ATTENTION RESTAURANTS! Butter does not need refrigeration.

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
95,027
15,139
126
lol you try telling food inspectors that you can leave butter outside the fridge.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,459
854
126
Butter can be left out in a cool environment for a few days but much longer than that it will go bad and it will go bad much faster as the temperature increases.

You'll know if it has gone rancid.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
57,426
7,613
126
I can go either way with butter. Sometimes it goes fast, other times it sticks around awhile. I definitely clean the container between fills though.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
62,908
11,303
136
The OP would be here whinging if the restaurant had served him rancid butter...


(but, at least for home use, he's right. Butter, especially salted butter does not have to be refrigerated.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ken g6

stargazr

Diamond Member
Jun 13, 2010
3,823
3,133
136
We've been using a French butter dish for several years now. Pretty cool, butter lasts much longer.
 
Last edited:
Feb 4, 2009
34,577
15,794
136
I've left butter out for weeks in the summer, not a particularly cool house, and it's been fine.

My mother used to leave butter out and it never went bad but remember butter has salts and preservative crap in it now.
I’m sure pure organic butter would spoil, also I’ve heard the fat turns rancid overtime not all at once so it begins to taste funky slowly over time.

Regarding food places if you want soft butter ask for soft butter.
 

Leymenaide

Senior member
Feb 16, 2010
749
364
136
Fresh is best. This is a list of butter flavor issues from The USDA Standards:
Probable Causes of Certain Characteristics in Butter Flavor Characteristics -
(1) Acid - Associated with moderate acid development in the milk or cream, or excessive ripening of the cream.
(2) Aged - Associated with short or extended holding periods of butter. The holding temperature will affect the rate of development of this flavor. May also occur if high quality raw material is not properly handled and promptly processed so that the flavor loses its freshness.
(3) Bitter - Attributable to the action of certain microorganisms or enzymes in the cream before churning, certain types of feeds and late lactation.
(4) Cooked - Associated with using high temperatures in pasteurization of sweet cream.
(5) Coarse - Associated with using high temperatures in pasteurization of cream with slight acid development.
(6) Feed - Attributable to feed eaten by cows and the flavors being absorbed in the milk and carried through into the butter. Most dry feeds (like hay or concentrates), silage, green alfalfa, and various grasses produce feed flavors in butter. Silage flavor may vary in degree and character depending on the time of feeding, extent of fermentation and kind of silage.
(7) Flat - Attributable to excessive washing of the butter or to a low percentage of fats or volatile acids and other volatile products that help to produce a pleasing butter flavor.
(8) Malty - Attributable to the growth of the organism Streptococcus lactic var. maltigenes in milk or cream. It is often traced to improperly washed and sanitized utensils in which this organism has developed.
(9) Musty - Attributable to cream from cows grazing on slough grass, eating musty or moldy feed (hay and silage) or drinking stagnant water.
(10) Neutralizer - Attributable to excessive or improper use of alkaline products to reduce the acidity of the cream before pasteurization.
(11) Old Cream - Attributable to aged cream, or inadequate or improper cooling of the cream. This flavor may be accentuated by unclean utensils and processing equipment.
(12) Scorched - Associated with using excessively high temperatures in pasteurization of cream with developed acidity, prolonged holding times in forewarming vats or when using vat pasteurization. Also associated with vat pasteurization without adequate agitation.
(13) Smothered - Attributable generally to improper handling and delayed cooling of the cream.
(14) Storage - Associated with extended holding periods of butter for several months or 10 longer.
(15) Utensil - Attributable to handling or storing milk or cream in equipment which is in poor condition or improperly sanitized. (16) Weed - Attributable to milk or cream from cows which have been fed on weedinfested pastures or weedy hay.
(17) Whey - Attributable to the use of whey cream or the blending of cream and whey cream for buttermaking.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,459
854
126
My mother used to leave butter out and it never went bad but remember butter has salts and preservative crap in it now.
I’m sure pure organic butter would spoil, also I’ve heard the fat turns rancid overtime not all at once so it begins to taste funky slowly over time.

Regarding food places if you want soft butter ask for soft butter.

Salt is a preservative, that is why you buy salted butter, especially if you're going to leave it out at room temperature all the time.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
57,426
7,613
126
I've been getting Irish butter lately. It's a bit better than commodity butter, but if money got tight, it would be my first downgrade. It isn't mind blowingly better or anything.
 
