I bought a butter bell....

....and didn't know it.  I knew that the small white jar with a lid, had the word 'butter' written in French on it, so I knew it had to be good . Ooh la la.

www.butterbell.com

In my own defense, the lid was taped onto the bottom so I had no idea that there was a bell thingy inside.  I forgot to mention that I bought the butter bell at a consignment shop, so there was just the one jar......so it must be rare....right?  

When I removed the tape and saw the bell I was really confused and in hindsight it should have been very apparent where to put the butter.  But it wasn't.

Every once in a while I make my own butter, basically for toast and tasty tidbits that would be even more tasty with a pad or two or three of butter.

Anyways....now that I know what it is and why it was invented I am amazed at the ingenuity of it.

Back in the days before refrigeration they invented the butter bell to keep butter fresh and free of insects.  They would make their butter and then place the soft butter into the bell on the lid and fill the jar with a couple of inches of fresh water.  The water acts as a seal to keep out air and contaminates.

www.butterbell.com

In the summer, I put the butter bell jar in the fridge at night and then take it out in the morning leaving it on the counter to soften.

This company has the best butter bells.  Butter Bell   They are the maker of the white butter bell jar that I have.  

www.butterbell.com

I might need to buy the white and black jar with the polka dot handle spreader.  They call it Parisian Polka Dot Butter Bell......ooh la la.

There are many ways to make homemade butter.  I use the heavy cream poured into a jar with a lid and shake method.  If your were a Girl or Boy Scout you might have made butter just by shaking the half pint container of heavy cream.  Pinterest and YouTube have many tutorials on butter making. Below is just one of the many YouTube videos on butter making.

Bhavna's Kitchen

Gosh that butter looks good.

Also check out Butter Bell's blog.  There is a recipe for Orange Butter that looks and sounds very very tasty.

Etsy also has some handmade butter keepers.
Sawyer Ceramics
Littleepottery

And for all of you that adore white and grey marble here is one from Target.

Reuse Repurpose Recycle