New here? Click on the image below to learn more about The William Morris Project.
It’s amazing the things you do assuming everyone does as well, only to find out that you’re a total grandma.
I save butter wrappers. I don’t remember where I first heard the tip–I suspect an octogenarian–but for as long as I can remember I’ve saved my used butter wrappers in the freezer in a ziploc bag. I do this because those wrappers are excellent for when a recipe calls for you to grease and flour a pan. I take a wrapper out of the bag and rub it against whatever needs greasing. The heat of my hand melts the butter, so I can use the wrapper immediately. Because it’s a wrapper, my hands don’t get greasy handling butter/shortening/olive oil. I know it sounds prissy, but I hate the feeling of greasy fingers after greasing a pan. Then you have to wash your hands before you get the flour or you wind up greasing and flouring your fingers.* Forget it. If I didn’t have those wrappers, I would never grease a pan! I’d use Pam or some spray something just to avoid the hassle.**
*Unless I’m using coconut oil. Then I rub it into my hands, which are usually like crepe paper and can use moisturizing.
**This isn’t a post I was going to put up. I wouldn’t call it post material, you know? But my site continues to have problems and I needed to put something up so that I can see who is able to access my site. Hopefully this goofy post is of use to someone besides my hosting company!
Surprisingly useful. Because I went paper-free in my kitchen, I’ve had trouble with this particular task. Now, will I actually start saving the butter wrappers in the freezer? Probably not. Will I mentally kick myself every time I need to grease a pan and don’t have a wrapper. Likely. When my brain gets sore enough, I might actually remember to do this! Progress is progress.
My grandma used to do this.
And that’s all I’m going to say. :)
I use those wrappers for the same purpose but never thought of saving them in the fridge. Goodness knows we go through enough butter in my house. It’s a great tip.
I can read it. :)
And no, I’ve never heard of that tip. But I think I’ll just stick with Pam. Although I did buy my first can of coconut oil last week, so I’ll look forward to “moisturizing” soon.
Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of this before? I used butter wrappers to grease pans when butter was used in the recipe (like for cakes or cookies) but I never thought of freezing them to use later. I always feel a twinge of regret throwing them out if there wasn’t an immediate need. Now if I can just find room in my freezer… and keep my husband from throwing them out, I’ll be set. And avoid the yucky butter hands feeling, too.
I’ve totally heard of this tip, but although I save most every scrap of bread (also duck and chicken fat, curry paste, knobs of peeled ginger, and an array of poultry carcasses) in a ziploc in the freezer, I haven’t moved on to the butter wrappers. Yeah, I just spray my pans.
When I saw you pinned this I laughed out loud because this is the LAST thing I could see you doing. Keeping wrappers stored just so you can grease a pan? Are we in the depression?!? (no political comment intended) But then I started thinking about it and while I won’t do it (I very rarely ever remember to grease a pan, anyway) I do have to say it solves a problem perfectly for you and that’s pretty useful/William Morris-y.
Hope you get your site figured out. I haven’t had any problems accessing it, thankfully.
My grandma used to do this too. I don’t grease pans enough to bother, but I do compulsively save rubber bands, which she used to do, and I can’t say I’ve used one since around 2009.
Am I the only one that doesn’t unwrap my butter? I cut off what I need – paper and all – when using for baking. (Throwing away the paper first, obviously.) When I need butter to grease with, I just hold the wrapped stick and grease away – as if I was holding one of those humongous sidewalk chalk pieces.
Nope, I do the exact same thing. Cut the butter in the paper and/or use the stick of butter like chalk. That’s how my grandma did it. It wouldn’t occur to me to freeze the paper. However, I have a stick softening right now for the too good looking to resist lemon bars and might try this. Might……. :D
When I’m in a baking spree I set aside the wrappers if I know I’m going to grease a pan that day, but I definitely have never thought to pop them in the freezer for later!
As long as you aren’t rinsing out ziploc bags for re-use. My last roommate did that and I was half impressed at her dedication, half grossed out by the crinkly ziplocs vainly attempting to dry out in our drying rack. It takes a long time for a ziploc to dry out completely.
LOL I reuse Ziplocs. But I totally chop up butter wrappers unless I’m using an entire stick, which is rare. I’d run out of wrappers long before I ran out of pans to grease. I’ll just have to live with greasy fingers now and then, I guess. Love the concept; not practical for us, unfortunately. But good post!!
This is pure genius! I wish I had heard of this before baking last night. I will definitely be saving my wrappers from now on. I will have to let my husband know first, though, so he knows why there is frozen “trash” in the freezer :)
I hadn’t heard of this, but I imagine my own grandma probably did this. I do hold butter by the wrapper when I’m greasing pans though.
I do it. And using the wrappers if things need covering in the oven when baking ;-)
I do this. Only I just fold them up into a little square and keep them in the butter keeper on the door of the fridge. I usually just keep one around, unless we are approaching Christmas baking, but it stops my family from using the butter-as-chalk method of greasing. I would look in the freezer but they wouldn’t and I can’t stand discovering the rounded edges of a stick of butter!
If I don’t have a wrapper I’ll use a pastry brush and a little bit of melted butter.
We buy soft spread margarine rather than butter in paper/foil. I don’t each much of either but I’ve never seen stick margarine here in Britain. I used to save the papers back when I lived in the States. I always have dry hands as well and whatever I use to grease a pan gets rubbed onto the backs of my hands before I wipe my fingers dry. BTW, being a grandma is great fun, nothing at all wrong with it!
Wow! I really impressed! My first thought was “hoarders” (sorry, hahah) even though I know you aren’t like that and are always clearing things out. But when you got to the reason I was floored. Yes! Useful! I was wrong, you and the octogenarians were right!
Love this thread! I hope the Ziploc folks are listening in. So many ways to use Ziplocs. I run a website called WeHatetoWaste.com One of the best suggestions for a ziploc bag was included in this post about The Future of Doggie Bags : http://www.wehatetowaste.com/doggie-bags/ Fredrica slips two ziploc bags into her purse to enable her to bring home that half a sandwich without all the styrofoam etc. How practical is that?
Glad to have discovered this website!
Best to all, Jacquie
uhm, you got me. I actually do that, too. Except I don’t bother putting them in a freezer bag – I just tightly fold them and stuff them in one of the door compartments where my emergency stick of butter lives, too.
I’ve never heard of this one! My mother taught me to use a plastic baggie as a glove to grease a pan – which I realize now is a huge waste of a plastic baggie, but as a kid I thought it was fun.
They make a Pam that is both grease AND flour. I’m scared to try it, as I’m not sure I trust it to be actual butter or flour. ;-)
This reminds me of my mama! She always did this.