes lighting the fires a little bit simpler. She takes the stub of an old candle and wraps it in the butter wrapper (or wax paper if she hasn't used butter in a while). Then, when she wants to light a fire either in her home, or at a campsite, she just sticks it under the kindling and lights it; the wax paper/butter wrapper ignites the candle stub which stays lit for a while, or at least long enough for the rest of the fire to establish itself! It's almost a surefire (pun not intended) way to make beautiful one-match fires!
I give my neighbor all credit for these tricks she uses them for; she's such a creative and (at least somewhat) environmentally conscious person!
You can use the wrappers as a no mess way to butter corn on the cob, as well. Just wrap it around the cob and slide back and forth a few times.