The Best Butter Keepers to Ensure Your Spread Stays Fresh

We’ve all been there, you toast the perfect piece of sourdough and it’s just screaming for some lashings of salty butter, but when you grab it from the fridge and try to spread it, well, things start to fall apart, quite literally. Hard butter is a food lover’s worst nightmare. But, thankfully, you can turn that solid arch-nemesis soft quite easily with a specialized French butter keeper (or trademarked “butter bell”).

This nifty apparatus lives outside the fridge and keeps your butter at exactly the right consistency thanks to a little water, an airtight seal and its ingenious design. From the outside, it resembles a small cookie jar but once you lift the lid things are a little different. The underside of the lid is fitted with a small cup which you pack full of butter. Then, you pour some ice-cold water into the base (also known as a crock) and replace the lid. Now, the top of the butter is submerged in the water and is subject to just the right amount of insulation and cooling.

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With a good butter keeper, your butter will remain fresh, flavorful and, most importantly, spreadable for almost 30 days. Here, four of the best butter keepers on Amazon to get you that deliciously soft spread you deserve.

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1. Emile Henry Butter Dish

Trust the French to add a little more butter. Spanning 6.5 inches by 4.75 inches, Emile Henry’s chic dish has an impressive capacity of 16 ounces. That means it can comfortably hold two sticks of butter, which is the most of the dishes on this list. The design actually stretches all the way back to 1850 and is made from high-fired Burgundy clay that’s finished in a durable glaze. As such, the dish can be used in the oven and fridge or left on a countertop without worry. It’s also dishwasher safe for easy cleaning. Sporting a luminescent gray with touches of green, this dish is elegant, timeless and the perfect table companion.

Credit: Amazon
Credit: Amazon

Amazon

Buy: Emile Henry Butter Dish

2. Le Creuset Butter Dish

Le Creuset’s butter keeper can neatly hold a stick of butter and will keep it right at room temperature for easy spreading. In typical Le Creuset fashion, it pairs classic French styling with hard-wearing materials and is light yet durable. The high-fired stoneware is coated by a hard-wearing enamel glaze that is non-porous, so your butter keeper won’t absorb flavors, chip or stain. It’s also, conveniently, dishwasher safe. Plus, you can pair it with all your other Le Creuset cookware.

Credit: Amazon
Credit: Amazon

Amazon

Buy: Le Creuset Butter Dish

3. American Mug Pottery Butter Keeper

Adding an American flair to the authentic French design, this butter keeper was handcrafted in East Liverpool, Ohio by the folk at American Mug Pottery. Fashioned from quality stoneware, each butter keeper is made using the old-fashioned slip-cast method and finished by hand in a factory that was built in the 1900s. It can hold one stick of butter and keep it fresh and free from spoilage for up to 30 days without refrigeration. In addition to this navy blue, the butter keeper is also available in red, turquoise, yellow and white.

Credit: Courtesy of Amazon
Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

Courtesy of Amazon

Buy: American Mug Pottery Butter Keeper

4. Butter Bell Crock and Spreader

Modeled after the original French butter bell, this design has rustic charm in spades. It’s crafted from new bone china clay which is glazed in a high-grade ceramic mixture and fired at more than 2,000 degrees to create a stunning scratch-resistant finish. Each butter bell features an eye-catching vine-like embellishment to add to its aesthetic appeal. It can keep up to one stick of butter and features an airtight seal to further preserve flavor and freshness. A testament to the impeccable quality, each purchase is back by a limited 2-year warranty.

Credit: Courtesy of Amazon
Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

Courtesy of Amazon

Buy: Butter Bell Crock and Spreader

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