The French Butter Dish - Greatest Invention of All Time?

January 04, 2019 1 Comment

First off, we all know that if I were sitting down with any kind of engineer, programmer or let's be real, even your run of the mill labor worker I would have a pretty weak argument here. But for the sake of getting excited about the little things, please humor my exaggeration.

If you love butter as much as I do and put it in and on top of just about everything that comes out of your kitchen, you might just agree with the sentiment that the French Butter Keeper could be the greatest invention of all time.

I’d say about 78% of the people who visit our shop, look at these unsuspecting magical dishes and have absolutely no idea what they are. It’s been a true honor to educate people about this. I cringe at the memory of the days when I, too, frustratingly tried spreading hardened butter on my toast just to watch the soft insides tear apart; leaving me with a pile of torn up chunks of gluten unevenly scattered with cold pieces of churned cream. Or when I would put out a big brick of a creamy Kerrygold in the morning and would come home to a crystalized puddle of melted gold. Heartbroken, I would try to salvage what I could but alas, these are the first world problems I faced and it was tough.

I won’t go into the story of how I learned about this life-changing dish because it’s quite lengthy and I don’t want to get too emotional on you. So instead, I’ll share with you how this works so you can get a better understanding of my reverence for this sacred vessel.

There are two pieces to the French butter dish; the bottom half- which looks like your usual small canister or bowl. And the top half; a mushroom-shaped lid with a cylindrical molded compartment where you store the butter inside. You simply pack butter into the top of the mushroom top lid then fill the base (about an inch) with cool water and invert the lid over the base.

“But wait! Wouldn’t the butter just fall out into the water?” The simple answer is… “No”. I’m sure someone could figure out a way to achieve that but you’d have to very haphazardly place a stick of butter without any pressure whatsoever into the hole, tip it upside down and then it’d be likely you would witness a nice “plop” into the water below. Like I said, just pack in the butter, place the lid on top and… voila! Smooth, creamy and perfectly spreadable at all times. Because of the water in the bottom, the butter is safe from oxygen and therefore stays fresh without refrigeration and at the perfect temperature. Never too hot or cold; sure to get Goldie Lock’s stamp of approval.

So next time you are planning to host a dinner party and can’t stand the thought of watching your guests place a cold square of butter in the middle of their rolls, or when you are slouched over your kitchen counter in the morning waiting for your prized ingredient to melt enough on your toast before you can safely spread it and then find yourself folding up a stale piece of toast with a hardened golden chunk inside of it so you don’t have to suffer through dry, tasteless bites. Don't come home to another puddle of separated compounds of cream all over your counter. Think of this story and pull yourself up by your bootstraps to go get one of these precious kitchen companions to call your very own.

Vanessa

January 07, 2019

I need one of these! Growing up, my grandmother always left the butter on the counter. It never spoiled but this still seems like a much better option. Plus, it’s pretty and I get to look at it :)

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