We at Food52 like to mess with good things: We like avocado toast with eggs and hot sauce and greens and more, we turn our scones into loaves, and we rework pretty good cakes until they're extremely good. So it should come as no surprise that we took one of the Shop goods we loved most—Sawyer Ceramics' French Butter Keeper—and gave it a makeover for version 2.0.
This change came at the request of Amanda Hesser's mom, who is a faithful and enthusiastic fan of the original butter keeper, but also a woman who knows that more butter is almost always better: She wished the original design could hold more butter. So the new White Butter Keeper is first and foremost bigger—large enough to hold a full stick of butter!—and is also newly outfitted in a smooth white glaze. It was designed exculsively for Food52 by Jonathan Sawyer of Sawyer Ceramics.
Its predecessor, the hand-thrown French Butter Keeper, has consistently been one of our Shop's bestsellers (You all love your buttered toast, and we're certainly with you on that.), and the new keeper has the same basic design. There are two pieces that fit together: one that you fill with butter, and one that you fill with a splash of water—and you simply pop them together and that splash of water creates an antibacterial seal. You can leave the keeper out on the counter, resulting in perfectly soft, spreadable butter whenever the toast urge strikes.
"While we love the rustic look of the stoneware French Butter Keeper, we wanted something a little dressier," says Amanda Hesser. When asked if she owned the original, she admits, "No, I've been waiting for this one to come out!"
The French Butter Keeper (left) and it's little—well, bigger—sister (right).
Whether you prefer the more petite version with its textured, rustic finish—or the new keeper, larger and glossy white—it's a design that seems to encourage long breakfasts at the table with the paper, buttering slice after slice of toast. What could be better?
Top image by James Ransom; French butter keeper photo by Bobbi Lin; open butter keeper photo by Rocky Luten
A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, is an indispensable playbook for stress-free meal-planning (hint: cook foundational dishes on the weekend and mix and match ‘em through the week).
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Written by: Caroline Lange
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38 Comments
https://food52.com/shop/products/2723-white-butter-keeper
I am also sending along these tips from the merchant, Sawyer Ceramics:
Through experience, we've found it’s easier to load the butter keeper if you allow the stick of butter to soften first, then pack the butter into the lid. Add enough cold water to the base so that the open end rim of the lid is submerged in the water, creating an airtight seal. Our butter keeper will hold between one half to a full stick of butter.
The water should be changed every 2-3 days and the butter keeper should not be stored at room temperatures above 80 degrees F. Butter can be stored in the butter keeper for 3-4 weeks depending on your room environment and keeping the butter clean (no bread crumbs). Thoroughly wash the butter keeper between use.
Finally, make sure you packing the butter in nice and tight. That should prevent it from falling out, and the water will create a nice seal.
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