Happiness is a butter bell

I discovered the butter bell a year ago, and now my family can’t live without it. Gone are the days of battling rock hard butter to spread on toast while four hungry children clamor for their breakfast. Now butter gets spread smooth as frosting, toast gets distributed, and munching mouths are happily silent for a brief moment of collective peace.

The butter bell is a nifty ceramic crock invented in France in the late 19th century to keep butter fresh tasting at room temperature. It does this by covering the butter with water so that it is not exposed to the air. My parents always keep butter at room temperature in a covered butter dish, and while it never goes rancid (they use salted butter, and the salt acts as a preservative), after a while it can develop a slightly off taste. The butter bell maintains the clean taste of fresh butter.

Here’s how to fill the butter bell:

Make sure the butter bell is thoroughly cleaned and dry (any dampness will allow the butter to slip out).

Fill with a stick of butter that has been softened at room temperature.

Filled bell.

Put cool water in the base (remember to change water every couple of days for freshness).

Butter in the water.

A contentedly full butter bell.

From the other side, a contentedly full beurrier.

There are several varieties of butter crocks on the market. The one I have is the Butter Bell® brand. Here’s the Amazon.com link.

Butter Bell Classic Hand Painted Raised Floral Crock and Spreader

This is the same one without the spreader.

Butter Bell Classic Hand Painted Raised Floral Crock

The same manufacturer makes the butter bell in a variety of colors, also with and without the spreader. Here’s the link to the manufacturer’s site.

L. Tremain, maker of the Butter Bell®

Spreading the love from my kitchen to yours.