Does Butter Go Bad? Know About Shelf Life and Storage

Everything comes with an expiry, and so does butter. Thus, the simplest way to answer does butter go bad is yes!

If you already have your answer, then that’s it! But if you want to know when and how butter goes bad, keep reading to clear all your doubts.

Food like butter does go bad, but they stay in an edible condition for a long time. You can store it at room temperature, but it will stay fresh for a long period if you store it inside your fridge.

The process of refrigeration decreases the oxidation of the butter. It is the primary reason you can use the same old margarine for a long time!

Does butter go bad

You must be using margarine every day in your kitchen. But you may forget about it after keeping it inside your fridge, and when you find it after months, it may have expired. You can check the expiry date of the margarine before eating it.

If you find the butter in your refrigerator to turn extremely hard or soft, it probably has mold growing! The best way to know if that is true is by smelling for a pungent odor or tasting it a little.

I would recommend you to smell and look for discoloration instead of eating it!

How to store butter

You have to store the margarine correctly at a certain temperature. The temperature at which the margarine stays fresh should be below or at 40° F. Try not to keep it at your room temperature.

If you want to store the margarine for a long time, then keep it inside your freezer. In the freezer, margarine can last for a maximum of nine months.

You can eat it even if the unopened butter lasts one month of its expiry date in your fridge and if the opened butter lasts two weeks after the expiry date.

It would help if you sealed the margarine tightly before storing it in the fridge. Make sure that you store it in your fridge at once after buying it or using it.

After you open the fridge, the temperature starts fluctuating, so try to put the margarine on the inner shelf of your fridge instead of the door shelves of your fridge.

Method 1

You should know the ways of butter storage on the counter. They are as follows:

1. Use it less: You must keep a little bit of on the counter. It would help if you stored the remaining portion inside your freezer or fridge so that you can use it in the future.
2. Select an airtight container: Choose a closed container or an opaque one for storing the product to keep it away from the light.
3. Protect from heat: Keep the margarine away from any heat.
4. Keep the temperature correct: Make sure that your room temperature is less than 21° – 25° C ( 70-77°F) if you want to store the margarine at your room temperature.

Method 2

If you wrap it in wax paper, then the quality and flavor of the margarine will decrease while freezing or refrigerating quickly. You must know the right process of freezing margarine to get it in good condition while eating. They are as follows:

1. Fresh freezing: You must freeze the fresh margarine inside your freezer for storage. Do not put the already expired margarine in your freezer.
2. Cut first: You have to make the slices first if you want to use a small amount each time and keep the rest back in your freezer. This will make your process easy.
3. Parchment paper usage: You should use parchment paper to wrap the margarine instead of wax paper. This will help maintain the fresh quality for a long time.
4. Try foil: You can use foil to wrap it instead of other wraps. It will add more flavor to the margarine.
5. Polyethylene packaging: It is one of the best options for you. The quality of the frozen margarine will stay the same if you use bags or cling wraps from polyethylene. It can protect the margarine from supporting thawing or spoilage.
6. Keep original packaging: Do not change the original packaging; keep the product in its original wrap boxes or paper. You can also reinforce the originally packed margarine with plastic or foil wrap if you want.
7. Avoid foods with odor: You should keep the margarine far away from the other foods in your freezers, such as meat and onions, because the butter can get the smell and flavor from the other foods in your freezer.

How to thaw butter

Now, we are coming to the thawing of butter. You can safely thaw the margarine. After you thaw and freeze the butter, you will get the quality of the product the same as before.

But you must not use it if you find a bad smell, freezer burn, or off colors. You must know the process of thawing the frozen butter. It is a very simple process.

The process of thawing:

1. You have to store it in your fridge all night. You may also choose to keep the margarine at room temperature. In that case, try not to exceed 4 hours.
2. You have to grate the butter. You need some minutes to thaw the grated it. If you want, you can also put the grated margarine onto the pastry dough directly.
3. Take a saucepan and put some frozen butter on it. Heat the saucepan with frozen margarine on your stove.
4. You can soften the margarine in your microwave. It will just take 10 seconds.

