Back when I lived in Johannesburg, I never lived anywhere that had air conditioning because, quite frankly, it wasn’t necessary — you’re hot, you open a window. Maybe turn on a small fan if there’s no breeze, but there was always a breeze.
Because of that, I had to keep my butter in the fridge because otherwise it would spoil very quickly.
Now? Forget it: with a/c and a constant (cool) temperature, I always leave the butter out (covered, of course) because I hate tearing up my bread with stiff, cold butter.
Apparently, this is a thing.
WE have all been storing butter wrong – and we should make a very quick change to revamp our use of the dairy delight, according to one campaigner.
Joelle Mertzel is the leading the charge to change the way people treat their butter – insisting it should be kept out of the fridge. The 49-year-old says that butter does not have to be chilled – and can instead be kept happily on the counter for weeks on end. Joelle, a mum-of-three, from California, has even commissioned lab tests to prove her theory.
And she is campaigning to make the American government change their butter guidelines.
Keyword: guideline.
In other words: who cares what the .dotgov “recommends”? Remember when the Food Pyramid was their big deal? And, as we all know, the pyramid has been proven to be totally fucked up, like oh-so many government “guidelines”.
Methinks the Californian woman has too much time on her hands if she’s bothering with this shit.
In passing, I should point out that in my house, no pound of butter has ever lasted longer than a few days before being consumed, so the whole issue is moot.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll make myself a sarnie.
What sort of a pathetic person imagines that they need gubmint permission to leave the butter on the counter?
As an aside, this past winter I discovered the greatness of Amish Roll Butter in, of all places, Montana. Now I’m searching for it here in South Texas with little luck so far. It comes in 2 lb cylinder shaped rolls.
You just cut off what you need. It’s great stuff and highly recommended, if you can find it. Google “Amish Country Butter” for more information.
Jeez, $36 for 2 lbs.
Guess I’ll just stick with the $4/lb Kroger brand.
When I was a kid we always had butter under a lid on the kitchen table. Now? It’s always in the fridge. The only time I use butter is when I am cooking so tearing up the bread is not an issue. I am trying to eliminate most oils around here and I use butter instead most of the time. Got a nice little slab of salmon in the fridge right now that I will fry in budda for supper tonight.
In a grocery store, the price is comparable to quality imported butters or even better domestics like Land-o-Lakes. On-line the price is ridiculous.
We’re Muricans!
So we’re convinced (taught) that everything not just cooked, except for the sliced foam we call bread, MUST be refrigerated until we pop it into the microwave.
No one wonders how our fathers (f you’re old enough to have a factory working dad) and grandfathers didn’t die from tomain poisoning several times a week when they ate the sandwiches (or God forbid, something like warm sauerkraut) from their lunch pails after the noon lunch whistle blew at the factory.
Refrigerated butter?
We use a butter bell here at the house, I’m surprised it was the wife’s idea since she has a superstitious infatuation with refrigeration, although she’s fine helping out the house a/c unit by leaving the damn fridge door open while she whips up a sandwich!
Grrrrrrrrrr.
I’m trying to remember the last time butter went rancid around my house. I usually only put out 1/4 lb at a time and keep it covered. You can buy some sort of a container for your butter that has a water seal that is supposed to help keep it fresh if you are concerned, but I’ve never found that necessary.
she had tests performed? On the bright side, she’s not at some store excoriating a minimum wage earning clerk and demanding to see a manager.
Yeah, you can either understand history or trust the government but a rational person simply cannot do both.
JQ
We’ve been using a quarter-pound butter bell for years and it works very nicely. I only put water in it on the hottest days of the year. A stick lasts the two of us about 4 days at most. One stick went off after being left out for about 8 days a few years back (we went on vacation and forgot about it), but otherwise it’s all fine.
A stick of salted butter (most American spreads) keeps weeks under a cover here.
Unsalted butter, watch closely. It doesn’t last as long at room temp, but darned if I know how long, since we only have that when our Euro friends visit.
Came to say the same thing. Unsalted butter spoils, but unless you are a fart sniffing Michelin chef, you don’t really have a reason to keep unsalted butter around. Buy salted, and it will last weeks on the counter, as long as you don’t let the cat lick it away.
We try to keep a pound or two of butter in the fridge for long term storage, but a good salted butter is always in the butter dish on the counter (or the Ready Magazine, as I call it.)
Have kept butter ( NOT margarine ! ) on the counter for years and never had a problem. My parents did the same thing so ……………………………
Want to startle some people, tell them that eggs don’t require refrigeration either,
given some quick and easy prep !!!!
Next up – ‘good by mm/dd/yy’, ‘best by mm/dd/yy’, ‘use by mm/dd/yy’ etc, labels !
Eggs travelled across America carried by “covered wagons” – well, packed into the lard-barrel on the side of the wagon. Extract eggs, and the lard to fry them in, in one operation, as necessary.
It depends on the eggs. Eggs you get directly from a small farm (or eggs in Europe) haven’t had the bloom washed off. The bloom protects the egg, and will keep it for weeks at room temp. There’s even longer term storage options like glassing them in limed water as well. (Pickling lime, not the citrus.)
The problem in America is that processed eggs (literally every single egg you can buy in a store) has had the bloom scrubbed off, which means that the egg no longer has the protection it was laid with, and has to be refrigerated if you want it to last more than a day or two.
Oh and by the way –
‘What sort of a pathetic person imagines that they need gubmint permission to leave the butter on the counter?’
Uncle Kenny, you might be surprised at the number of people who would love
for the gov’t or SOMEBODY to tell them exactly what to do, where to go, what to say, what to think, what to eat and when, on and on, all just so that they are not personally responsible for themselves or anything or anyone else !!
We got here over decades of propaganda along with the abject failure that is
our so called Public School System.
No, I am NOT optimistic, it’s all been goin’ just too damn long !!
Having bought perhaps 2 or 3 loaves of bread in the past 10 years, I haven’t had much call for butter. However, now that I’ve discovered Sara Lee’s Artesano bread, I buy two loaves a week. (It’s probably loaded with all kinds of sweeteners and assorted chemicals, but damn it’s good.) For a spread, I use Land O Lakes “butter with olive oil and sea salt.” Take it out of the fridge and let it sit in the counter for about ten minutes and it spreads beautifully without damaging the bread.
You’re welcome.