Friday Shuffle - Spreadable Edition

It seems that Christina and Jeannette know the ins and outs of the package delivery game. Christina had hoped that my eagerly-awaited French butter dish would arrive before the weekend and Jeannette suggested that I sleep in, wear shabby jammies and have my hair looking like a rat's nest and surely that would bring on the package delivery man.

Sure enough, today, just before the weekend, and while I was a sweaty, shabby-jammie-wearing mess right in the middle of furiously mopping my kitchen floor before taking a shower, the package delivery man rang my doorbell - two-and-a-half hours earlier than he normally arrives in my neighborhood.

And now, let me present to you - The French Butter Dish!



This particular French butter dish (also known as a French butter crock, Butter Bell, Acadian butter dish, beurrier à l'eau, pot à beurre Breton, among other names) was made by Hermans Keramik and was packed so securely that I'm fairly sure that the delightful pottery making couple could have thrown the box to me and it would have still arrived in one piece. Or two pieces, actually.

Here are the two pieces:



The piece on the right is the part in which the butter is packed. The piece on the left is the water reservoir in which the butter will be stored.

The first step is to have room temperature butter. For those of you who can read German you'll see the word streichzart - an indication that the butter is easy to spread.



I won't say they're lying but this butter is like all butter - fresh out of the refrigerator it's not streichzart at all. It's as hard as a rock and ready to tear your lovely bread, toast or Brötchen to shreds. But lovely French butter dish will remedy that because it is designed to let you keep your butter out at room temperature without it going rancid because the water the butter is stored in creates a seal that doesn't let in air. Clever!

Scoop up the soft butter and pack it in the storage lid:



And then fill the water reservoir about half full with cold water and add about a half teaspoon of water to inhibit any mold growth (keeping the butter free of crumbs will stop mold from forming as well).



When the lid is set back into the reservoir, surface tension keeps the butter from falling out of the lid and the water creates a seal keeping air out. Now all you need do is change the water every 2-3 days and keep the butter topped off (once it's about half empty the air gets trapped between the butter and the water which defeats its purpose). On hot days the butter could melt so putting crushed ice into the water reservoir helps or you'll simply need to put it in the refrigerator. Not even the amazing French butter dish can prevent heat from melting butter.



Mmmmm...perfect, fresh, and truly streichzart butter.

Let's shuffle:

1. I'm Amazed - My Morning Jacket
2. Layla - Derek and The Dominos
   
3. This Is A Good Street - Mudcrutch
4. Tuxedo Junction - Glenn Miller Orchestra
5. You'll Be Coming Down - Bruce Springsteen
6. Stella Hurt - Elvis Costello
7. #9 Dream - John Lennon
8. Zieh Die Schuh Aus - Roger Cicero
9. Jet Airliner - Steve Miller Band
10. Arms Of Mary - Everly Brothers