I put butter in the fridge, DH wants it on the counter. Who is right?

[MixedFamily]

We don’t have a huge kitchen so it will always be at least 1 mt away from hob or window. Would a butter dish “protect” it enough from it? I have always assumed butter goes in the fridge but he says it doesn’t. What do others do?

Ours lives in the fridge as we don't have the counter space, but we use a Scandinavian cheese knife to sheer off paper thin sheets of butter that melt perfectly onto toast or crumpets.

Even when living in the hottest region on earth we only put butter in the fridge if it was literally oozing over the edges of the dish.
What use is rock solid butter? Unless you take weeks to eat it, it isn't going to go off.

Our is in a butter dish on the counter. Still un-spreadable in winter though 😆

Yes, butter goes in the bell part which forms the lid, so when its on the pot containing the water, it touches the water and the water pushes out any air, so its cool (ceramic plus water) and theres no air getting at the butter, so it doesn't go rancid.

Only suitable for proper butter of course, not butter mixed with something else and its sensible to change the water every few days.

This shops image shows how it works (didn't buy mine here) thegreatgarlicgrater.co.uk/product/butter-bell-5/

Thank you, that’s so cool that the water doesn’t make the butter runny.

It contains milk so that makes me store it in the fridge!

According to Tesco, it should be refrigerated ...

£1.99! I thought it was £1.69? Another increase.

We have butter in a butter dish on the worktop. Only DD uses it in cooking.

I think the Dutch would argue whether that’s Scandinavian or not!

butter in a dish, out on the side. Never had a problem with it going off. Never ever ever buy spreadable “butter”.

In the fridge because I like cold, salted butter. And I have no problem spreading it

Gosh, I feel we now need a show me your butter dish thread!
Thanks for all the answers, DH will be pleased

Lucky you. I do. 🤷‍♀️

We have the cheap glass one but ours has stripes on not a cow image. I'm not particularly in love with it but unless it breaks, we're not getting a new one.

However at the risk of starting another butter related argument, we use ours the other way around so the butter sits on the flat plate with the dome covering it.

We keep our butter out at all times and it never goes rancid or causes illness. I don't understand why people think that 'in use' butter needs to go in the fridge, because it just doesn't. Only concession is that in summer it goes out at half a pack a time. But otherwise, it won't go off in a week or two, which is how long it lasts in this house.

If it includes anything except milk it's not butter and not relevant to this thread. There's a special place in hell for people who lie about not butter being butter.

But I'm intrigued about the butter bells keeping butter soft - is this also the case in winter? We still have to microwave our room temperature butter when it's cold to make it spread.

Why wouldn't you put cucumbers in the fridge? They wouldn't be cool and refreshing on the side, which is all they really have going for them surely?

The fridge is way too cold to make actual butter usable.

Butter on the side in dish. Spreadable shite I'm fridge if you use that. Eggs on side (don't need refrigerating in the UK). Chocolate in pantry never fridge and ketchup in pantry until opened then fridge.

My SIL has a small Butter/Chocolate fridge, which maintains a steady temperature of 15 degrees. I will say that she is Swiss, and lives in Australia, so the fridge is probably justified.

In a closed butter dish on top of the breadbin next to the eggs.

@BitOutOfPractice Googling 'Dutch cheese knife' gets me more of this than the one I originally posted but sure, we have a Dutch / Scandi cheese knife for butter if you prefer.

@CheeseWisely I’ve only ever seen / bought one in Holland used for cheese not butter but I am 100% going to use them for butter if I’m ever faced with hard butter because I think it’s genius idea thank you! 🙏

I can't spread butter from the counter either at this time of year!

That why you need a thermostatically controlled butter dish. Spreadable butter all year round.

Those of you with chilly/rock solid butter, have you though about running the butter knife under a hot tap before attempting to spread the stuff?

This is what we use for our butter - on hot days we soak the lid in water while brewing cuppas: https://www.henrywatson.com/UK/product/butter-dishes/butter-cooler-in-terracotta.html

It’s just an extra step though which you can fully avoid by not putting it in the fridge in the first place.
A block of butter lasts about a week and a half in my house and is more than fine being left on the counter for about 10 months of the year.