We use a lot of butter at my house. And we like our butter soft, so it is easier to mix in to recipes, and so it doesn't rip toast apart when applied with a knife. Instead of keeping butter in the refrigerator, we keep it in a butter crock (AKA butter bell, butter pot, or French butter dish) on the kitchen counter.
A butter crock has two pieces. The bell shaped piece holds the butter. The other piece holds about a half-inch of water, which serves as an air seal to keep the butter from going rancid.You are supposed to change the water every couple of days.
As you can see, the one we use holds a bit under 8 ounces of butter. (I put this leftover bit of butter in the refrigerator and once I've scooped enough butter out of the bell, I fill the bell with it). The trick to using a butter crock is to really cram the butter into the bell, so it sticks to surface and won't fall out over time. (We've never had this happen to us, but some butter pot users have reported this.)
Amazon sells lots of butter pots from $12 and up. I went with the Emile Henry Butter Pot ($27) because I like the way it looks.
