Is it OK to keep butter out of the fridge?

[laura032004]

I'm going to stop using spreadable butter, and move across to normal butter. However, I hate it being really hard, and having to soften it in the microwave. I'm sure when I was little we kept our butter on the side most of the time, if not all. We did have central heating. So, am I going to get any horrible bug doing this now? Am planning on keeping about a third of a pat out, so it will only last a few days anyway.

I've been keeping mine on the side in the kitchen for the last few years, with no ill effects

You will be fine. Keep it covered in a butter dish. We keep out the whole pat. Even in the summer it never melted so it lost its shape.

We use the spreadable because dh doesn't like having it on the side. My bro keeps it on the side; the only down side is that he doesn't use much so it tends to a bit rancid towards the end!

The only thing I've noticed is that mine tastes a bit funny if you leave it out sometimes. Not sure if that's because DP puts it back in the fridge and it ends up in and out like...an inny outy thing?

It'll melt and be inedible before it goes bad and makes you ill. If it looks and smells ok, it is.

i keep mine in a butter dish at room temp

I've never kept butter in the fridge & neither did my Mum. Spare blocks are in there...but the current one is in a butter dish out in the kitchen. It's location changes depending on the weather. when it's cold it gets put on the table next to the rad or on the counter under the boiler. When it's warm it gets put as far from the cooker & boiler as possible.

Thanks for all those answers. Think we'll go for it. We haven't got a radiator in the kitchen (although it stays warm from cooker / dishwasher etc), so it will cool down at night anyway.

I've currently got it in a locking tub, but do you think a porcelain dish would be better? My mum always had a plastic tupperware dish.

We use quite a bit (5 in the house, all toast lovers ), so sure it will be eaten before it goes really rancid. The spreadable stuff often gets left out, and I do worry about that if it's gone really soft.

The dish we use is a stainless steel one...I actually got off my mum after she stopped using it & I couldn't find another that I liked

we keep ours in a cupboard, in a china dish. it's cooler in the cupboard than out on the side. we put 1/4 packet in the dish at a time, so it doesn't get the chance to go off.

BTW - salted keeps better than unsalted.

We keep ours out all the time. On a drafty windowsill.

Not that I'm a sad bugger who knows every product in the Lakeland catalogue but might this be the solution to your dilemma?

Yes. It's full of fat and salt - two of the best preservatives there are. Keep it covered to stop things dying in it.

there's no danger in leaving the spreadable one out either though - after all, you leave vegetable oil (which is all that;'s in it apart from butter) at room temp, non?

I like that SL

Never thought of that MrsB. Maybe it's the in and out that causes it to go a bit horrid. Also, if you leave the spreadable one out, it is too soft [can't win emoticon!]

We always keep ours on the side. I can't stand rock hard butter.