It's almost always safe to leave butter on the counter or to eat butter that has been out of the fridge for a while. Unlike soft cheeses, such as cream cheese, ricotta, or cottage cheese, butter can stay out of the fridge for hours, even days, without the risk of spoilage or food safety issues.
Should You Leave Butter on the Counter? According to the USDA, butter is safe at room temperature. But if it's left out for several days at room temperature, it can turn rancid causing off flavors. The USDA does not recommend leaving it out more than one to two days.
If you want to store butter at room temperature, here are a few helpful tips to follow: Store butter in a covered dish. Rather than placing the wrapped stick on the counter, use a covered butter dish. This protective dish will keep the butter away from light and air, two factors that can speed up the rate of spoilage.
“If you lived in Norway you could probably get away with it as the temperatures don't really get high enough to cause it to stink or melt, but in Australia, you can only leave it out for around 2-3 days in summer and 5-7 days in winter.
Open to the air, it does lose its freshness and becomes noticeably rancid within a few days. Dairy Australia errs on the side of caution and recommends all butter be stored in the fridge. Thin slices can then be removed from a block of cold butter and left out to soften at room temperature.
It's fine to leave unsalted butter out on the counter for a few hours if you're planning to bake with it, but if you're going to leave any butter out at room temperature for an extended period of time, make it salted. That's because the salt in salted butter adds extra protection against any sort of bacterial growth.
Salted butter is less prone to going bad on the counter than unsalted butter. If you're a serious supporter of leaving butter out, go with the salted kind. It's important to note, however, that the amount of salt in different brands of butter can vary.
Butter and margarine are safe at room temperature. However, if butter is left out at room temperature for several days, the flavor can turn rancid so it's best to leave out whatever you can use within a day or two.
How Long Should Butter Sit Out To Be Room Temperature? To soften butter, we recommend leaving it on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes to an hour. Keep in mind that the speed at which your butter will soften depends on the temperature of your kitchen.
Any sour or off-putting smell means it's a goner. Same goes for taste: If it tastes sour or off, toss it out. 5 And don't worry, a small taste of rancid butter won't hurt you. Of course any visible mold, discoloration, and changes in texture are visible cues that it's time to throw the butter in the trash.
“If the butter has only been on the counter at room temperature for a few hours or overnight and has maintained a temperature below 70°F, it should be just fine to place back in the fridge,” says Ryan.
Freshly laid eggs need to be refrigerated immediately. Fresh eggs purchased from a farmers market need to be refrigerated as soon as you get home. Per USDA guidelines, eggs should be stored at 40 degrees F or below to help minimize the risk of Salmonella.
The USDA's FoodKeeper app offers this guidance for storing salted butter: "May be left at room temperature for one to two days; one to two months when stored in refrigerator; six to nine months if stored frozen." After that, the taste can turn rancid or sour, says the USDA.
The primary component of butter is fat (at least 80 percent). High fat combined with low water content make for a less-suitable environment for bacterial growth. The other concern is that butter left out for too long will eventually go rancid. This won't, however, happen overnight, or even in a few days time.
Refrigerated butter should last up to a month past the printed date if it's unopened. If the butter has been opened, it can last up to two weeks past that printed date. If you're storing the butter longer term, unopened butter stored in the freezer can last anywhere from nine months to a year past the date.
If storing butter at room temperature, use a butter bell crock to prevent oxidation. If you don't have a crock on hand, use a covered butter dish or a small airtight container. 2. Keep away from sunlight.
“Room temp butter is able to hold onto air,” Szewczyk says. “You can mechanically shove air into it by creaming. Warm butter is not able to hold onto it, so you're going to get a denser dough.” When using warmer or melted butter, cookies will struggle to lift and lighten, resulting in a cakier texture, like brownies.
Keeping butter in the fridge is ideal, but as long as it is in a container and out of direct heat, it should be fine on the counter. Remember that the colder butter is, the harder it is for mold to grow. So for the longest-lasting butter, put it in the fridge.
Both butter and margarine should be stored in a refrigerator at 40℉ (4℃) or below. By storing butter and margarine here you stop them from being exposed to light and high temperatures which can make them become spoiled and rancid.
Unopened jars of mayo as well as salad dressings can be stored on pantry shelves. However, it's important that once opened you keep them refrigerated, and the USDA recommends using them within 2 months after opening.
Butter, like all food products, will spoil eventually. There is still a debate as to how long butter can sit on the counter before going bad. For best quality, keep butter in a covered dish and use it within two days.
Brown butter can be stored just like regular butter. I keep mine at room temperature for a couple of days but then I refrigerate it if I don't use it up. It'll stay refrigerated for at least a month, possibly even longer.
Room temperature butter is cool to the touch and about 65°F (18°C). This might be colder than your kitchen. When you press it, your finger will make an indent. Your finger won't sink down into the butter, nor will your finger slide all around.