The fastest way to soften butter without a microwave
Countless recipes, including my own, recommend using "soft butter." I even have recipes that call for butter to be "soft like mayonnaise." The problem is, while it's easy to harden butter in the refrigerator or completely liquify it in the microwave, it's difficult to achieve temperatures in between. If the usual methods don't work for you, try the hot canning trick.
Risks of other methods
Yes, you can plan ahead and leave the butter on the counter overnight. This takes the longest, but also requires the most effort. Unfortunately, many bakers forget this. Then come baking day, you find yourself stuck with a pound of cold (or worse, frozen) butter. You can cut it into chunks and microwave as much butter as you need until it reaches your desired consistency. This is the fastest method but requires a lot of attention, stirring and beating. If you're not careful, your butter will melt.
How to Soften Butter with Hot Glass
But here's a third way to balance these two extremes: You can soften butter with a glass and a little hot water. It's pretty simple: Boil water and pour into a tall glass large enough to hold a stick of butter (or the part of the stick you want to soften). Place the stick of butter on the plate with one end upright. Carefully pour the hot water out of the jar, shake off any drippings, and tip the jar over the stick of butter. Let it sit like this for five to ten minutes. The butter will be smooth when you remove the jar.
While this trick isn't faster than microwaving (which I usually use to soften cold butter from the refrigerator), it's gentler and definitely works. The glass creates a small enclosed sauna for your butter as the air within it warms from the heat of the glass. The warm environment will soften cold butter in the refrigerator, but what I love most about this method is that it quickly takes the chill out of even frozen butter. Frozen butter is difficult to chop even in the microwave. After five minutes in the hot glass, it reaches a refrigerator-like consistency.
If your butter freezes solid, or you want the butter to soften further, flip the stick over so it is on the other end, repeat the process, and wait another five minutes. Check and repeat if necessary. This method also works well if you use a few sticks of butter under a large glass bowl. Be sure to flip the chopsticks each time you reheat the bowl to ensure even softening. Do this by heating the water in a teapot and turning the cubes of butter, this may take 5 to 20 minutes, but it's best to wait overnight (otherwise you risk microwaving the recipe on too much melted butter).
If you're short on time and your butter is hard, you might be wondering, "How to soften butter fast without using a microwave?" The hot canning trick or softening butter with a glass and hot water can be effective alternatives.
Source: aussiedlerbote.de
