Do you refrigerate butter?

13

Replies

  • ConnieT1030
    ConnieT1030 Posts: 894 Member
    Only in fridge though sometimes I try to get it out ahead of time to warm a bit. I have experimented with keeping it out various times in my life, and what happens most often is I use WAY MORE, because it's very handy and so easy to use. Butter is a weakness for me, so it's better if it's out of sight. I am trying whipped now to make measuring small amounts easier, but if it's too easy to use, that will be a fail, too lol.
    In Florida, it's easy for things to get too warm and moldy if they sit out. I can keep bread on the counter for a week or two in the winter, but in the summer, it can go moldy in about 3 days if it's left on the counter (in the bag).
  • jayeless
    jayeless Posts: 30 Member
    I definitely refrigerate butter - it wouldn't have occurred to me not to, due to being dairy and prone to melt. I also refrigerate my eggs, seeing as fridges generally come with special egg-holders and it'd be a waste not to use them. (Also, it was what my parents always did.)

    Then again, I'm also an Australian who lives without air conditioning, and even my parents' house only had AC in two bedrooms (not mine). In the summer we have to refrigerate chocolate too :tongue:
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Speaking of eggs, I don't have to refrigerate them (ours are not washed or treated), but I like to anyway. They hold together better for sunny side up and poaching when refrigerated.
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,371 Member
    No to winter, summer yes.
  • fishshark
    fishshark Posts: 1,886 Member
    i refridgerate everything. Even things that done need to be/shouldnt be. I dont like food out.
  • unsuspectingfish
    unsuspectingfish Posts: 1,176 Member
    edited January 2017
    As a kid, we never did, but I don't use that much, anymore, and I mostly use the spreadable butter (with olive oil in it), these days, so it's soft without being left out. We did keep it in the fridge during the summer, though, because we didn't have AC and we lived in the desert, where it would get up in the 100s, meaning butter puddles.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    jayeless wrote: »
    I definitely refrigerate butter - it wouldn't have occurred to me not to, due to being dairy and prone to melt. I also refrigerate my eggs, seeing as fridges generally come with special egg-holders and it'd be a waste not to use them. (Also, it was what my parents always did.)

    Then again, I'm also an Australian who lives without air conditioning, and even my parents' house only had AC in two bedrooms (not mine). In the summer we have to refrigerate chocolate too :tongue:


    Actually, for food safety, it is recommended that you don't store eggs in the refrigerator door.

    I refer you to the Egg Farmers of Canada.
    http://www.eggs.ca/eggs101/view/39/egg-storage-freshness-and-food-safety

  • onsickmom
    onsickmom Posts: 212 Member
    I set it out if I'm gonna be baking or something....But store all dairy products inside the fridge
  • Emily3907
    Emily3907 Posts: 1,461 Member
    I buy my butter at Costco and this is how it goes in my house:
    - Kept in Freezer until ready for fridge
    - 1 box is kept in fridge
    - 1 stick is kept in butter dish on counter
    and then I move them as needed. So, when my fridge butter starts to run low, I grab a box from freezer.

    I always have a stick on the counter. I like my butter to be spreadable, so I have to have some ready to go at all times.
  • jcraig10
    jcraig10 Posts: 477 Member
    I've never seen anyone around here (MD) leave butter on the counter.
  • fr3smyl
    fr3smyl Posts: 1,418 Member
    I went to a friends house today...and surprise...they don't refrigerate butter.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    I keep some in the fridge and some in a glass container with a lid (keeps out dog hair or bugs) on the stove top. It is rarely so hot that the butter melts here. The house is usually 17C but will go up to 25C on our hottest days. At those temps it is just nicely spreadable.

    And butter NEVER goes bad here, We go through more than one block per week. LOL
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    edited January 2017
    Depends on room temperature and how fast it gets used. In summer, it will melt if left out. In winter, it's fine. If used sparingly, it will eventually mold (possibly due to cross-contamination where untouched butter might have been fine) or go bad if left out (but that will take a while). (Salted butter. Unsalted butter may act differently).
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I do. It's what my mom did so I never really considered doing otherwise. I keep a mix of butter and olive oil in the fridge for easy spreading. I don't use much butter and only use stick butter occasionally for cooking.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    fishshark wrote: »
    i refridgerate everything. Even things that done need to be/shouldnt be. I dont like food out.

    That's pretty much me. I have all sorts of things hanging out in the fridge.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    I refrigerate, but only because I go through butter so slowly. I eat it on toast once in awhile and it takes me six months to get through a tub of whipped butter. And I only use sticks for baking so may as well keep them in the fridge as many recipes call for cold butter.
  • mattdhall
    mattdhall Posts: 85 Member
    edited January 2017
    I keep mine in the fridge, but I get it out and put it on the counter about an hour before I'm going to use it so it will soften up.
  • FitBitFitter
    FitBitFitter Posts: 17 Member
    I keep one stick out, in a glass butter boat and the rest goes in the fridge, until the boat needs a refill.
  • BruinsGal_91
    BruinsGal_91 Posts: 1,400 Member
    One stick out in a butter boat. (Covered because otherwise the cat thinks it's for her).

