Dwell: thrift store quest - the french butter dish

Our recent dinner at a remarkable French cafe introduced us to this incredible object. Few days later I found this at the local thrift store for a buck! Let me explain how this works. Known as the French butter dish/keeper/crock, this beautiful stoneware keeps butter at room temperature on your countertop. It maintains fresh soft butter without the need of refrigeration. Amazing right?

It has two parts to it - a base that holds water and a cup to pack in the butter which also becomes the lid. 

The cup holds an entire stick of butter!

The base is then filled with 1/3 cup of cold water.

The cup containing the butter is placed into the base where water creates an airtight seal and that keeps the air/oxygen away from the butter. This helps the butter stay soft and fresh for 30 days. The water needs to be replaced every 3 days.