Every two or three months, I have to clear out my refrigerator of junk. It's usually condiment bottles with only a few drops of sauce left and old uneaten fruit. However, I have been reading more and more about how a lot of foods don't need refrigeration including the usual dairy items such as butter. Below is a link to an article, I found very interesting about this topic. It could be a great way to save space in your refrigerator. "Seriously, Stop Refrigerating these Foods" -Log In
Interesting? Never heard of not refrigerating butter, nor anyone who doesn't refrigerate it. I guess because it's a dairy product, people automatically assume it must be refrigerated. Would like to see more info on this sort of thing before actually not refrigerating some of those foods.
That's a very informative article. Who knew someone would even refrigerate coffee beans and grounds? We keep our coffee grounds in an airtight jar. As for butter, we always refrigerate it because they will melt, but I guess we will keep doing that because we live in a tropical country, so the butter will just melf if we don't refrigerate it.
I've always refrigerated butter. It wasn't until recently that I noticed you didn't have to. I was hanging out with my friend for the 4th of July, and I noticed he had his butter on the counter in a butter dish. I questioned it, and he said he never refrigerates it. Now I feel pretty bad for throwing away butter whenever I saw it left on the tabletop of my house... whoops.
The article was a great read. It helped me organize my fridge a little better. As for butter I think I'll continue to refrigerate it because I live in California and our summers can get really hot and butter melts when its hot.
I have never heard of people not refrigerating their butter, that was a very interesting, refreshing article. I'll still keep mine in the fridge though, mainly because old habits die very hard.
My aunt in TX doesn't refrigerate her butter sticks. No one ever got sick and I guess on hot days, she would move it. Then again, I think she uses a ceramic dish that blocks extreme heat and it's ready to spread on rolls. I, on the other hand, love butter so much that I freeze it to keep from going through the 2 or 4-pack.
I keep it in the fridge so it doesn't get everything oily. However, when I need a stick I put it on my butter dish and leave it out so it is soft. I live in Texas near the Gulf, and I haven't had issues with it melting or being gross. We've never gotten sick off of it. I learned it from my ex's mother when I lived in the Ozarks. Makes things easier especially when you're trying to butter toast.
I don't like to keep butter in the fridge, because when it's chilled it's harder to spread. I end up tearing holes in the bread when I try to spread butter on it straight from the fridge! When it comes to margarine, I always keep it refrigerated, as it doesn't have that problem.
I would say a deciding factor about whether to refrigerate butter or not, is the climate you happen to live in. I have lived for many years in a wet, tropical climate and butter outside the fridge wouldn't last longer than a few hours before it would go off. As a matter of fact, I had to install a dehumidifier in my pantry, as even dried foods would just go mouldy within a week or so. But I remember how my grandmother, who lived in a cool climate, always kept her butter on the kitchen table.
Thanks for sharing this. I've found one or two items that I personally refrigerate which apparently I shouldn't. I do refrigerate my butter, though, and I think I'll still continue on doing so, because it's in the contested list anyway and also I do like my butter to be cold and fairly solid. I honestly don't find room temperature butter all that appealing. Also, it doesn't really take up that much space in the fridge anyway, so I'll just sacrifice some other items instead and maybe save space from those.
I do not refrigerate butter because it gets too hard. However, I do put margarine in the fridge. You don't have to refrigerate fresh farm eggs either.
