Food & Drink

The $18 Butter Dish I Wish I Had Bought Years Ago

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If I had a dollar for every time I said “I should have taken the butter out sooner,” I’d have, well, a lot of dollars. Instead, I usually forget to do it until two minutes before I need it, try to get the cold pats to spread on my carb of choice, and end up with bread pierced with holes, heavily buttered in some spots and not at all in others, and just generally a mess.

So when I flew to see my dad a few weeks ago in advance of his hand surgery, one of the things I was excited to hear him say on the way back from the airport was, “I got you fresh bagels, and I left the butter out so that it would be soft for you.” After a very stressful day of flying for the first time since the pandemic began (I’m vaccinated, but still … ) and not taking my mask off to eat all day, his act of culinary kindness was the best news I could have gotten at that moment. I beelined it to the kitchen when we got home, and the spreader sliced through the soft butter as easily as the bread knife cut my fresh onion bagel — not a stab wound in sight! What a difference a couple of hours on the counter makes.

As I chowed down, I got to thinking, shouldn’t my dad have soft butter every day — especially post-hand surgery? After consulting with a doctor friend for the ins and outs of safely keeping butter at room temp, I learned that I could, in fact, leave it out on the counter all the time. My mind was blown. I read dozens of Amazon reviews and settled on the Butter Hub Butter Dish. I’ve been using it for a few weeks now, and my only complaint is that I didn’t think of getting one sooner.

I chose this Butter Hub model because its features are user-friendly and practical — and its 4.5-star rating didn’t hurt, either. The plastic dish and lid have a simple look and come in loads of colors (I chose black so that my dad’s countertop wouldn’t look too cluttered). The bottom of the dish has a larger footprint than the lid, which cuts way down on messes and greasy residue left on the table or countertop. And its rubberized feet serve two purposes: keeping the dish securely in place when you’re slicing, as well as preventing it from clunking loudly when you set it down.

I also love that either end of the dish is curved, so you can scoop your butter up in one motion without trying to keep it from falling off the knife. Plus, it’s lightweight, compact, and easy to carry, as well as BPA free, dishwasher safe, and microwaveable (without the lid). A bargain at $18, this simple-yet-effective butter dish ticked all my boxes.

But the feature that convinced me to add this particular product to my cart was one that I never would have thought to look for. The lid is magnetic, which means you can adhere a spreader to the top to safely transport the dish from the table to the countertop. As for me, I keep a butter knife stuck to the top at all times so that it’s right at my fingertips when I need it. The set comes with a spreading tool, so once I am done schmearing, I give the utensil a quick wash and stick it back on top of the butter dish. If for some reason you lose or don’t like the included knife, your usual metal utensils will also work.

My dad is on the mend, and I am gearing up to head home soon. I’ll tell you, it honestly gives me some peace of mind knowing that he won’t accidentally delay his recovery by trying to slice through butter that’s too hard! And once I can decide on a color, I’m buying myself a Butter Hub, too.

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