The Butter Wars!

Okay, I have a question: do you refrigerate your butter??  

I know, I know... it's a weird question, but I have a reason for this query.  I grew up in a household where we refrigerated our butter, but I have friends who grew up in houses where they didn't. To this day, those friends keep their butter out on the counter top and seem to suffer no ill effects over unrefrigerated butter. Now I personally would prefer to keep my butter on the counter as refrigerated butter is really hard to spread. But I'm worried about butter turning rancid... I don't use butter very often.  

I've looked this subject up on the internet and the opinions are all over the place on whether or not to refrigerate butter. The unrefrigerated butter lovers say you just need to purchase a butter bell (see photo above) and all your worries will be gone. Additionally, they say that the pasteurized milk and salt content keep the butter from going bad and, as long as your kitchen is not ridiculously hot, the butter should be fine when left out. The refrigeration side of the argument says that it's risky and the butter will turn rancid. Interestingly enough, the USDA is on the refrigerated side and recommends that people "freeze butter not intended for use within 2 or 3 days and for 'ready spreadability' keep a few days’ supply in the regular portion of the refrigerator - remove 10 to 15 minutes before use." Seriously? 10-15 minutes?? More like 10-15 hours before butter softens.  Okay, that's an exaggeration but still...

So what's your take on the butter wars? Did you grow up with refrigerated or unrefrigerated butter? Do you have a recommendation on the best way to store butter? I really am interested in people's experiences with butter storage solutions.

This is a pretty butter dish!