The butter-dish topic

[BarbaraY]

Yes to the Rubbermaid butter dishes. I have two so that when one is in the dishwasher I have a place to put the butter. I started using these as I like to have my butter at room temperature most of the time.

Cats being the critters that they are can consume a whole cube/stick of butter in one sitting. The butter eating cat is long gone but I still use the seal-able dishes. If I want to be fancy I will pull out the china butter dish that matches the dinnerware.

[Fat Guy]

When they have it in stock this is the butter I buy. The shape and size (which can vary a bit) are not easy to find a dish for. Tape measure shown for reference.

[Mjx]

That should fit into a lot of the stainless steel butter containers (like the Danesco model discussed upthread) with no problem.

[MelissaH]

We used to leave the stick in its wrapper out on the counter. We saw kitty tongue marks on the top of the stick once too many times. Now, we have a glass cheapo covered butter dish for the one stick that stays out of the fridge and spreadable.

MelissaH

[The Supper Model]

I here you on the size constraints of the average butter dish. I keep a few different kinds of butter stacked under a cheese saver (you know the ones with glass dome). Has worked pretty well.

[SylviaLovegren]

When they have it in stock this is the butter I buy. The shape and size (which can vary a bit) are not easy to find a dish for. Tape measure shown for reference.

Why not cut the butter into a more convenient shape and store the various parts as wanted?

When we lived in the Pac NW the butter always stayed in a covered butter dish on the counter, but when I moved to the East Coast without central air I learned that butter can go rancid as well as melt at "room temperature".

So far, in Ontario, I've only found butter in huge blocks. But since we stopped eating most carbs, our butter consumption has gone way down as well. Sadly. So the huge blocks of butter stay tightly wrapped in the fridge "dairy" section.

[Fat Guy]

Why not cut the butter into a more convenient shape and store the various parts as wanted?

I guess I see that as a backup plan, if no suitable and inexpensive container can be found. I'd rather not have to add the subdividing of the butter to my list of grocery-unpacking tasks, unless I have to.

[andiesenji]

A Butter boat might be your best solution.

I know it says it holds one stick of butter but that is with lots of free room around it.

I allow a 1/2 pound slab (Kerrygold or homemade) to soften just enough to mash it into the butter boat and it fits nicely.

If I am going to be serving outdoors and the weather is fairly warm, I fill the bottom with crushed ice to keep the butter at optimal serving consistency. There is a convenient line inside the outer container to indicate the proper water level.

They are also available at Amazon and there are a bunch on ebay for various prices.

When first introduced they were more expensive ($30.00 or so) but have since come down to a more reasonable price.

Since I haven't made butter this week I retrieved a slab of Kerrygold from the freezer and here is a butter boat holding the entire 8 ounces.

[Fat Guy]

I'm going to suggest that you not store your butter this way, as I do.

[Mjx]

Why not cut the butter into a more convenient shape and store the various parts as wanted?

I guess I see that as a backup plan, if no suitable and inexpensive container can be found. I'd rather not have to add the subdividing of the butter to my list of grocery-unpacking tasks, unless I have to.

I'm confused; surely a brick of butter that appears to be 4×3×2 inches or thereabouts (longest dimension is 4", anyway), should fit into a 5.5×4×≅3 inch dish..?

[Fat Guy]

Yes but I'm not likely to pay $36.27 for a butter dish.

[Mjx]

Fair point. How about $9.19?

[Fat Guy]

That much I'd spend but I'm not sure if that unit has the height, and it only specifies two of the dimensions on the product page.

[baroness]

That much I'd spend but I'm not sure if that unit has the height, and it only specifies two of the dimensions on the product page.

Product Dimensions: 8 x 4.5 x 2 inches

[natasha1270]

Do the butter boat and other 'decanted' butter storage methods keep from picking up refrigerator odors or are they mainly for countertop use?

Also, this lock n lock butter keeper looks like it might fit your butter Fat Guy:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Storage-Store-LOCK-BUTTER-KEEPER/dp/B001H35O1E/ref=sr_1_40?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1307734710&sr=1-40

it pretty much just looks like a regular storage container turned upside down so maybe if you already have something similar... ?

now here's a fun butter keeper:

http://www.amazon.com/Gama-Go-LA0108-Buddah-Butter-Dish/dp/B0043QUXJ0

Edited June 10, 2011 by natasha1270 (log)

[andiesenji]

This glass Luminarc butter dish would certainly fit with lots of room to spare.

