# Keeping Peanut Butter At Room Temperature **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [March 24, 2022, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654 "2022-03-24T20:25:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/41 "2022-03-25T08:32:26Z")
I’ve never refrigerated peanut butter. Neither have I refrigerated ketchup, for that matter, though my ex-wife insisted that ketchup must be refrigerated. I acquiesced, just to keep family harmony. Now that she’s gone, I keep my ketchup at room temps. Thing is, that peanut butter needs to be room temperature in order to be spreadable. And it keeps just fine at room temps in the cupboard. Brand names don’t matter; I get the local supermarket’s house brand, and it does just as well as any other. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/42 "2022-03-25T08:55:25Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > I buy the largest jar of whatever is on sale. Username definitely checks out. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/43 "2022-03-25T09:07:41Z")
My peanut butter (Black Cat, South Africa’s iconic brand) explicitly says “Do Not Refrigerate” ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/44 "2022-03-25T09:40:04Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > Reading this thread makes me think that I eat an unusually large amount of peanut butter. I don’t need this thread to know this about myself. I’ll go to town with a jar and a spoon if there is no adult supervision. For this reason the small, individual servings are a good thing (although they are still packed with calories and sodium). Jif for me. Oh yeah, never refrigerated it in my entire life. mmm ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/45 "2022-03-25T10:20:58Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Ketchup is also full of sugar, which is a preservative. I keep PB at room temp. Yeah, it eventually gets a bit rancid and has to be tossed, but it doesn’t mold. I never had a problem with PB stored at room temp. Low water content, it’s just never gone bad for me, even after a year. Ketchup OTOH has the water content to support some microbes. Back when fast food chains kept ketchup in table bottles, it was not unusual to get one that hadn’t been rotated and had gotten a bit fermented, a bit sour and boozy-tasting. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/46 "2022-03-25T13:37:10Z")
Chunky peanut butter here. Only the “ingredients: peanuts and salt” kind. No refrigeration. We do go through a jar in two weeks or so, so little time for it to go rancid. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/47 "2022-03-25T17:32:10Z")
Here’s a lengthy list of [foods that don’t need to be refrigerated](https://www.primalsurvivor.net/foods-dont-require-refrigeration/). I won’t vouch for its overall accuracy but it matches my knowledge of food safety fairly well. It includes items like canned or jarred **Peanut and other nut butters** **Beans and lentils** **Meat** **Tuna and other fish** **Hummus** In addition, this stuff doesn’t need it either, per the site. **Soy sauce** **Ketchup** **Mustard** **Mayonnaise** **Salad dressings** **Honey** **Molasses** **Corn syrup** ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/48 "2022-03-25T19:07:16Z")
We use Smucker’s Natural PB, only peanuts and salt. We keep it on the counter, never refrigerated, and have never had a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/49 "2022-03-25T19:07:55Z")
My peanut butter is just peanuts (site is English, but the preview is German). There is nothing about refrigerating it. It’s a 500g jar, which is less than a year old, and the expiration date is in October. It does say to stir it for maximum enjoyment. I stir it with a butter knife, which I then use for serving. I have never stored peanut butter in the refrigerator. Growing up, my neighbor had Adams peanut butter in the fridge, and it was in a big tub. Stirring it was hard work. On the jar, in the ingredient list is only PEANUTS, which is written in all capital letters as it is a potential allergen. The warning is only for the potential allergens which are not listed in the ingredients, as it could contain traces of milk, lupin and sesame seeds. > **[Bio-Product: Peanut butter fine 100% peanuts - Rapunzel Naturkost](https://www.rapunzel.de/en/organic-product-peanut-butter-fine-100-prozent-peanuts--110100.html)** > > Peanut butter fine 100% peanuts: ... made with a lot of experience, dedication and care. 100% organic peanuts, aromatically roasted and finely ground for an intense aroma. Since we use only organic nuts and no additives, the peanut oil will separate... ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/50 "2022-03-25T21:16:12Z")
I don’t refrigerate my Jif, and it doesn’t get rancid. It usually takes me months to go through a jar. It’s been a while since I’ve had Martin’s potato bread, so I think I’ll get some next time I go to the store so I can have a very nice PB&J sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/51 "2022-03-25T23:12:07Z")
Yup. Good stuff. I do the crunchy. I like the texture. And I don’t mind giving it a stir if some oil has separated out a bit. Ingredients: Peanuts, Contains 1% Or Less Of Salt. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/52 "2022-03-25T23:14:36Z")
I’m in my fifties, and haven’t bought peanut butter in years but ate lots of it as a kid and I don’t remember anyone refrigerating peanut butter. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2022, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/53 "2022-03-25T23:44:24Z")
Nope. No peanut butter in my refrigerator. A partial jar of Peanut butter does dry out and crack after a few months. We try to use it up within a few weeks of opening a jar. I do like peanut butter on hot toast. Sometimes I’ll microwave on medium power for 10secs. Just enough to warm and soften the PB. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/54 "2022-03-26T18:05:25Z")
The only reason to refrigerate peanut butter under normal use is to keep you from eating it. ---
**Author:** ![justmeetee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@justmeetee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justmeetee)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2022, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/55 "2022-03-26T18:39:13Z")
Another vote for Jif here. And I have never put it in the fridge in my 67 years and no problem. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/56 "2022-03-28T06:09:08Z")
> [@MagicEyes](#): > > It’s been a while since I’ve had Martin’s potato bread, so I think I’ll get some next time I go to the store so I can have a very nice PB&J sandwich. Martin’s Potato Bread used to be my go-to, but then I discovered Pepperidge Farm Butter Bread. Oh my. As for the thread topic, I’m a Jif guy, creamy, just the regular stuff. Until seeing and opening this thread just now, it had never entered my mind that anyone would ever refrigerate peanut butter. Just a completely foreign concept to me. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2022, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654/57 "2022-03-28T06:31:26Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > **Ketchup** > **Mustard** > **Mayonnaise** > **Salad dressings** Technically none of those items needs to be refrigerated, correct. Well, you do need to refrigerate _homemade_ mayonnaise, if you are one of those people that make it rather than buying it from a store. (I am not one of those people.) However, I refrigerate all of them, because… - It extends the shelf life and freshness of all of them. - In each case, I prefer the taste of them cold. - None of those things harden or otherwise become difficult to prepare food with when cold. I know some people prefer ketchup and mustard warm (as in not cold; room temperature), and I don’t have an issue with that. I use those condiments warm in restaurants all the time. No big deal. I just like them cold if I can help it. Peanut butter in my experience doesn’t taste any better cold (again, personal preference) and can get stiffer (even the processed kind) so it stays in the pantry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keeping-peanut-butter-at-room-temperature/961654.md?page=2)