Keep Your Butter Fresh for Longer By Using One of These

From pros making upscale French cuisine to home cooks dishing out scrambled eggs and cookies, butter is an essential staple in many kitchens. But as a dairy product that is prone to going bad, it’s definitely something that needs to be treated responsibly, lest it go past its prime without you noticing. But what’s the best way to ensure its longevity? 

Having worked in professional kitchens before and knowing many pro bakers and chefs, I can confidently say that one of the biggest reasons butter begins to go bad is exposure to too much oxygen. This is why it’s essential that it be stored in a cool, dry place with no airflow. Luckily for home cooks, it’s easy to find a great, reasonable butter dish or crock that will seal tightly to prevent oxidation — and good ones start at just $11.

Best Butter Dishes and Crocks at Amazon

OXO Good Grips Butter Dish

OXO’s kitchen gear is great across the board, and its butter dish is no different. The dish’s clear lid fits tightly, and stoppers keep the butter from sliding around when you cut it. This dish even includes measurement markings, so you won’t have to dirty any measuring spoons.

Dowan Large Butter Dish

This rustic ceramic and wooden dish holds multiple sticks, and the wood doubles as a board for cutting butter. One shopper even pointed out that the lid is so tight that it’s cat-proof, writing, “Hard to knock off the counter, too. Keeps butter fresh and soft.”

Sweese Large Butter Dish with Lid

This dish from Sweese brings a classy vibe to the table with its smooth, porcelain build and 4.8- by 7.7-inch base, which lets you keep larger sticks of butter within. Customers appreciate the versatility of its size, with one shopper writing, “I really like this one specifically because it fits the 8-ounce Kerrygold Irish butter, which doesn’t fit in a traditional butter dish.”

Butter Bell Crock

This more traditional crock has over 10,000 five-star ratings at Amazon. Unlike other butter dishes, this has a lid you fill with softened butter, and when you remove it, it doubles as a cute, little butter bowl. “I love that you can just grab the knob and get to your soft butter without having to open containers and then remember to close them again,” one shopper said. “Plus. It’s a beautiful little crock on your counter.”

Mora Ceramics Two-in-One Butter Dish

This earthy ceramic option can be used as a tray or a crock, depending on how you load it. Shoppers especially like this one for how well it keeps butter fresh right out of the fridge. “It’s handsome and well-crafted, and the butter lasts on my counter for weeks without spoiling, growing mold, or any other issue,” a shopper wrote. “It’s amazing how well it works.”