To keep spreadable butter in the cupboard

[willywallaby]

Every time MIL comes round she moves the spreadable butter from the cupboard to the fridge and explains that it spreads straight from the fridge, so it needs to be kept in the fridge. Spreadable butter does not spread straight from the fridge though. None of the own brand ones do and Anchor doesn't. I don't know about Lurpak. MIL bakes all her own sourdough so maybe it spreads better on there. And it spreads okay on toast. But making a regular sandwich on supermarket sliced bread is a ridiculous experience with spreadable butter unless it's at room temp. I only keep spreadable butter in the fridge if the weather is hot enough to liquify the butter. Or if MIL has been round and I haven't put things right again.

She's right that it's meant to be stored in the fridge, but you can do whatever you want in your own home and she's overstepping.

Get a butter spreading knife on Amazon, it is meant to use on cold butter and is life changing.

For the question, real pure butter can be left out but spreadable butter can't be left out long, a maximum of 2 days. The additives and oils added can cause it to go rancid quickly, grow bacteria and can make you sick. People don't even realize because it might just be digestive upset or feel like indigestion.

So yes it can be out a few days at most but then there is a risk of it going rancid quickly. Pure butter does not go rancid as quickly because there is no added oil. The high fat and salt content acts as a natural preservative to keep it fresh.

I’d keep in in the fridge as I find the possibility of rancid butter off putting.

I wouldn’t say Danpak/Norpak are nearly butter. It’s 40% butter, then water, then 25% rapeseed oil. Or it even says 32% milk fat and 25% rape seed oil.

.

She hasn’t asked where to put her spread. She has it where she wants it.

The whole point of butter is to preserve dairy, of course it doesn’t need to be in fhe fridge, and we all know plant oils don’t need to be in the fridge either.

I leave it out on weeknights when sandwiches are being made in the morning. It absolutely isn’t soft enough to spread on soft bread straight from the fridge. I find Kerrygold spreadable bit softer.

Shes not right if its real butter, in a butter dish on the side or in a cupboard. Only when its too hot does mine go in the fridge. Ive found recently with it being so cold that its even too firm out on the fridge 😂

In this weather it’s fine on the counter unless you have a hot kitchen. When I leave it out too long in summer it melts.

I'm not in the UK but the spreadable butter I buy IS butter, there are no non necessary ingredients.

Your MIL is right OP, it should be kept in the fridge. It only takes a very short time out to be spreadable on bread.

i have to take it out a while before spreading but it should live in the fridge

people insist on putting my tomatoes in the fridge
now that is wrong

I just checked my spreadable ACTUAL butter and it says:

"Keep Refrigerated. To keep your Buttersoft nice and spreadable try to minimise the amount of time it is out of the fridge"

However, as I said that is butter with no added ingredients, I have no idea about other types.

HRTFT, but why on earth would you buy that crap only to treat it like the real thing? The only reason I can see for buying it (and I never would), is that it spreads straight from the fridge.

Oh FGS, spreadable butter IS meant to be in the bloody fridge, or it’ll be a tub of slop. Why so nasty?

Very annoying. Mine always stays out in a butter dish.

It's about half the price!

I wonder if your fridge temperature is too cold if you’re finding that spreadable butters aren’t spreading straight from the fridge like they’re supposed to? I’ve never found that problem.

I keep mine in the fridge but some brands are more spreadable than others from the fridge. I’m using Clover at the moment and that’s ok. I’ve used flora before and that wasn’t so much, for example.

I’ve used this for years and have always kept it in cupboard unless it’s very hot.

I use spreadable butter straight from the fridge with no problems.

It goes VERY soft almost runny if left out

It will depend on:

• your fridge temp (mine is set at 4 degrees)
• your house temperature (mine is typically 19 degrees)

If you keep your house cooler it may be it stays ok out of the fridge

I am Team MIL.

Spreadable butter is sold refrigerated and needs to be kept in the fridge. It says so on the packaging.

She is factually correct but socially incorrect.

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-samsung-rvo1&source=android-browser&q=does+spreadable+butter+need+to+be+refrigerated

I found this info about why should the spreadable varieties be stored in the fridge …
Bacterial Growth: The added moisture and oil create a more favorable environment for bacteria to grow compared to traditional butter, so the fridge is crucial for safety.

You’ve maybe been lucky so far but food poisoning from dairy products can be extremely nasty. In this instance I’d listen to your mother in law.