Feb 4, 2009
34,577
15,794
136
That too.

My wife brought home unsalted butter once... I almost divorced her. ;)

Yeah my wife started using some unsalted butter on toast because we weren’t out of butter. She started liking it????
Why bother with unsalted butter on toast it has no taste.
 

nakedfrog

No Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
58,157
12,331
136
You want her to eat dry white toast? While you sit there with your four fried chickens?
 
Feb 4, 2009
34,577
15,794
136
You want her to eat dry white toast? While you sit there with your four fried chickens?

This is how it went down.
I made some cookies and I didn’t realize I had two sticks in the freezer. New unsalted box goes into the freezer.
I use all but a tablespoon or two of the unsalted butter.
She uses that unsalted butter the next morning.
I pick up proper salted butter, she continues to use the unsalted.
Later during the week she takes a stick of unsalted butter out of the freezer.

She had a weird aversion to salt but it was mostly fixed by some bloodwork she had done and being low on iodine(?). Doctor recommended she have more salt.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,414
5,270
136
This is how it went down.
I made some cookies and I didn’t realize I had two sticks in the freezer. New unsalted box goes into the freezer.
I use all but a tablespoon or two of the unsalted butter.
She uses that unsalted butter the next morning.
I pick up proper salted butter, she continues to use the unsalted.
Later during the week she takes a stick of unsalted butter out of the freezer.

She had a weird aversion to salt but it was mostly fixed by some bloodwork she had done and being low on iodine(?). Doctor recommended she have more salt.

Yup, people need more salt, not less. The problem is we all rely on knee-jerk anecdotal information for the majority of our decisions in life:


Whole book on it:


Same with fat. Eat your eggs, lard, and bacon. The real problem is excessive sugar intake:


Over 50% of America is now diabetic in some form; Type II is largely self-induced & is reversible for the majority of the population:


I haven't followed up on the latest data yet, but last I read eating less than 20g carbs per day for 9 months does the trick in most cases. Couple that with some exercise & voila! Especially since sitting apparently kills you:


Anyway, I quit buying unsalted butter. I personally haven't found a use for it over the years. Every single recipe I've used that calls for unsalted butter has benefited from using salted instead. Good article on unsalted butter:


Which leads into why I preach macros so much:

https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/d0rxv6/muscle_growth/ezebxg9/?context=3

My current approach:

1. Eat macros, including lots of salt & fat
2. Use a strong but simple meal-prep system to make things easy
3. Use modern appliances to make things even easier
4. Profit! (literally - I saved so much money by cooking at home that I bought a Mustang lol)

TL;DR: Use salted butter & get a sports car.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,459
854
126
Yup, people need more salt, not less. The problem is we all rely on knee-jerk anecdotal information for the majority of our decisions in life:


Whole book on it:


Same with fat. Eat your eggs, lard, and bacon. The real problem is excessive sugar intake:


Over 50% of America is now diabetic in some form; Type II is largely self-induced & is reversible for the majority of the population:


I haven't followed up on the latest data yet, but last I read eating less than 20g carbs per day for 9 months does the trick in most cases. Couple that with some exercise & voila! Especially since sitting apparently kills you:


Anyway, I quit buying unsalted butter. I personally haven't found a use for it over the years. Every single recipe I've used that calls for unsalted butter has benefited from using salted instead. Good article on unsalted butter:


Which leads into why I preach macros so much:

https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/d0rxv6/muscle_growth/ezebxg9/?context=3

My current approach:

1. Eat macros, including lots of salt & fat
2. Use a strong but simple meal-prep system to make things easy
3. Use modern appliances to make things even easier
4. Profit! (literally - I saved so much money by cooking at home that I bought a Mustang lol)

TL;DR: Use salted butter & get a sports car.

If the Mustang is a sports car then my Mercedes C-class cabriolet must also, by definition, be a sports car. ;) Yes, I've actually had this conversation with a guy I know. He doesn't think my car is a sports car.
 

dullard

Elite Member
May 21, 2001
25,069
3,419
126
If you need butter at a restaurant, then you are not eating at good restaurants. Sufficient butter should be cooked inside the food to begin with.