Butter Storage Containers

The flaps on this plastic container sealed it tightly, keeping butter fresh-tasting and a uniform pale-yellow color for two weeks at room temperature and a month in the refrigerator. The design is simple but smart: It’s meant to be used upside down, so the lid doubles as a flat surface for cutting the butter. It even has measurement markings.

The large, easy-to-grasp knob on the lid of this model gave it an edge over other butter bells. The water formed an airtight seal, so butter remained a uniform and sunny color throughout testing. The butter also remained free of off-flavors and was soft and easy to spread.

The three sizable handles on this one-piece model make it easy to carry and open. There’s a wall at the back of the dish for scraping off your knife and a groove to hold the matching spreader. The lid pops off for easy cleaning, and it’s one of the few dishes we tested that’s wide enough for European-style blocks of butter. When used at room temperature, butter stored in it darkened slightly at the exterior after two weeks. In the refrigerator, butter was nearly like new after three weeks and remained acceptable for an entire month.  

The lid of this container doesn’t latch or lock; it simply lifts off. Butter still tasted good after a week at room temperature, but it had darkened on the exterior. When used in the refrigerator, it kept butter tasting and looking fresh for three weeks. It holds East Coast and West Coast sticks of butter—and it has measurement markings for both sizes—but it’s too narrow for wide European-style blocks of butter.

This slim model sports some special features: a magnet on the lid that holds the included butter knife in place, ramps on either end on the dish for scraping excess butter off that knife, and feet on either end of the lid that lift it up slightly so that your counter stays clean. Because the lid doesn’t lock into place and form an airtight seal, butter stored at room temperature discolored after about a week. It still tasted fine, however. It kept butter fresh for three weeks in the refrigerator.

This ceramic white-and-blue crock is charming. Because the knob on its lid is fairly narrow and short, it’s a little difficult to grasp and lift. The bell is sized just right for a ¼-pound stick of butter. We were careful to change the water regularly, and we found that it formed an airtight seal that kept butter from discoloring and developing off-flavors.

This marble butter bell is attractive but very heavy. The knob on its lid has fairly straight, smooth sides and is a little difficult to grasp, particularly because the bell weighs more than a pound when empty. It comfortably holds ¼-pound sticks of butter. In terms of butter storage, it performed similarly to other butter bells we tested, keeping butter fresh at room temperature for two weeks.

The rectangular shape is unusual for butter bells. Packing the softened butter into the long, narrow container required more finesse, especially around the edges and corners. It worked well, keeping butter a uniform color and fresh-tasting for two weeks. The knob on its lid is large and easy to grasp.

This attractive porcelain butter dish is significantly larger than even wide, European-style sticks of butter, and it was awkward to reach into the dish to slice off a bit of butter. Though the company suggests overturning the butter onto the lid and using it as a cutting board, that wasn’t feasible with room-temperature butter because it clings to the container. The dish performed best in the refrigerator; at room temperature, butter stored in it discolored slightly on the exterior.