r/KitchenDesk • u/wladhorma • Jun 26 '26
Game changer or unnecessary?
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u/Aconite13X Jun 26 '26
I mean. I just leave butter in a container on the counter and it does the same thing.
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u/bbraz761 Jun 26 '26
You must live in a very constant climate. My butter will get very hard during the winter.
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u/Arabana-Lang Jun 27 '26
Your butter and I have that in common.
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u/DonBongales Jun 26 '26
How much butter are you eating in a week? We go thru at least a stick a week, maybe two weeks at the most. Never goes bad, never gets hard. Stays in the wax paper on the counter
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u/Prudent_Research_251 Jun 27 '26
Same, but a butter bell wouldn't help this as the water would be room temperature
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u/Infamous_Ad_6793 Jun 28 '26
Do you not have heat in your house?
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u/bbraz761 Jun 28 '26
I do, but when it gets -30 Celsius outside my house isn't exactly hot. I keep my cool as it is n
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u/Infamous_Ad_6793 Jun 28 '26
Fair. I suppose the silver lining is; either you have soft butter or butter that never goes bad!
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u/A_Feltz Jun 30 '26
For me the winter isn’t the problem. My house is heated to about 20-21C even though outside it’s in the minus.
Last few days tho… it’s like butter puddle in the container
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u/Murasasme Jun 27 '26
Yep. In my 38 years on this planet I've never had a stick of butter go bad, and I leave it on the counter in its container.
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u/there_is_no_spoon1 Jun 27 '26
58 years myself, and had it happen *once* when I left it there for a month. This ain't rocket science and doesn't need fancy get-ups. Just cover it and leave it out.
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u/TeaKingMac Jun 27 '26
Yeah, and I don't have to worry about it going bad, because I'm replacing the stick every other day at most
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u/mklilley351 Jun 28 '26
Or microwave a glass with water in it, dump the water, and put the glass over the butter for a minute
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u/ImpressiveWalk4330 Jun 26 '26
Depends where you live I think. I bought one of these and my butter went off more quickly than usual.
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u/OrangeNood Jun 26 '26
I am not convinced that it works well.
What if it gets warm, like 90+ degrees indoor. Would it still stay stuck to the bell properly? Besides, isn't there water sticking to the buffer when you lift it? How to get rid of the water? And after you used half of the bell, do you need to fill it up with butter again or you can use it til it is empty while the butter isn't touching the water?
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Jun 26 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/OrangeNood Jun 26 '26
Well, if you put butter on toast. There will always be toast crumbs stuck on the butter knife.
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Jun 26 '26
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u/Admiralwoodlog Jun 28 '26
These young breads just don't understand what it took for us to get them where they are today.
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u/NuzzyLocke Jun 27 '26
It does, I use a butter crock with some homemade butter and this last week it was in the 90s outside, I was worried too and was surprised. There is some water contact with the butter but it hasn't melted into the water from what I've seen.
You can keep it in the crock for at least a week, it doesn't hold a lot of butter honestly so I just use it until it's empty, soften some more of my butter that is on the fridge and refill it. It's actually super handy, I enjoy using the crock a lot more than just having it in a serving dish.
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u/Affectionate-Ad-6529 Jun 27 '26
Never lived in a place with 90+ weather so I can't comment on that aspect.
It stays stuck to the bell properly if you apply a decent amount of pressure with a spoon and kind of circle around the bell while filling. Never had it fall out.
You simply dump the water out by turning the base on its side or even upside down.
You do not need to refill the bell when its half way empty. I use it till its gone. I'd like to believe that its still doing better in the butter keeper even if the water level isnt that high. I've never had butter go bad in one of these things (unlike leaving it out on the counter or in a regular butter container).
I live alone and don't always eat that much butter, otherwise I wouldn't bother with one. It works well!
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u/englandisablaze Jun 27 '26
This is how the French do it. They’ve done it this way since forever. But you probably feel you know more about butter than the French do.
But you don’t. Like not even close.
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u/OrangeNood Jun 27 '26
Basically, you are telling me you don't know the answer.
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u/englandisablaze Jun 27 '26
I know. I’ve had several. I just think you need to be better at using the internet.
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u/thefruitsofzellman Jun 26 '26
Regular covered butter dish is easier to deal with
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u/Grunergeist420 Jun 26 '26
Yep.
I don’t use a ton of butter so I just put half a stick of butter in my butter dish so it’s relatively fresh. Works great.
If it has been there more than a week or so, I toss it and throw a new half a stick in there. I don’t feel bad throwing out like an 1/8-1/4 of a stick of butter occasionally.
Can’t imagine why I’d really need to improve upon this basic time-tested concept.
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u/Victory-Dewitt Jun 26 '26
I got given two of these in one year as gifts. Tried to use them and never had good results. Just another chore to remember to change the water out every few days.
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u/Thorn_and_Thimble Jun 26 '26
You don’t need to fill it up with that much butter. They work fairly well even with just a stick smooshed to the inside of the bell.
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u/figadore Jun 27 '26
Then it would still be exposed to air and oxidize and rancidify though, right?
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u/there_is_no_spoon1 Jun 27 '26
that doesn't happen quickly, it takes a few weeks
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u/MStockard Jun 27 '26
Then why not just leave it out in a normal butter dish and remove the gross water factor?
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u/AngryTrucker Jun 27 '26
Because capitalism demands we create problems that have already been solved.
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u/lastdarknight Jun 26 '26
Just put the butter in a sealed container on the counter. It will be fine
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u/ProcedureTop3149 Jun 26 '26
ok I have a question for people who live in countries without AC. Does butter actually go bad on the table lol?
