Butter left out in a butter dish

[RedPringleGirl]

I have always kept my butter out in a butter dish with a lid. For as long as I can remember this was the done thing in order to have spreadable real butter. I literally thought this was what butter dishes were invented for.

Just read that you're not actually supposed to keep butter out for longer than 2 days.

How did I not know this!!! Mine stays out for weeks sometimes until the butter is all used up.

Well noone's dropped dead yet which I'll take as as a good sign. But please tell me I'm not the only one who's done this!

Oh well

Mines out all the time and we’re not dead either.

I did recently invest in an electric butter dish that keeps it spreadable in the winter and not running away in the summer.

If it's US advice bear in mind that leaving butter out in a Florida summer is a bit different to even the hottest UK weather.

😂

That butler obviously didn't finish butlering school

I have always kept in the fridge, as everyone else in France I believe.
One of my ex thought the same as you though, so I gave it a go once and IMO it went bad (it was too soft, and the flavour changed after a few days). It could have been that it was too hot (it was spring but can't remember how hot exactly).

Just let the USDA sue you.

Our butter dish is always out. Ditto lurpak or similar spreadable butter if we buy that.

Meh, that's US advice... (And I suspect in part because it can be hotter there, and because their butter probably has something added to it/taken away - same as the reason why they have to refrigerate their eggs and we don't).

Keep it out all the time.

Never gone rancid or mouldy as far as I can tell.

I guess it is out for about 2 weeks.

(Also, this has brought back fond memories of my Gran who used to put the butter dish on the radiator to soften the butter before tea. And nearly always forgot about it and we ended up with melted butter to spread on our bread...)

We didn't have a fridge when I was a kid in the '60s and I'm still alive, so...

My problem with butter and leaving it out in a dish was that we went through it like cheese and it is expensive, we were spending about £10 a week on butter. Whereas 1kg of spreadable butter is about £4. A compromise. Plus I don't have to wash a butter dish multiple times a week. But yes we do leave it out unless it's very warm.

I never refrigerate butter.

Also, never go by USDA or any USA food advice really. Their farming and animal welfare standards are so low that they have food rules that don't apply anywhere else in the world. For example, their egg advice, which is always to keep refrigerated. This is because their chickens are literally kept in so much shit that the protective outer layers of the eggshells need to be washed off before sale. So the eggs don't last as long. That doesn't apply anywhere in Europe so eggs don't need to be kept in the fridge here.

I keep spares in the fridge and once it's in a butter dish it's never lasting 2 days anyway, although I'd happily leave it out for longer

I wouldn’t take a blind bit of notice about something said by the USDA. The absolute shite they allow in that country defies belief.

American butter is an abomination.

@RedPringleGirl The USDA's FoodKeeper app offers this guidance for storing 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.19 Sept 2023

I imagine that the USDA wrote that with an abundance of caution in order to cover butter-lovers living in places like Texas and Tenessee, as well as more temperate climes. Our climate is more akin to that of Washington so I think we can probably leave the butter out for longer.

Put less in the butter dish if you’re not using it up before it goes rancid.

My granny used to keep the butter in a jar with salty water- way before she got the fridge.

There are only 2+toddler in this house so butter lasts at least three weeks. It stays in the butter dish and we’ve never had an issue. Ours is very salty though!!

I never leave mine out.

I rarely leave anything out of the fridge for long!

Ours stays in the fridge but we live in a warm property in a warmish climate and Scandinavian husband came complete with one of these, intended for cheese but also slices paper thin butter that's easy to spread straight from the fridge.

Really interested to read about the food conditions snd differences in the US.

Just for my own curiosity I googled UK guidance for storing butter (yes I am that sad). Here's what came up:

While butter might be safe to eat after a couple of days on your countertops, its taste might be impacted by leaving the fridge. Tonja Engen, Culinary Content Specialist for butter experts Land O'Lakes, told Allrecipes “Do not leave butter at room temperature for more than 4 hours.2 Jan 2024

Remember, US food isn't the same as ours.

That IS what a butter dish is for. Just keep doing the same.

Sometimes when it's full on heat wave it goes a bit funny as it does actually melt. But otherwise fine

Oh crap! Mines always out in a butter dish. For weeks as we hardly use it. Never noticed a bad taste. Takes me forever to spread it straight from the fridge 😫

Tonja is bonkers

That’s so depressing.
Poor hens.
Cheap eggs 🥚 are cheap for a reason-
The birds probably are battery hens or raised in those “barns” where they are wing to wing with their sisters- and their beaks are cut to stop pecking and fighting.

A person we knew kept old ex Battery hens and seeing the old Girls growing back their feathers and dust- bathing in the orchard was lovely.
They produced eggs- very misshapen and odd sized but lovely taste.

Such sweet Girls. 🐓🐓🐓

N.B. Hens need protection from foxes even in daylight hours.