Do you have a butter dish?

[Aufilia]

I've got it into my head this month that we need a butter dish. Why are we always buying plastic containers full of butter when I could buy sticks in a paper box and just put a stick in a butter dish??

So I went out and found a butter dish at the Goodwill ($2!), and I put a stick of Smart Balance 50/50 butter/margerine blend in it. And of course the butter melted into a puddle within 24 hours. *sigh* Does real butter have a higher melting point, or am I just going to be forced to keep my butter dish in the fridge, or should I go out and get a butter bell crock for the summer, too? (I've never yet seen one of those secondhand.)

[akwifeandmomma]

I have a butter dish and my (real) butter never melts on the counter. Then again, I live in Alaska, and our interior temp is never above right around 70ish, even in the summer.

I think margarine needs to be refrigerated...

[paintedfire]

I have (and use) a butter dish, but can't tell you if it melts on the counter or not - my cat knows how to tip the dish over so he can get at the stick. Darn, cat. Into fridge you go, butter!

What I can tell you is that butter is so much better than margarine.

[Mom2M]

Yes, I have a butter dish with real butter on the counter and it doesn't melt even in the summer, usually around 80-85 degrees here. It does get softer then, though.
I found this info on smart balance...
How long can I keep my Buttery Spread out of the refrigerator?
We suggest keeping Smart Balance Buttery Spread at room temperature for no longer than five hours. After this amount of time, it may start to "oil off" - that's because it's not hydrogenated, and therefore healthier than margarine or spreads that may be kept out of refrigeration for much longer periods.

[Aufilia]

I loooove real butter but it is pretty high in fat. So I go back and forth about using it on a daily basis. But I'm tempted. I thought it must be the type of spread I'd bought since the last stick I had sitting out was just fine for several days, and I'd thought that was real butter. It hasn't been above 70 in our house for a couple weeks. Here in Seattle, we only get above-70ish summery weather between July 5 and the day before Labor Day.

[swd12422]

We use a butter keeper -- found at a kitchen overstock store for ~$10. (MUCH more expensive than your $2 butter dish, but it doesn't have to go in the fridge, and it works!)

[Magelet]

unless it's super super hot, real butter won't melt on the counter. (It might get really really really mushy though

[Dakota's Mom]

My butter today was a very soft mess. If it is going to be over 80 for more than a day or two I put it in the fridge. I just don't like to use the mush. Maybe I should look in to a crock. Right now I have a plastic butter dish. It was cheap so I don't know how many chemicals it is leaching in to the butter when it gets hot.

Kathi

[Katie T]

I have a butter dish, not the normal kind mine is a Pampered Chief glass bowl (maybe 1 cup worth size wise) with a plastic lid and it doesn't melt on my counter but I think it tastes rancid if left out of a couple days so I put about a 1/4 to a half a stick in at a time so I have the least amount of waste.

[ollyoxenfree]

I'm not sure about comparative melting points, but I only buy butter and it will melt into a puddle on the hottest summer days.

I think the Butter bell crock is probably the best answer.

[Dakota's Mom]

So I bought one of those Butter Bell things the other day. I had butter on the counter that was pretty soft. I put that in the cup part of the butter belle. I put water in the bottom. When I put the cup over the bottom part, the butter promptly fell out into the water. I put it in the fridge for a while and it stayed in the top. Do I need to refrigerate this thing every time I put new butter in it? Or was it just a fluke the first time.

Kathi

[Amatullah0]

Originally Posted by Dakota's Mom

So I bought one of those Butter Bell things the other day. I had butter on the counter that was pretty soft. I put that in the cup part of the butter belle. I put water in the bottom. When I put the cup over the bottom part, the butter promptly fell out into the water. I put it in the fridge for a while and it stayed in the top. Do I need to refrigerate this thing every time I put new butter in it? Or was it just a fluke the first time.

Kathi

Did you use cold water? From the looks of it, the butter has to be packed in really tight, and you have to use cold water.


On the subject of butter dishes, my grandparents keep their (real) butter out, it does get really really squishy though on warm days. I've heard that butter needs to be refrigerated or it will spoil though, so watch that. My parents had a plastic butter dish that we sometimes used, but we kept it in the fridge. Me? I don't bother with butter dishes, I keep the butter in the paper in the door of the fridge, using the wax paper as a base for the butter, though it is usually mostly unwrapped.

[Carhootel]

I always have butter on the counter in a butter dish and it's never melted. gets reeaaaal mushy though

[Angitay]

We keep our butter out all the time. We just use a standard glass butter dish. It does get a bit soft on hot days but not unmanageable. Also, I have yet to have the butter spoil.
I tried a Butter Bell (borrowed it from a friend) before buying the $2 dish. I found that it was a pain to keep clean and you have to spoon already softened butter into the dish. I found the cheapo dish to work just as well and you can just put the whole stick of butter in there. Much easier!

[dizzysmom]

We use a butter dish - I've never had a problem with it melting in the summer, but it does get pretty squishy on the hot days! In the wintertime, our house is kept pretty cold and the butter is hard as a rock no matter how long its been out

[scrapadoozer]

Originally Posted by Carhootel

I always have butter on the counter in a butter dish and it's never melted. gets reeaaaal mushy though

Yeah, this has been my experience as well. It only ever flat out melted when I've done something silly like leave it on top of the toaster oven while I made myself a bagel.

[Drummer's Wife]

We have a glass butter dish and it doesn't melt on the counter. Our kitchen stays pretty cool, though, as we run the A/C a lot.

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by Dakota's Mom

So I bought one of those Butter Bell things the other day. I had butter on the counter that was pretty soft. I put that in the cup part of the butter belle. I put water in the bottom. When I put the cup over the bottom part, the butter promptly fell out into the water. I put it in the fridge for a while and it stayed in the top. Do I need to refrigerate this thing every time I put new butter in it? Or was it just a fluke the first time.

Kathi

I have had this happen on a realllly hot day, but not usually. If you use ice-chilled water and refresh it a few times during the day, it should help. I keep a jug of filtered water in the refrigerator for drinking. It's easy to pull out and refresh the butter bell at mealtimes or snacktimes.

[Denvergirlie]

Real butter here too, stays on counter.
Summer it gets soft but in the winter it completely melts. However, we have a old wood cook stove in the kitchen that runs during the winter, thus the reason it melts in winter, but stays soft in summer.
OP's issue is that Smart Balance is a spread of oil and butter already, so it has a higher melting point where it starts to separte.

[Ellp]

I'm not too far north from you so our weather should be roughly the same. I keep real butter in a glass butter dish and it stays on our kitchen window sill. The window faces north and has a deep overhang so the sun never touches it. Its also ceramic tiled so out of anywhere in the kitchen (other than the fridge) thats the coldest spot.

I go through a stick of butter in about 2 weeks so thats how long it gets kept out.

I've tried the butter bell thing but just like the PP said, when I went to lift the thing out, the butter just plopped into the water. I also couldn't keep up with remembering to change the water and it was a hassle to get the butter in and out of the bell.