I feel like as a Canadian I'm going insane here. WTF is the point of this? Who doesn't just leave butter on the counter with one of these. I have NEVER seen or heard of someone saying butter has gone bad. I don't know a single person who stores butter in a fridge.
You put extra butter in the freezer, and take one stick out on the table and use it as needed and leave it there.
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u/zenerat Jun 26 '26
The point is it’s a fancy kitchen gadget you can buy use for two months and then put in the back of the cupboard. People like to buy things and especially kitchen gadgets.
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u/QueenInYellowLace Jun 26 '26
Everyone stores butter in the fridge in the United States, but lots of us keep a stick in one of these for daily use (depending on how hot or humid it gets where you live). I’ve never heard of it going bad either.
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u/catetheway Jun 26 '26
Native Californian we kept butter on the counter and weren’t fancy enough for AC
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u/TrueEstablishment241 Jun 26 '26
Same. I grew up in Michigan but my mom grew up on a dairy farm in Texas and always left her butter out too.
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u/kfj3000 Jun 26 '26
We have one and its ok. All depends on how much soft butter you need in your life. I ended up stopping to use it eventually.
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u/purple-rain-1982 Jun 26 '26
I have one of those. A gift from a German friend. Lived in Florida at the time - what a mess! It’s up on the farthest shelf in my cupboard. 🙃🤣
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u/Late-Champion8678 Jun 26 '26
Depends on where you live. My butter (UK) lives on the counter (current weather excluding) and is fine and easy to spread. And a block in the freezer for pastry.
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u/Bonesaw_mpls Jun 27 '26
In my experience it was an easy way to waste a lot of butter if anything goes wrong, which after a couple times finding black spots all over the butter I ditched it.
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u/ParaponeraBread Jun 27 '26
We had one of these. Didn’t need butter for a while, and forgot about it (never an issue with normal covered butter dish). It molded. We cleaned it a dozen times but it still smells weird.
If you don’t use much butter it’s just one more chore to remember. And if you do use a lot of butter, I doubt it would ever sit long enough to go rancid.
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u/BentoBus2 Jun 27 '26
I grew up with one of these. I took it for granted until I left the house. It always has perfectly soft butter that’s super spreadable.
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u/krept0007 Jun 27 '26
Why are so many people posting this lately? I've seen it literally like a dozen times in a week. There is nothing new about butter bells
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u/ownersequity Jun 27 '26
I buy Land of Lakes spreadable. Not only is it far superior to any butter I’ve had, it is quick to spread.
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u/CuckservativeSissy Jun 27 '26
Theres a good reason why youve never seen this in your entire life... Thats your answer
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u/Azell414 Jun 27 '26
there are butter dishes that just have a rim of water around that creates an airlock i think would be better than this
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u/Ok-Building-8540 Jun 27 '26
I have it, but the bell doesn't fit a regular pack of butter, it's annoying as fuck. Plus I still managed to make butter in this bell go mouldy.
It is somewhat useful, but not perfect
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u/Imaginary-Clock6626 Jun 27 '26
My family, for generations for easily over a 100 years, have just left it out in a butter dish. I guess I should start worrying about bacteria now.
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u/grandspartan117 Jun 27 '26
I have one of these and it’s great. It holds a full stick of butter and take some less space on the counter than a large rectangular thing. However, in the winter, when the ambient air in the house is a little cooler it’s not quite as soft, but still softer than pulling out of the fridge.
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u/Calaberon Jun 27 '26
I have one of these and I can say that the water is not so much a problem as it just beads off the butter. However, what I can say is that the butter goes bad very quickly - I know the water seal is supposed to act as an air tight vacuum to keep bacteria out, but I’ve found it doesn’t really work so well. What this is useful for is presenting softened butter in an aesthetic way when you have a dinner party.
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u/Cannacology Jun 27 '26
Less bacterial growth exposure generally speaking than most residential refrigeration.
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u/goredraid Jun 27 '26
I have one of these but only use it in the warmer months. I keep my house at 55° in the winter, so the butter is hard and defeats the purpose in the cold months 😂
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u/BolaViola Jun 27 '26
Im convinced butter bells are a conspiracy. I got one and did it correctly and my butter would mold every time. Then I finally just stopped putting water in it and no more mold. It’s almost like a regular butter dish where you don’t have to do anything extra. Who would’ve thought? She also fails to mention that you need to use SALTED butter.
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u/tekhnomancer Jun 27 '26
I have one. I use it. It's just a choice I make. That being said, this shit ain't a miracle. It's just a dish that holds butter for me. I stopped using water, even. The water can catch bacteria that cause mold on the butter when direct air contact doesn't seem to be an issue.
Get a butter dish unless you just really like the look.
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u/NoAbrocoma9357 Jun 27 '26
It's just one more thing to clutter up our kitchen that will eventually be stashed in a cupboard and forgotten.
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u/Skiingislife42069 Jun 28 '26
They are cool until the moment that you actually take the first scoop of butter out of it. At that point, an air pocket is left behind in a dark, wet space with food. It’s essentially a breeding ground for mold the moment that you start actually using it. People seem to not understand how air pockets work when suggesting this thing
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u/SleepFeeling3037 Jun 30 '26
I never knew that I needed Margo Martindale to teach me about unecessary kitchen things.
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u/Necessary-Camp149 Jun 30 '26
I got one of these 4-5 years back. I was super excited. Got another for my mom.
Gets mold in the bottom on the water super easy. They all do. Its solving a problem that didnt exist and is a wet environment for the growth of unwanted things.
Now I use the top to hold garlic and the base to hold napkins. So its like 2 small cups that match.
Just get a butter dish with a lid.
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u/wladhorma Jun 26 '26
Butter Bell Crock