Butter Dish

The butter dish better known as ’The French Butter Dish’ is said to have been invented in Normandy or Brittany regions of France in thee early 1800’s. It is also believed to be invented in Vallauris.

The French butter dish is also known as ’the French butter crock’, ’the French butter keeper’, the ’French butter pot’, ’Le burrier Breton’, ’beurrier Normand’, ’pot a beurrier Breton’ and ’Le beurrier a l’eau’. The French butter dish was used to prevent the spoilage of butter sans refrigeration. They are made from ceramic, clay and porcelain. Besides preventing the butter from turning rancid, the crock is also used to keep the butter soft and easy to spread. Ideally the butter dish is meant to be kept on the counter table in large earthen pots for soft fresh butter. The butter is kept soft and pliable at room temperature. Use of a butter dish is better than refrigeration as it is airtight, thereby ensuring that the butter remains edible for a longer period of time. During hotter days, the butter may spill over, but the contraption remains air tight. In order to keep butter fresh, two or three sticks of butter are placed in the dish. The softened butter is placed in the bell-shaped cup, while cold water is poured into the base. An airtight seal is created by placing the lid upside down into the base. They are also desirable collectibles.