Your Butter Wrappers Serve A Greater Purpose In The Freezer

With such a prominent place in cuisines across the world, there is no denying how critical butter is to many mealtimes. Fulfilling many roles as a flavor enhancer and cooking medium, butter is certainly a jack of all trades. While this omnipresent dairy product can be swapped out for other ingredients in savory dishes and baked goods alike, its versatility makes butter a go-to for countless culinary endeavors. With this much butter usage, there is also a solid amount of butter packaging that meets its end in the trash can. But does it really have to be this way?

If you don't want to toss those wrappers straight into the bin, there is a way to repurpose them that you may not have thought of: deploy them to separate frozen food. Used butter wrappers will come in handy here whether you are storing portions of cheese in the freezer or separating frosty chicken filets. By placing a wrapper between each piece, you can say goodbye to the frustrating days of prying frozen filets and cookies apart before they defrost.

There is no need to use the wrappers immediately. As you go through sticks of butter, you can simply flatten, stack, and store the wrappers in a resealable plastic bag. Since they will have residual butter on them, the wrappers must be refrigerated or frozen (which would extend their shelf life anyway) until they are used. When the time comes to freeze food that is cooked individually, such as hamburger patties, just grab the wrappers from the fridge or freezer and get to portioning.

Rest assured that you can take advantage of this storage hack whether you have the best or worst grocery store butter brands on hand. In other words, your butter wrappers are useful for separating frozen food regardless of what kind of butter it is. Of course, use your senses and common sense here. Just as you would think twice before eating that two-year-old frozen meat, be sure to keep an eye out for signs of spoilage due to residual butter on the wrappers, such as mold, bad smells, or strange textures. If you're ever in doubt, play it safe and toss the wrappers.