# Butter **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2018, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288 "2018-09-13T19:13:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sloe\_Moe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sloe\_Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sloe_Moe)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/41 "2018-09-14T02:06:15Z")
You do know the technique of scraping the hard butter with a knife, picking up a thin, crumply layer of butter that is easily spreadable? Well sometimes it’s not but a hot piece of toast speeds it up. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/42 "2018-09-14T02:21:04Z")
> [@](#): > > How long can butter be left out at room temperature? Butter may be kept at room temperature for 1 to 2 days, but it will begin to spoil rapidly if not refrigerated after that. > **[How Long Does Butter Last in the Fridge or Freezer?](https://www.stilltasty.com/Fooditems/index/16649)** > > Get the answer to the question ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/43 "2018-09-14T02:43:56Z")
The advice in the link above, and the concerns of the OP, do not match my experience at all. We buy whipped butter in plastic tubs and leave it out on the kitchen counter (covered) until it has been used up. Between the two of us, that generally takes a week or two. It has never gone rancid or tasted strange. Before I married, I did the same with stick butter in an ordinary ceramic butter dish. Likewise, no problems. We have lived in Maryland and Georgia, which get hot and very humid, and in Las Vegas, which gets very hot and dry. Our houses were air conditioned and kept at 78 F in the warmest parts of the summer. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/44 "2018-09-14T03:51:43Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Not sure if I’m parsing this correctly or perhaps being whooshed (?), but bwhaaaaaa? Nope. He’s exactly right. In most American accents, the sound for intervocalic T (t sound between two vowels) is the same sound as intervocalic r in Spanish words, such as sombre **r** o. Both are [alveolar flaps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_and_alveolar_flaps). ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/45 "2018-09-14T03:52:18Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > It is in fact famously and often (by proper, educated speakers) pronounced the way you apparently don’t like. The “tt” ends up sounding like (for example) the last r in “sombrero” as a Spanish speaker would say that word. I say ‘butta’ cause it’s fun. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/46 "2018-09-14T04:02:55Z")
> [@EscAlaMike](#): > > Maybe we eat a lot of butter in my house, but this is what we do and we’ve never had that problem. Ditto. I don’t even use salted butter, either. A stick will last us a good week to week and a half. No rancidity issues. The current stick is five days old and held at a room temp of 77. I just ate a slice of bread with butter on it, and there is no off flavor I can detect. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/47 "2018-09-14T04:16:11Z")
What we have here is a huge first world problem. But, I am happy to read that almost all replies are of butter fanatics. Maybe that is why I am comfortable here. Pump up the butter! ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/48 "2018-09-14T04:49:10Z")
I heartily endorse the ceramic butter keeper/bell. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do—keeps butter fresh and spreadable. It’s easy to load, too. Just unwrap a stick of butter and squish it into the bell, keeping the butter wrapper between the butter stick and your hand. No need to pre-soften the butter, just use a little elbow grease and jam it in there. Unfortunately, my butter bell broke a while back (maybe I used too much elbow grease) and I’ve been too cheap to buy another one. Until I get another butter bell, I either: [ul] [li]Cut 2 thin pats of butter (instead of one thick pat) and place them catty-corner on the toast. After a few seconds the heat of the toast makes the butter pats spread easily (spread down from the top pat and up from the bottom pat).[/li][/ul] Or [ul] [li]Cut a thick pat of butter and flop it over on the partially unwrapped butter wrapper. Then, while the bread is toasting, place a heated glass over the butter pat (you can easily warm a glass by microwaving water in the glass, then pour out the water). By the time your toast is ready to butter, your pat of butter will be softened to perfection.[/li][/ul] If I’m in a rush, I’ll just spread my daughter’s vegan spread on my toast, but that tastes like axle grease. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/49 "2018-09-14T05:13:03Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I get that, I think, but how do you get it to stay there and not fall out into the water? It seems like the butter would have to be soft enough to cram in there to start with. You jam it in so that it sticks to the sides. Sometimes it falls out; you just put it back. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/50 "2018-09-14T05:39:18Z")
see whether you can get Buttersoft imported. Spreadable butter (just butter, no oil mixed in). [https://mainland.com.au/butter/buttersoft.html](https://mainland.com.au/butter/buttersoft.html) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/51 "2018-09-14T06:59:38Z")
> [@as\_u\_wish](#): > > Slightly off topic - but it is about butter. Why does the butter in those little “personal serving containers” at restaurants always seem to taste better than the butter I have at home? I’ve tried salted and unsalted, and no matter what, the restaurant butter is better. I have decided there’s some kind of sweetener in them, honey maybe. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/52 "2018-09-14T07:30:34Z")
Butter softness in roughly 15 to 20 minutes on the counter. I cut a chunk off and let it soften on a paper towel. Usually it’s ready to spread by the time the coffee is made and my eggs are cooked. Hot toast makes a difference in spreading butter. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/53 "2018-09-14T13:44:33Z")
