I've used it, then ended up by selling it.
I bought one for Mom too, and her butter kept falling out, into the water. She got frustrated, and got rid of hers too.

I don't use butter a lot, just because it has to stay in the frig, and when I want to use it, it's hard. I don't think to take it out ahead of time.

The butter bell didn't help much, in the summer, I thought. The water wouldn't stay cold enough. We don't have air-conditioning.

I've never used a butter bell but have always wondered if they work well. I don't use very much butter anymore.

Does it really stay fresh tasting for a month if you change the water often?

JASDIP, I've never had the butter fall into the water. Are you packing it well when you put the butter in the cup?

Teresa, I change the water every 3 days (simple enough) and it stays fresh although I don't think I have had the same butter for 1 month to test that theory.

Butter keeps for a very long time without refrigeration. We put a half stick of butter in the covered butter dish and leave it on the counter. While we do not use a lot of butter, it has never gone bad before we use it up. When I was a kid, we left the eggs and butter out on the laundry porch.

Dale P

Heck, I forget to water the plants, so a butter bell would be out. I just use a covered butter dish and leave it on the counter.

I keep my butter in a covered sugar bowl on the counter. We go through it pretty fast so have never had it go bad.

I received one in a swap from L2C46, and I have been using it ever since. In the beginning I added a bit of salt to the water, but then I learned that that was not necessary. I have to say that it definitely does work, and I love it.

Lars

When I was a kid we got it delivered in 1 pound blocks and it was left on the counter. But with 12 kids 1 pound did not last too long.

I see the bells online all the time and they are so cute!

Like most here, had one, didn't like it, sold it at a garage sale, and leave the butter in a covered butter dish on the counter.

I use a butter bell in the warmer months, and in the cooler months I use a butter boat. The difference.... The bell with the butter in it sits in the water, which requires changing the water frequently. In the butter boat, the "boat" with the butter in it "floats" on top of the water in the container below, so your butter doesn't come into contact with the water. Butter gets too soft in the butter boat when the room temperature gets warm, so that's when I use the somewhat messier to use butter bell. It's much easier to place a stick of butter in the butter boat than to load softened butter into the bell.

After a couple decades of using a butter bell, my advice is to skip the stoneware model and opt for a porcelain one. Stoneware tends to chip/crack easily from use, and any chips/cracks will eventually start absorbing water which can harbor bacteria. The warmer the ambient temperature, the more frequently you need to replace the water in a butter bell. After you've filled the butter bell with butter, place it in the refrigerator for 30-minutes before placing it in the water. This will help assure it doesn't slip out of the bell (which can occasionally happen when the butter is too soft and/or the water is too warm. Chilled water in the butter bell base will also help "set" the butter quickly.

-Grainlady

Love using my butter bell. My only complaint is that I seem to go through way more butter now that it is always the perfect spreadable temperature. Butter never falls out, it did turn moldy once but I suspect it was because I forgot to change the water, or that the water had somehow ended up in the butter.

Have one. Can't keep the butter in it, no matter how hard I pack it in there. Keep it in a covered dish in the cupboard. It's either frozen (winter) or melted (summer).

I have one. I use it in the summer time, and just keep the butter on the counter in the winter. I've never had butter go bad sitting on the counter, so that's where I keep it.

I do, however, have problems with the butter falling out of the thing into the water. Sometimes it stays, more often it doesn't, and it doesn't matter how tightly I pack it. Every summer I think about tossing the thing out, and then I put it back on the counter and hope the butter will stay in this time.

Annie

Do you have butter that's spredable straight from the fridge over there? We do and it's really useful - it's just butter mixed with a little veg oil so it's better for your arteries too!

There is nothing "better" about vegetable oil over butter, and I don't even consider vegetable oil a "food", let alone choose to consume it. Vegetable oil must be chemically removed, deodorized, and altered to make it safe to consume. There is NOTHING natural about it. Some of the toxic chemicals used to alter these oils should give you pause for concern, if nothing else. Vegetable oils are some of the most chemically altered foods in our diets, yet they get promoted as "healthy".

I avoid anything with vegetable oil in it, just as I avoid it's other toxic "relative" - soy. So cut to the chase - I avoid eating processed foods which are loaded with these two bad characters. Give me butter, ghee, and coconut oil, and occasionally olive oil and lard - and all in moderation.

-Grainlady

I'm with grainlady on the subject of vegetable oils and soy.

