Believe it or not, butter will stay safe when left outside of the fridge, but it doesn’t hurt to take extra precautions to make sure your butter lasts as long as possible. Because it’d be a shame to have to throw such goodness away!
That’s where this totally cute butter dish comes in handy. The Original Butter Bell Crock is perfect for storing butter outside of the refrigerator, as the butter is effectively sealed in, protected from both oxygen and light. It works by housing the butter in the lid, shaped like an inverted bell, and water in the base. The cold water helps the butter stay fresh for up to 30 days when left on the counter.
You can find this version for $25.95 – $26.95, depending on the color, on Amazon. Maintenance for it is relatively low-key. Fill it with butter and let it sit — just don’t forget to dispose of the water and add fresh, cold water every 2–3 days for optimal storing conditions.
According to food safety expert and professor at North Carolina State University Ben Chapman, it’s the saline solution of salt and water surrounding the fat molecules in butter that keeps bacteria from forming even when butter is unrefrigerated. Chapman told our sister site, Simplemost, that food-borne pathogens can’t grow in the saline solution. So this crock storage is more about freshness than it is about keeping germs away.
With this in mind, you can find plenty of butter dishes that allow you to keep your butter on the counter. Some come with a water reservoir and others don’t.
Storing butter in the water reservoir isn’t completely free of faults. A writer and butter crock owner from Kitchn says that if the butter becomes too hot, it will slip out of the bell and fall into the water. So making sure your butter remains cool is crucial.
As far as butter containment is concerned, here are a few options you have available to you on Amazon. The version below, which retails for $17.99, eliminates the risk of your butter falling into the water, due to the fact that the cool water is placed underneath the shelf where the butter sits:
This option doesn’t come with as many colors to choose from, but it still is a dish you wouldn’t mind keeping out on the counter.
Meanwhile, the version below, which retails for $21.99, doesn’t require any water to keep your butter airtight and fresh, thanks to the silicone ring around the edge that will give you a better way to seal your most prized dairy product:
We like that it comes in variety of designs with your choice of beech or oak wood for the lid.
So why would you want to leave your butter out anyway? Think about it. Leaving your butter out on the counter will keep it at room temperature, making it easier to smear it onto toast, bagels and so much more! Products like this could change the way you keep your butter fresh for good.
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