Hold Onto Butter Wrappers For Mess-Free Microwaving

There are so many recipes that call for melted butter. Whether you have gooey butter bars or homemade baklava on your dessert menu, this ingredient is as common a kitchen staple as flour or salt. Of course, the easiest way to turn a solid stick of butter into a melted pool of golden goodness is to unwrap it, put it in a bowl, and pop it into the microwave.

The only problem is that once the butter gets hot enough, the water from it starts to evaporate, causing it to quickly adopt a sort of fireworks effect, and begin popping and shooting everywhere. To avoid the level of splashing that will leave the inside of your microwave looking like a bowl of popcorn's long-lost love, resist the urge to throw away the butter's wrapper. You can get one very handy last use out of it.

Simply placing the butter's wrapper on top of the small bowl you'll be melting the butter in will keep the notorious splashing contained. Butter wrappers are generally made of vegetable paper, which is heat resistant similar to wax paper and parchment paper. Because of this, the wrapper makes the perfect microwave-safe solution for covering your melting bowls.

To put your wrapper to work, all you have to do is place the amount of butter you'll need into a microwave-safe bowl, lay the wrapper on top of the bowl, and melt the butter as you normally would. Be sure to leave a bit of space on top of the bowl for the inevitable steam that rises from the melted butter to escape.

As the butter heats, the handy wrapper will stay in place against the gentle rotation of the microwave tray and catch any splatters in the meantime. This will keep your microwave clean — and since the wrapper will trap any loose butter droplets, this trick also makes sure you don't lose any of the precious melted butter needed for your recipe.

In addition to topping your melting bowl with your butter wrapper, you can also try melting it in the microwave for only a few seconds at a time. This will help control the overall heat and therefore work with the butter wrapper to minimize the splashing.

The one important caveat, however, is that you absolutely cannot employ this kitchen hack if your butter comes wrapped in foil or metal of any kind. Otherwise, get ready to revolutionize your butter melting process with an easy hack that makes for easy clean-up.