Dear Kitchen,
I like toast with a little bit of butter for breakfast. My problem is that butter right out of the fridge is too cold to spread. I've seen butter bells in gourmet stores and in Chefs Catalog. Do they solve this problem?
Thanks,
Bruce
Good Question: Do Butter Bells Really Work?
Dear Bruce,
I bought a butter bell this spring in a fancy kitchen store at the end of a wine tasting in Sonoma. It was the first time I'd seen one. Though I'm trying to cut back on gadgets, I had to have it. Since then, I've been seeing butter bells and their crockery side kick the salt pig around more and more.
This diagram (via For Your Kitchen) explains the science of how the butter bell works:
Yes, the butter bell works decently, but the cure comes with a few side effects. To squeeze a fresh stick of cold butter into the bell shaped holder, I had to soften it and then mold the stick into the bell.
Butter bell caretakers also have to remember to change the water every couple of days and keep the butter bell in a cool place. My apartment doesn't have a cool spot. When the butter gets too warm, the butter drops from the top of the bell and goes for a swim in the water below.
Style-wise, I wish I'd waited to buy one that matched the color of my kitchen and I prefer the less alien looking style of the Emile Henry Couleurs Butter Pot.
I use my butter bell once in a while, when I'm anticipating lots of toast, but here's two other suggestions:
- Microwave to Soften: My new microwave has a "soften butter" setting that works better than I thought it might. If you happen to have that setting, give it a try.
- Try Different Butter: Right now I'm using butter from Ronnybrook Farm. Their butter comes in a small round container instead of the ubiquitous stick. The Ronnybrook butter is easier to spread right out of the refrigerator.
Butter lovers, look back in our archive for a tip on buttering your sweet corn and a recipe for herb butter.
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Yes, but watch out for mold. I read something today that suggested salting the water to prevent mold (someone French). Another tip was to be careful not to get any bread crumbs back into the butter from your knives--definite mold maker.
This site might be the original source for the "how it works graphic" so I wanted to add a link. Be warned that this site "talks" when you click the link:
http://www.buybutterbell.com/
I also just found this interesting public radio forum about butter bells. It talks about mold (Thanks for mentioning this, J) and the French thinking behind butter bells:
http://splendidtable.forum.publicradio.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/14/0633227
I love mine - would not go back. Never had a mold problem. Never have the butter leak out into water. Works great.
I've been using a butter bell for ages and have converted many to its use.
Just remember to change the water every few days and you'll never lack for spreadable butter.
cm
My butter bell (and my deep, abiding love for it) is something I'd been meaning to blog about for a couple weeks now. You can check out what I have to say about it by clicking my name up there.
I loved mine but it sadly got moldy more than once so my husband put his foot down about using it. We now just use a pyrex butter dish. I only put out 1/2 stick at a time and we go through it pretty fast so I haven't had problems with it going rancid.
I have a butter bell and have experienced both the mold and the floating butter during very warm weather. Last year I started salting the water, and found that a strong salty brine does inhibit the mold a bit.
Before the butter bell I used to blend softened butter with extra virgin olive oil and keep it in the frige. the 50/50 blend helped make the butter more spreadable and healthier.
My mom had one when we were kids, it was great! I always thought my mom was trying to be Amish. Don't ask. The butter was always soft, always fresh. Absolutely change the water every few days. Wash well with each change of butter.
I live in Louisiana, home of all mold, and our butter bell works perfectly. Keep clean and keep water fresh.
view Lillian Bridwell-Bowles's profile
If I anticipate a big toast morning I put a stick or two of Irish butter in my panties before I go to bed. In the morning the butter is soft and spreadable.
view PrettiestGirlInWorld's profile
I used to use one but had the mold problem. Now I just do what my mother has done for years - keep the butter in the cupboard or on the counter. In the winter, it doesn't get very soft. In the summer it gets softer but keeps well as long as it is out of the sun.
view Jeanne's profile