    The rest in the fridge, unless a recipe calls for room-temperature butter; then it goes into a cat-proof cupboard until it's ready to use.
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
    I have a covered butter dish that is left out on the counter. Land o'Lakes has butter wrapped in 4 TBSP with 8 in a 1pound box. I keep the rest of the pound refrigerated.
    One stick out in a butter boat. (Covered because otherwise the cat thinks it's for her).

    The rest in the fridge, unless a recipe calls for room-temperature butter; then it goes into a cat-proof cupboard until it's ready to use.

    LOL, I hear you about the cat-proof cupboard :smile: My dd's cat has been know to get up on top of the refrigerator to get goodies.
  • MamaRiss
    MamaRiss Posts: 481 Member
    Depends on the butter. If I buy UNsalted butter, it stays in the fridge, of course I only buy this for certain recipes. Salted butter once I open a stick, goes on the counter in a crock, the rest stays in the fridge till I'm ready to use it. The salt is a preservative, and keeps it fresh. The only time I have dealt with mold, was when there were crumbs left in the butter
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    TmacMMM wrote: »
    Not usually. Just keep it covered. We go through it fast enough that it doesn't go rancid. I do put the extra sticks in the fridge for storage. In the summer, I do refrigerate because it won't stay solid.

    This is what I do, although now that I am living someplace with decent central AC will try to leave it out in the summer as well.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Elise4270 wrote: »
    RAinWA wrote: »
    We keep a stick in the covered butter dish on the counter and the rest in the fridge. Never had a problem with it going bad. We also don't refrigerate eggs if we only buy a dozen (we go through a dozen every 4 days of so).

    We had chickens a few years back. Ya no reason to refrigerate them. Think I read some where that we in the US refrigerate them, but many places don't.

    Whaddya say OP? Interested in refrigerated eggs?

    I was in the wilds of Costa Rica for 6 weeks with no refrigeration (or electricity) whatsoever, including for eggs. Here in the US I do keep them in the frig.

    seska422 wrote: »
    Elise4270 wrote: »
    RAinWA wrote: »
    We keep a stick in the covered butter dish on the counter and the rest in the fridge. Never had a problem with it going bad. We also don't refrigerate eggs if we only buy a dozen (we go through a dozen every 4 days of so).

    We had chickens a few years back. Ya no reason to refrigerate them. Think I read some where that we in the US refrigerate them, but many places don't.

    Whaddya say OP? Interested in refrigerated eggs?

    Even the supermarkets don't tend to refrigerate there over here.

    I saw a documentary about eggs. The US requires that the exterior of eggs are cleaned/treated in such a way that a protective coating is removed from the egg and refrigeration is legally mandated. Other countries don't require that treatment and it's sometimes legally mandated that companies don't refrigerate them. It all depends upon where you live.

    Hmm, wonder what is the deal for farm stand eggs and need for refrigeration.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited January 2017
    I don't use much and always refrigerate my butter. Have let it out unintentionally on occasion w/o problem but it's not something I would ever do on purpose.

    If I'm using it for toast, pancakes or waffles, I just pre-slice it thin and it's ready to spread w/in a few mins. If I need a lot for a recipe, I just cut off what I need and plop it into the appropriate pot or pan. Not a problem.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    Growing up, my mom always left the utter dish with a stick of butter, out on the counter. It was disgusting. Anytime I actually wantednor needed butter, I went in the fridge and got a new stick of butter and cut a piece from that. When ever she would say something, I told her I'd rather her be upset with me for a few minutes than get sick from dairy that was left out for days and started to look like soup.

    Now I buy land o lakes spreadable butter and I have turned her on to it as well. She always claimed to hate butter (well duh, it was rancid and disgusting) and now she likes it.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    MamaRiss wrote: »
    Depends on the butter. If I buy UNsalted butter, it stays in the fridge, of course I only buy this for certain recipes. Salted butter once I open a stick, goes on the counter in a crock, the rest stays in the fridge till I'm ready to use it. The salt is a preservative, and keeps it fresh. The only time I have dealt with mold, was when there were crumbs left in the butter

    The fat is a preservative too. It shouldn't mold unless there are crumbs. Rancid is another matter. Most butter lasts 6-12 months before going rancid
  • starfruit132
    starfruit132 Posts: 291 Member
    Just ordered a butter boat because of this thread. Usually keep in fridge, but now I'm gonna try a half stick in the boat, so the family can have buttered toast that isn't lumpy!!
  • macelmer
    macelmer Posts: 55 Member
    Yes, because we purchase nondairy butter, Earth Balance. But the folks who work with me keep real butter out on top of the fridge, which causes it to melt all over the place. I stopped picking up after them.
  • AngryViking1970
    AngryViking1970 Posts: 2,847 Member
    Nope. It's in the cupboard, once I've unwrapped a bar (the original box is kept in the fridge). Real butter, not margarine. I've never had a problem unless someone leaves crumbs behind, then it might mold. I hate hard butter! ;)

    Exactly. Once the bar is unwrapped, we leave it on the counter in the butter dish.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    The stick in use sits in a covered butter dish at room temperature. With a family of four, it lasts less than a day or two and never goes bad.

    You can't eat a lot of butter, but small amounts really enhance certain foods, so I go for it. I believe in eating a healthy amount of fat.
This discussion has been closed.