Test Kitchen video tips: Measuring butter without a wrapper

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You have a recipe that calls for 4 tablespoons of butter, but you’re out of those nice sticks with the measure on the wrapper, and have only unmarked ends in the back of the fridge. What do you do?

Not to worry! Fill a measuring cup part-way with cold water, and drop in your butter bits until the measure reaches whatever you need. For 1/2 cup, or 8 tablespoons of butter, fill a measuring cup with, say, one cup of water. Add butter until it reaches 1 1/2 cups, and there you have it.

This trick will even work with butter that has been left out at room temperature; just make sure the water is very cold so the butter doesn’t melt as it’s added and measured.

If you have any kitchen tips or questions you’d like me to explore, leave a comment below or email me at [email protected].

If you have any kitchen tips or questions you’d like me to explore, leave a comment below or email me at [email protected].

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— Noelle Carter
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Video credit: Myung Chun / Los Angeles Times