A simple trick for using less butter.... Apply MELTED butter to toast (or other baked goods) with a pastry brush, instead of applying softened butter with a knife. You will use much less and still get good coverage and flavor with a fraction of the amount you would normally apply.

-Grainlady

I have a butter bell and love it. I change the water daily as I am using the butter. Simple. I've never had the butter fall out.I wonder if that has to do with the shape of it. I have porcelain, not stoneware. I use it all year, but since I have heat and AC, the house stays the same temp year round.

I have one, but I stopped using it after it got moldy too many times... I just can't keep on top of changing the water and it's more simple to just keep a stick of butter on the counter - I don't even cover it... we go through butter fast and I need it to be handy!

Butter has gotten a bad reputation IMO, it's good stuff. There is nothing wrong with some good quality fat from a natural source. I don't even buy vegetable oil and actually use little olive oil for cooking anymore either, they can't take the heat like good old animal fats can. The best butter is the stuff we get from the local Mennonite farm (they also have the best raw milk ever! Love those grass-fed Jerseys!)

I wouldn't describe good olive oil as a dangerous product!!! let's not get carried away here!

islay_corbel-

Not to be snarky, so please don't take it that way, but I didn't see anyone describe "good olive oil as a dangerous product!!!". I only read that emorems0 "actually use little olive oil anymore", which is a statement about use, not that it's a "dangerous" product. I could make the same claim, I only use olive oil 2-3 times a year, at most.

And for the record, once olive oil is heated it quickly oxidizes and turns into a harmful free-radical. So when I do use it, I never heat olive oil. If you want the healthful benefits from olive oil, use it without heating/cooking it. You can read more information at the link below.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Why we should avoid cooking with olive oil.

Yea, I found another butter bell in my garage storage; I will try it then compare it to the porcelain one. I bought it at a pottery in Pigeon Forge while shopping with CF friends at our *PFPP.

*Pigeon Forge Pajama Party-I rented a cabin for 8 CF members; we toured the area during the day then cooked for each other in the evening. Had a wonderful time including a visit to the Biltmore House in Ashville.

Here is a link that might be useful: Biltmore

Yea, I found another butter bell in my garage storage; I will try it then compare it to the porcelain one. I bought it at a pottery in Pigeon Forge while shopping with CF friends at our *PFPP.

*Pigeon Forge Pajama Party-I rented a cabin for 8 CF members; we toured the area during the day then cooked for each other in the evening. Had a wonderful time including a visit to the Biltmore House in Ashville.

Here is a link that might be useful: Biltmore

Don't yuck my yum. Another person can use agave syrup to their hearts content but I don't care for the stuff. I even know some people who don't like butter, like my own mother, although I find that strangely suspect, LOL. So, I'll stick with my butter, my olive oil, my cane sugar (refined or otherwise) and hope that my grass fed beef and organic vegetables will balance it all out.

islay, I've used those spreadable butters and find them acceptable, although now scientists are finding that butter isn't actually as unhealthy as once thought. There are various kinds here, some have canola oil (which I avoid due to the GMOs but anyone else that wants to eat it is OK by me) and some have olive oil. I can't see that it negatively impacts flavor, but the texture is just a tiny bit different. Well of course it's different, it's supposed to be soft, LOL. It's a lot better than that trans-fat laden "margarine", we used to call it "oleo".

Of course, I just like butter. (grin)

Annie

I'm a butter lover too. I'm 100% Greek, and my dad wanted Greek style food to eat. Nothing "American" for him. So that's what my mom cooked. And, believe me, there was lots of olive oil in just about everything.

Almost all main dishes started with onions and garlic sauteed in olive oil. Salads were dressed with olive oil & wine vinegar. Most vegetables, especially greens, were dressed with olive oil & lemon.

I was in junior high before I discovered that other people put butter on their vegetables. When I finally tasted the combo of butter & hot vegetables, it was love at first sight. Butter is still a real taste treat for me. And I still don't care much for vegetables with olive oil & lemon unless there's a lot of fresh garlic too.

Grainlady - I have the utmost respect for you but I felt this over the top :
There is nothing "better" about vegetable oil over butter, and I don't even consider vegetable oil a "food", let alone choose to consume it. Vegetable oil must be chemically removed, deodorized, and altered to make it safe to consume. There is NOTHING natural about it. Some of the toxic chemicals used to alter these oils should give you pause for concern, if nothing else. Vegetable oils are some of the most chemically altered foods in our diets, yet they get promoted as "healthy".