Would you consider something like this?

It can be used either way, both base and dome are smoothly finished so there is no specific up or down.

I've got four or five - I use them for composed butters and for cream cheese mixed with various "flavors" etc. I bought mine at the local Kitchen Factory Outlet store.

There's one for sale in Brooklyn.

Edited June 10, 2011 by andiesenji (log)

[janeer]

Upthread I mentioned that I use a glass bell on a plate for when I have company. It is a smaller version of a cheese bell. Surely you can find something out of the 6 pages of cheese bells herethat would work. Some of them are large, but there are some smaller ones, and some quite nice etched glass vintage ones. I personally would go for the one on p. 4 marked "Family brand" that comes with a cinnamon candle--all for $6.50.

[Mjx]

That much I'd spend but I'm not sure if that unit has the height, and it only specifies two of the dimensions on the product page.

Well, I'm not going to beat this to death, but just eyeballing both the dish (length and breadth), and the block of butter they show sitting on it (on the Amazon page), that thing has got to be at least two inches tall; the manufacturer's (Norpro) website doesn't say, either, but I'm sure an email or phone call would yield some information.

[Lindacakes]

I'm fussy about the butter being smeared on the top of the dish, so I hate butter dishes in general.

I keep most of my butter double wrapped in the fridge or freezer and I cut off hunks for table use.

The hunks go into a thick glass bowl (relatively small, size of an orange) with a cover that has a large round knob. This also gets smeary, but there's not enough butter in there long enough to get gross since I wash it every couple of times I fill it.

I think these are usually sold as jam jars and you can get them for about four bucks at Surprise, Surprise, Bazaar or Fish's Eddy.

I settled on this solution after trying every butter dish known to mankind. I think it's all about the lid for me, I like the lid to be smaller than the dish and that's usually reversed in butter engineering.

What's special about Ben's butter? It looks good.

Edited June 11, 2011 by Lindacakes (log)

[Fat Guy]

That much I'd spend but I'm not sure if that unit has the height, and it only specifies two of the dimensions on the product page.

Product Dimensions: 8 x 4.5 x 2 inches

Where are you getting those numbers? On the Norpro website I only see "Measures 7.5"/19cm long by 4"/10cm wide."

http://www.norpro.com/store/products/double-covered-butter-dish-ss

I've got an email in to Norpro but from looking at it I really don't think it will hold a big brick. It's designed to hold two standard sticks of butter side-by-side. I also imagine that the dimensions given may not necessarily be interior dimensions, whereas I'm most interested in knowing the actual size of what can be contained by the dish.

[Fat Guy]

This glass Luminarc butter dish would certainly fit with lots of room to spare.

I actually think I may have a dish like that around somewhere -- maybe in one of the boxes I haven't unpacked yet. It never occurred to me that it might be a butter dish! That may be my solution, if I can dig it out.

[andiesenji]

I came across one of these today, while searching for something else.

Frankly, I had not realized it was a butter keeper. I got it as a freebie when I ordered several other Lock-n-Lock items and have never used it. It was inside another of the storage pieces and except for the sticker on the top (I thought it was the bottom) I would not have known what it was for.

I like the hard plastic Tupperware butter keepers but am not sure this one would work as I often use spreaders that have a sharp edge and I think the plastic would mar. That happened to a butter keeper I had that had a "measuring" ruler on the bottom plate. I tossed it because once cut, the cuts retained stuff that I did not want in my food.

[robirdstx]

I saw some of these Ziploc VersaGlass Containers today. I think they could work as a butter keeper.

[Susie Q]

In the kitchen I use that same luminarc dish and cover. Found it a TJ Maxx for $5. I love it. I tried using a butter bell before but the butter kept falling down into the water. I gave it to Goodwill.

On the table I use a footed cobalt lions head soup bowl with lid. It holds two sticks of butter.

[Fat Guy]

Found it.

This thing is huge, and it is about one millimeter shy of being too small for the brick. But it just makes it.