To start - THIS WORKS. If you are debating if you can really keep butter on your counter, the answer is yes. That is why there are over 1,500 5-star reviews. It does really work. This is one of those items that I put off purchasing for years and now regret that I didn't buy it sooner. I actually purchased this back in June and wanted to wait a while before reviewing it. As is the case for so many other's, the pandemic has stopped so many of us from eating out as much. With all the cooking I was doing at home, I wanted to figure out a way to keep butter out so I wasn't fighting with it each time I needed some. I started researching how long I could keep it out before it went bad. In one article, they talked about a Butter Bell and how great they worked. I did not believe it. Well, I did believe it but I figured there would be a lot of work on my part or I would have to use the butter within a few days in order for it to not go bad. In researching the various options on Amazon, I settled on the Glazed Stoneware Butter Keeper by Norpro. I liked the look of it and the rave reviews I kept reading made me give it a try. It took me a bit to first figure out how much water to put in. The first time I tried, I put in way too much and ended up having it spill over on to the counter. The second time I put in too little and realized that there was no way it was creating any type of air bubble. I realized that about 1/2" of water was all that was needed. Mind you, the instructions said that but of course I had to learn for myself. After three months I can honestly say this is one of the best kitchen gadgets I have ever purchased. I no longer have to remember to put butter out before having some toast. I no longer waste slices of bread that I butcher while trying to spread cold butter. I also no longer purchase the containers of spreadable "butter" - which never tasted as good and were often even worse for your health than butter is. The steps I follow and have kept the butter tasting fresh with zero mold or signs of anything nasty are as follows: 1. Wash out the Butter Keeper. 2. Leave a stick of butter out to soften. This makes it easier to fill the Butter Keeper. 3. Fill the Butter Keeper with the softened butter. I break off a few slices of butter at a time and just soft of push it in to the cup. 4. Scrap the top so that there is a nice level surface. I don't waste any butter doing this. I actually will run the knife over the top of the butter until I basically have a level surface. This really does hold one full stick of butter. This step took me a few tries but now I can fill one stick in about a minute. 5. Fill the outside hold with about 1/2" of cold/cool water. I like to use water from the refrigerator because it is nice and cold but I have also used tap with zero issues. 6. Turn the butter over and put into the outside holder. You will hear the water being displaced and can actually feel the seal the is being formed. 7. Change water every few days. Since it has been summer time, I have changed the water every three days. I had a few occasions where I forgot and it went five days with no issues. 8. Enjoy having soft butter This really is not a chore to do. I spend a few minutes from start to finish on this. While I have been using the butter in this pretty quickly, I went almost three weeks with one stick of butter in Butter Keeper and had no issues. I changed the water every few days during that time. As a test, I tried to get mold in this thing. I realized how easily it can happen and how easily it is to avoid. First, if you don't put in enough water, there is never any type of seal that forms. Second, you want to wipe off the sides since the air pocket that is created does not cover the sides of this. I hope you find this review helpful. If you do, please click Yes. That helps anyone who takes time to review an item know if it was worth the time.