When I was staying with Aunt Mary Anne in Kentucky for a bit, I got to know her “mother ways.” You know, the way a woman cooks and cleans and makes a bed and all that. One of the my favorite discoveries was her butter bell — a kind of butter crock or butter keeper that allows you to keep butter fresh outside the refrigerator, so that it’s always spreadable. The twist on this product is that: You pour 1-2″ of cool water into the base at the right… and plug the “bell” full of butter into the base… so, the butter actually in preserved in water in a “crock.” I change out the water regularly, and don’t sit the bell anywhere near the sun…
So, now I am the proud owner of a butter bell of my very own. Which is good, because we Kuebers never met a dairy product we didn’t like.
You can buy all varieties of butter bells and crocks on Amazon, or you can jump over to the “Official Butter Bell” site, where there are lots of choices.
Alice says
I have used a butter bell for years also. What keeps the butter from going rancid is that you fill the cup portion with water and then immerse the bell in the water which forms a seal. I’ve never had any problems with the butter going bad, but then we use butter for EVERYTHING! Just say ‘no’ to cold, hard butter.
Jkaye says
Yum, butter.
Jessie says
I have had a butter bell for years. I love it, mainly because it’s pretty and red.
Growing up we just had the butter out on the butter dish, so did everybody else, for the most part. There’s really no hygenic problem keeping it out, but it can go rancid more quickly, but here in Wisconsin, butter never lasts that long anyway. 😉
Francesca says
I used to have one of these (also known a French butter dishes) but if you let it go too long without changing the water the effects are rather unpleasant. Now I just leave it on the counter in a covered dish.
CindyD says
My mother-in-law has never refrigerated her butter. Ever. No butter bell, no pyrex dish. Just keeps in on the counter (out of the sun). Doesn’t seem to have affected any of her children, and a few of them also now keep theirs on the counter too. I’m not that brave and don’t recommend it. Maybe they build immunities or something.
I love the butter bell. Will be looking for one soon.
Uly says
Cindy, the point of butter is that it allows you to store your milk longer. That’s also why butter is typically salted, so that it lasts longer still.
Butter will keep about a week without refrigeration. How do you think they did it before refrigeration was invented? (Eggs will also keep quite a while without refrigeration, and are often stored that way until they get to the store.)
Elaine says
I like my glass refrigerator container as well, but hubby and I are at odds. I like it just on the counter, he puts it in the fridge. Note, this man NEVER puts anything else away. I think I will try and sell him on the butter bell ‘experiment.’
Josh says
I always just put my butter in a little tupperware and leave it by the toaster and don’t even bother with a lid…. it’s kept just fine for all the years I’ve done it.
Jane / MulchMaid says
I hate cold butter, so I have always stored my butter on a butter dish outside the fridge. It’s sanitary if it stays covered, and it gets eaten long before it spoils. During Portland’s one heat wave each summer, I do put it in the fridge: melted butter is nasty.
Jeanne says
I use a small pyrex refrigerator dish w/lid for my butter. It’s white with green flowers from the 70s, that matches the mixing bowl and casserole set I still have from my first wedding shower.
Gabbie says
That’s so funny because I just recently re-instated my butter dish too. I find it really helps facilitate my consumption of butter. 😉