It’s one of those little annoyances that virtually everyone experiences at one time or another, getting butter just out of the fridge to spread on a piece of bread or toast. Some take the time to heat the butter a little bit in the microwave, or near a stove burner, but most just grit their teeth and try to make the best of things.
Now however, it appears those days might just be over as a group of baking engineers from bakery company Warburtens, has invented what they call the perfect knife for spreading butter on bread; the Toastie Knife, they’re calling it and Mail Online couldn’t be happier, describing it as the answer to the prayers of millions of Britons the world over. Slash Gear is a little more subdued but is equally impressed as clearly the need for well spread butter crosses every international border.
Online explains that it took till now for someone to come up with the right butter knife because until recently, the technology simply didn’t exist. What’s changed is the minituration of electronics, specifically the kind needed to not just heat the knife blade to the perfect temperature (41.8C/107.24F) but to hold it there and to indicate to the user when it’s was ready to go, know more.
The result is a normal looking butter knife with a single red LED on top to indicate when the knife has heated and a small button that kicks things off. Once pressed a signal is sent to tiny microprocessor that then sends a signal to the heating element with is spread throughout the knife blade, ensuring a uniform heat. Once the right temperature is reached, the LED goes on and the heating element goes into steady mode, using a very tiny thermostat to keep the knife at the proper temperature as it’s used to first cut the butter slice, and then to slather it across the bread, toast, muffin or bagel.
Slash Gear notes that more work went into designing the knife that might be expected when just looking at it. For example the engineers tested hundreds of metals to find the perfect combination of washability, endurance and heat spread. Also, many tests were conducted to ensure the knife had a good feel in the hand, and of course to find that perfect temperature which would ensure enough melt to carve and spread, but not so much to liquidize the butter. In short, they say, the Toastie Knife is a true innovation that butter and bread eaters will likely be enjoying centuries from now.