# Can butter stay on the counter?



## mom2girls (Dec 1, 2005)

i have started making butter, but when it comes out of the fridge it ia rock hard. can i keep it on the counter? it lasts about four days. thanks, tracy


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## urmaniac13 (Dec 1, 2005)

Homemade butter must be incredibly delicious!!   However, in order to maintain its quality, butter is best kept in the fridge.  Just take it out of the fridge about 15-30mins prior to usage to let it become more spreadable.


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## GB (Dec 1, 2005)

This might help.


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## jennyema (Dec 1, 2005)

Look into one of these, a Butter Bell

But my mom keeps her butter in the kitchen cabinet.  I think it can go awhile w/out refrigeration, assuming you make it with pasteurized milk.


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## mom2girls (Dec 1, 2005)

I will try to find one of those here! What a great idea   Tracy


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## Haggis (Dec 1, 2005)

In winter we keep our store-bought butter in an old-style butter dish out on the counter, it keeps well for ages.


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## daisy (Dec 1, 2005)

Check out this butter boat:

http://www.qvc.com/asp/frameset.asp...tter+boat&SearchClass=&search.x=10&search.y=4

There's no way I can keep butter out of the fridge, summer or winter. It would turn into runny oil in no time flat. In any case, it's best to keep dairy products refrigerated for health reasons. A lot depends on how much salt you put into your butter. Salt acts as a preservative - but then, too much salt isn't good for you, anyway! 

If you wrap your butter in greaseproof paper, then refrigerate it, it's easy to make it soft enough to spread - just bash it around the sides a few times with a wooden spoon! Or microwave it for just a few seconds.


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## jennyema (Dec 1, 2005)

Though butter is a dairy product, it it about 80% fat, so it spoils less quickly than, say, milk.

You know I am a food safety nut.  I keep my butter in the fridge but still eat my mom's which has been left at room temperature since the Hoover Administration.


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## Constance (Dec 1, 2005)

We only use butter now and then, so I keep mine in the fridge. 
But when I was growing up, we always used butter as a spread. My mother kept it on the counter in the winter, but refrigerated it in the summer so it wouldn't get rancid. My dad's idea of a sandwich was bread, butter and meat. When he was growing up on the farm, they didn't have store-bought condiments like mayo and prepared mustard available, but they had plenty of homemade butter. I don't know if his mother made catsup or not...I think they concentrated more on the necessaries.


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## Robo410 (Dec 1, 2005)

the butter bell/crock works very well.


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## Corinne (Dec 1, 2005)

I heard about this on the radio this morning:
http://www.butterwizard.com/


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## middie (Dec 1, 2005)

we've never had problems keeping ours on the counter in a butter dish.
except on the days it got really hot outside, then we'd toss it in the fridge.


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## Michael in FtW (Dec 1, 2005)

Neither of my grandmothers ever had butter bell crocks - or anything like that. All they ever did was leave the "portion" of butter that would be needed for "soft spread" within the next day or two (usually about 1 stick) in the butter dish on the counter - although in the summer they would keep it in the "ice box" and remove it about an hour before serving time.


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## jennyema (Dec 2, 2005)

I remember the "ice box!" Replaced by "The Frigidaire"


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## Lizannd (Dec 2, 2005)

*Since this is homemade butter it would depend on a*

couple of things.  Are you using raw cream, unpasturized, and are you salting the butter?  Salt acts as a preservative and would add to the longevity.
If you are using unpasturized cream and no salt I would not feed comfortable
leaving the butter out for any longer than needed to soften, right before using.  I would only soften small amounts at a time also so it isn't warmed again and again. If the cream is pasturized and salted then a few days at room temp should be fine. 

Hope this helps.


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## AlexR (Dec 2, 2005)

I think butter is left *unrefrigerated*.

It is not only more spreadable that way, but it has a better aroma, texture, and flavor.

Obviously, this advice does not apply to people who generally eat very little butter at table (on toast, bread, vegetables, pasta, etc.).

However, I only refrigerate butter in the height of summer.
The butter does *not* go off or become cheesy if you use it up within, let's say, 2/3 weeks of putting in the butter dish.

Best regards,
Alex R.


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