You know when you’ve got a slice of just-popped toast in front of you, but then you realise the hardened, impenetrable block of refrigerated butter is going to ruin your entire toast experience? Well fret no more, because the innovative Toastie Knife is here to dispel your buttery woes.
Spreading cold butter straight from the fridge is an impossibility and a survey of 3,000 people showed the insufficient solutions to this age-old problem, with 28pc heating butter in the microwave, 7pc on the hob, 8pc putting it on a plate atop the toaster, and 1pc (all men) attempting to soften butter with a hairdryer.
Now that researchers for Warburtons have come up with the Toastie Knife, though, our problems have been solved.
The tip of the prototype battery-operated butter knife heats to a temperature of 41.8 degrees Celsius (apparently the optimum temperature for spreading butter, according to ‘toast experts’) in less than 30 seconds.
Heating is triggered by a button on the handle and a flashing LED indicates when the heating element is activated.
Researchers for the project also established the best spreading technique to ensure tip-top toast. That is, using the knife at an angle of 24.5 degrees and a vertical pitch of 7 degrees, starting in the middle of the toast and using short strokes of the knife to spread butter evenly across the entire slice.
The Toastie Knife also comes with an ergonomically designed handle, naturally.
Production of the knife has yet to be confirmed, but if you wish to register your interest, do so at Warburtons’ Twitter page.
