French butter dish

File:French butter crock white-and-green.jpg

French butter crock

A French butter dish is a container used to keep butter fresh and soft without refrigeration. This late 19th century French-designed pottery crock has two parts: a base with a hollow cylinder attached to it, and a cup that also serves as a lid. The cup holds the packed in butter, and the base holds water. The water creates an airtight seal that keeps oxygen away from the butter so that refrigeration is not needed, and the butter can be used in its soft form. This method will keep butter for around a month provided it is kept at temperatures below 80F (27C).

The French butter dish design is thought to have originated in Vallauris, France. Vallauris is known for its pottery crafts. Others speculate that it was created in Brittany, or Normandy; both known for their butter production. In the nineteen seventies and eighties craft potters started making and selling the French Butter Dish throughout the United States at craft fares and in art boutiques. French Butter Dish became the preferred name in the USA around that time and has recently been adapted by potters in Europe. By the end of the Twentieth Century they became popular enough for manufactured versions to appear.

Other names for this item are: "French butter keeper", "French butter crock", "Butter Crock", :Beurrier à l'eau", "Beurrier Breton", "Beurrier Normand", "Cloche de beurre", and "Pot à beurre Breton (French) Butterdose(German)". Two manufactured versions are the Norpro Butter Keeper and the Butter Bell (a registered trademark of L. Tremain, Inc).

External links

• WebExhibits: Butter
• French Butter Dishes
• History of French Butter Dish
• All About Butter Keepers