The Brilliant Restaurant Gadget For Evenly Spreading Butter

As any backyard grill master knows, you simply must butter your bun for a perfect hamburger. But if you've ever grilled for a large group of people, you know the tedious task of buttering each side of a hamburger bun, especially if your butter isn't soft. Or perhaps you're a toast connoisseur, and your favorite breakfast involves an even spread of butter on a perfectly toasted piece of bread. However, it's frustrating scraping firm butter you just took out of the fridge onto your toast, simply because it's ... well, not spreadable yet. And who has the time to let it soften?

Luckily, there is a gadget found in restaurant kitchens that is the key to evenly spreading butter. A butter roller, or butter wheel, is an innovative tool that guarantees an even coating of butter on all kinds of bread: from hamburger and hotdog buns to plain old toast. And don't worry if you're not on the line at your favorite restaurant, this tool is great to use in your everyday set-up, and will for sure impress all your friends no matter the occasion.

If you've never been to culinary school or worked in the kitchen at a restaurant, it's quite possible you've never even heard of a rolling butter spreader. According to Taste, restaurant owner Jon Shook was introduced to the butter wheel when he started working in restaurants in high school. He loves his butter wheel, and he uses it now to make more than 60 fried chicken sandwiches a day at his restaurant, Son of a Gun.

This stainless steel kitchen gadget contains two parts: a small container unit, and a perforated wheel. Cubed butter goes into the stainless steel container and rests on a hot surface (like a griddle, stove, or grill top), which allows the butter to melt. From there, you simply add the roller to the container of melted butter, and spin it. The butter fills the small ridges in the wheel, creating a melty, buttery surface that's perfect for evenly spreading butter on bread. 

Not only is this a quick way to butter your hamburger buns, it also ensures an even coating of flavor across the entire surface. Who doesn't want a mouthful of butter with every bite? While Shook doesn't use his butter wheel much at home, he does mention that the gadget takes toast to the next level. "It helps distribute the fat content directly across the entire piece of bread, which then helps to get a more perfect toast," he tells Taste. "If you don't butter it all the way across, you don't get good toast."

If you are someone who entertains family and friends, a butter wheel would make a fantastic addition to your set-up. Or if you have a large family and go through bread and butter rather quickly, a butter wheel could make your toast-making much more efficient and enjoyable. A butter wheel would also be fantastic for creating your own flavored butters — simply add herbs, garlic, or lemon to the tray for extra delicious melty butter. However butter rollers are perhaps not a kitchen gadget staple because it's a single-use item only meant to do one job, and it will best serve you if you are cooking for large groups of people. According to multiple reviews of a Cuisinart butter wheel on Amazon, you must use a significant amount of butter for the wheel to work properly. In fact, Cuisinart recommends using two to three sticks of butter for optimal use.

Letting the butter spreader work its magic will speed up the toasting process and make your food even more delicious, giving you more time to enjoy the company of your loved ones. And isn't that what makes life so sweet in the first place?