[Here’s an article](https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/does-butter-go-bad#section3)that actually cites scientific studies, instead of merely asserting that you shouldn’t keep butter at room temperature for more than a day or two, as several others I found did. It says: > [@Healthline.com](#): > > Because butter has a high fat content and relatively low water content, it is less likely to support bacterial growth than other types of dairy products. > > This is especially true if the butter is salted, which lowers the water content further and makes the environment inhospitable to bacteria. > > According to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), while most types of bacteria would be able to survive on unsalted butter, there is only one type of bacteria that can survive the conditions of salted butter (4). > > In one study to determine the shelf life of butter, scientists added several types of bacteria to the butter to see how well they would grow. > > After three weeks, the bacterial content was significantly lower than the amount added, demonstrating that butter doesn’t support most bacterial growth (6, 7). > > Therefore, **regular, salted butter has a low risk of bacterial contamination, even when kept at room temperature.** > > In fact, butter is actually produced with the expectation that consumers will not keep it in the fridge (4). > > Fats go rancid, or spoil, through a process called oxidation, which alters their molecular structure and produces potentially harmful compounds. It also results in off flavors in any foods made with the rancid fats (8, 9). > > Heat, light and exposure to oxygen can all speed up this process (8, 9). > > \*\*Yet it has been demonstrated that it may take anywhere between several weeks to over a year for oxidation to negatively affect butter, depending on how it is produced and stored \*\*(6). Emphasis mine. So I’d like to ask the OP and others who are concerned about their butter spoiling to please tell us if it has actually happened to them, and if so, what were the conditions that led to it – time, temperature, etc. – and the nature of the spoilage – change in taste, appearance, texture? If it hasn’t happened, and is just something you’ve worried about, it would seem you don’t have to worry any longer. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/54 "2018-09-14T16:22:57Z")
Is perceived rancidity caused by bacterial growth? I’m talking about an off flavor that interferes with enjoyment of the butter’s taste. I think this is more likely to be about the breakdown of various compounds in the butter due to exposure to light and air and (relative) heat. In other words, oxidation. And yes, it has happened in my home, although it can take two or three weeks before I notice. We keep the butter away from light and (as much as feasible) oxygen, but it is certainly room temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/55 "2018-09-14T16:24:43Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Butter is fat, lighter than water. Even if it melts, it will float on the water… Well, hell. This explains why my Butter Bathysphere prototype was a failure. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/56 "2018-09-14T16:35:27Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > [How Long Does Butter Last in the Fridge or Freezer?](https://www.stilltasty.com/Fooditems/index/16649) Holy moley what a terribly misinformed page. Unrefrigerated butter goes bad after a day or two? Have these people ever been around butter in their lives??? And since they don’t believe in leaving butter out they don’t cover at all the importance of covering the butter to slow oxidation. But even uncovered butter shouldn’t go bad that fast. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/57 "2018-09-14T17:21:43Z")
Yup, even as a non-butter hater like I know you don’t have to keep it in the fridge. Also, I had never heard of these butter bell thingies but I am intrigued! Off to Amazon . . . ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/58 "2018-09-14T20:20:05Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > …So I’d like to ask the OP and others who are concerned about their butter spoiling to please tell us if it has actually happened to them, and if so, what were the conditions that led to it – time, temperature, etc. – and the nature of the spoilage – change in taste, appearance, texture?.. Yes, I’ve had butter that was lower in quality as a result of being out too long. I never worried it was going to make me sick, but it oxidizes. You can see a line or darker yellow around the exterior, and it tastes, I dunno, less good. I still use it, but I prefer to keep it in the fridge. Maybe if we had an air-tight butter dish it would keep longer. We don’t. > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Is perceived rancidity caused by bacterial growth? I’m talking about an off flavor that interferes with enjoyment of the butter’s taste. I think this is more likely to be about the breakdown of various compounds in the butter due to exposure to light and air and (relative) heat. In other words, oxidation. > > And yes, it has happened in my home, although it can take two or three weeks before I notice. We keep the butter away from light and (as much as feasible) oxygen, but it is certainly room temperature. Yup. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/59 "2018-09-15T00:17:25Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > who are concerned about their butter spoiling to please tell us if it has actually happened to them, and if so, what were the conditions that led to it – time, temperature, If you leave butter out here in the summer, it isn’t that it spoils, but that it melts. a big soggy melted blob of yuck. Not a problem if you have airconditioning everywhere, but many of us don’t. I’d guesstimate the temperature in my kitchen when it’s really hot to be in the high 20s/ low-mid 30s (celsius). when it’s in the 40s out there, it gets pretty hot in here. Yes, it’s not summer all the time, but it tends to “program” us not to leave anything out of the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288/60 "2018-09-15T01:46:26Z")
Of possible interest to participants in this threat; the movie [Butter](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1349451/) about the cutthroat world of competitive butter carving. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter/821288.md?page=4)