Butter bell?

July 23, 2005 11:48 AM

Anyone here use a butter bell? I love the idea of spreadable butter all the time, but I'm afraid of it going rancid. It looks good in theory, but I'm wondering if anyone here has actually tried it.
posted by ColdChef to Food & Drink (19 answers total)

All my 24 years I have used butter that sat out at room temperature. Not once has it ever made me sick.
posted by sbutler at 11:53 AM on July 23, 2005

Best answer: I have one. The spreadability factor will depend on the temperature at which you keep your house (in a Boston winter, the utility was limited). You should do a few things to prevent the rancidity problem: only put in as much butter as you might use in a week, change the water regularly (every day or two), and use up the old butter and scrub out the bell before putting more butter in.

I really like my butter bell. It got me to use real, tasty butter instead of nasty partially hydrogenated tub margarine.
posted by amber_dale at 11:54 AM on July 23, 2005

I had one until it cracked, at which point we had to trash it. It worked beautifully until then. No problems even in the hottest days. As amber_dale said, just clean it out between refills and you shouldn't have a problem.
posted by hindmost at 12:02 PM on July 23, 2005

I find the idea of a dark, hidden reservoir of water, in direct contact with food, to be a setup for bacterial growth. My obsessive-compulsive microbe phobia wouldn't permit such a thing in my kitchen.
posted by ikkyu2 at 12:11 PM on July 23, 2005

What sbutler said, plus some years. I've never had butter go rancid.
posted by Wolfdog at 12:15 PM on July 23, 2005

Best answer: ikkyu2, I have had mold in the water before, but only if I essentially cultured it by leaving the thing to its own devices for a week or two. Changing the water (and giving the reservoir a scrub regularly) seems to avert this problem.
posted by amber_dale at 12:18 PM on July 23, 2005

I'll third sbutler.

One small stick of butter (about one week's worth) in tupperware, always left out at room temperature. Never have any problems, it gets slightly rancid after more than a week, but no problems really.
posted by randomstriker at 12:37 PM on July 23, 2005

ikkyu2, the butter doesn't actually touch the water (at least, you can monitor the water level so that it doesn't), and the existence of the water prevents microorganisms from contaminating the butter, much as Pasteur's bottle with the curvy neck did.
posted by hindmost at 12:37 PM on July 23, 2005

They work great and if you buy Plugra or other high end butter, it makes all the difference.
posted by CunningLinguist at 2:25 PM on July 23, 2005

We leave butter out. Eggs too. Don't need no fancy butter bell neither. Just a butter dish with a top.
posted by stray at 2:31 PM on July 23, 2005

We got one as a gift and used it for a little while then gave up. I guess we're not butter bell people. Something else to maintain. We don't use a whole lot o butter anyway.
posted by fixedgear at 2:33 PM on July 23, 2005

Assuming you mean regular salted butter, and assuming your house is air-conditioned (ie, it's not 90F inside), chock another vote for a plain old butter dish with a top.

I've been leaving butter out for years and years and years, and I have never ever even once seen it even hint at beginning to think about turning. This includes sticks of butter that have lasted well over a month.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:45 PM on July 23, 2005

To add to my comment, and in response to ROU_X, my house is not airconditioned. It is, however, an old farm house, and thus has all sorts of earthy karma going for it (plus small windows, decent insulation, and a relatively dark and cool interior).
posted by stray at 3:01 PM on July 23, 2005

Plugra? Is that like plus gras?
posted by ikkyu2 at 3:17 PM on July 23, 2005

Yep
More butterfat + more culturing = heaven on bread.
posted by CunningLinguist at 4:28 PM on July 23, 2005

tupperware, stick of butter, leave it out, problem solved... been doing that in my family for at least the 57 years i've been around, I don't think it has killed a single person (although the easy access to sweet, sweet, butter may have shortened a few lives!)
posted by HuronBob at 5:48 PM on July 23, 2005

I think the question is answered, but I can't resist paraphrasing my dad:

My ancestors ate all kinds of food that was never refrigerated - butter, bread, even meat like bacon. They had high-fat, high-sodium diets.

Killed them all at around 90 years old.

Of course, he also suspects that everyone back then had constant, low-grade food poisoning...
posted by attercoppe at 6:42 PM on July 23, 2005

If you don't like the mystery of butter and water in darkness, Solutions Catalog has a clear glass butter bell. Type in product #69325 in the product search box. At least you'll see the mold growing . . .
posted by Joleta at 8:26 PM on July 23, 2005

I looked into those, too -- I'd already been keeping butter out, but in a dish, which got messy as the butter got soft and was difficult to use quickly during cooking. , Neat concept, but the water-changing sounds like a total pain in the arse. Like fixedgear said, another thing to maintain. Plus, water dripping everywhere, and expensive.

Go to your local GoodWill/St Vinnie's and pick up one of those brown or grey ceramic crocks that fanicer cheese food comes in, with the lid and the metal clasp. It'll cost you twennyfive cents, and look equally charming on your counter-top or breakfast table.
posted by mimi at 4:18 AM on July 24, 2005