When does butter go bad

Butter goes bad if it exceeds the expiry date written in its package. You may realize that the butter has turned bad after a few months when the smell and color of the butter change. You can put the butter in your fridge if you do not want the butter to go bad for a long period.

Does butter go bad if left out?

It would help if you did not leave the butter open at room temperature for a long period. If you keep it left out for too many days, it may turn off-flavors. You can leave the butter for a maximum of two days because the butter will start to turn bad after this period.

Does almond butter go bad?

You may wonder if almond butter goes bad if you buy it for the first time. You can tell almond butter has gone bad if you find it smells sour or has oil paint.

Usually, you find a nutty aroma in the almond butter when it is in good condition. Moreover, you can also taste the almond and understand its condition.

The unopened product can stay well for several months even after its expiry date. If you have already opened the jar and kept it at room temperature, the almond butter will last for five months.

But if you decide to store it inside your fridge, it will last for a maximum of 9 months. You can store the almond butter only for 2 weeks if it is homemade because it turns bad after that time. It is not easy for you to guess the lasting effect of almond butter.

It would help if you kept the homemade product inside your fridge instead of keeping it at room temperature. In the fridge, the almond butter will last for two weeks.

How long does sealed butter last

The unopened almond butter will last for 12 months in your fridge and a maximum of 6 months in your pantry. The almond product which is opened will last for a maximum of 9 months in your fridge and maximum of 5 months in your pantry. But for almond butter, which is homemade, it should be kept in the fridge instead of in the pantry or at room temperature.

The periods may vary from one manufacturer product to another. So, you should know about the exact manufacturer of the product before buying it.

You may find an oil layer over it, but this layer has no harm, and it is natural. The oil layer does not mean that the oil of the butter is spoiled. The fat rancidification does not have a good relationship with vegan butter.

The oil can turn rancid if you expose it to bacteria, light, air, or moisture. This rancidification process can increase with the warm temperature. It would help to store the almond butter in an airtight closed container. Make sure to protect the almond butter from the rays of the sun.

You can tell that the almond butter has gone bad if you find brown or black spots. You may also get a bad taste, bad smell, or mold. If you get anything like that throw it away without storing it anymore.

Does refrigerated butter go bad

Butter stays fresh in your refrigerator for a long time. You will find that it has become hard after taking it out from your refrigerator. So, it needs to be softened before eating it. This is why some people choose to store the margarine on the counter instead of in the fridge.

It would help if you stored the raw or whipped, unsalted, unpasteurized margarine inside your fridge. It will decrease the growth of bacteria in the product.

Don’t store salted margarine inside your fridge because it does not have any bacterial growth risk. You must store the product in your fridge if you find that your room temperature is hotter than 21°- 25° C ( 70- 77°F).

You may want to use it a little each time. So, after using a bit of margarine, you can store it in the fridge by keeping a small amount on the counter for use. If you want to store the butter for at least 1 year, you have to keep it inside your freezer.

You can use 115 grams of butter at the temperature of 0°F (-18°C) for at least 1 year in your fridge. But you can freeze a bulk amount of butter for 18 months. Do not use wax paper on margarine when you put it inside your freezer. You can use plastic (polyethylene) bags, parchment paper, original packaging, cling wrap, or foil on the product in place of wax paper.

Does stick butter go bad

Yes, stick butter also, just like other types can go bad. You will find black spots if it goes bad. It is the result of mold formation inside the stick butter. You should throw it away at once if you find any dark spots.

You may also see the discoloration of the stick butter and understand because a good product has a bright yellow color both in and out. Be careful about the looks of stick butter. If you find the inside of the margarine looks lighter or brighter than the outside of the butter, you have to be sure about the badness of the margarine.

The stick margarine can last for three months in your refrigerator. You can also store the margarine inside your freezer for one year. In your freezer, butter can last more than in your refrigerator.

So, if you keep it inside the freezer, it will last for one year. Try to purchase the total amount of the product you can use within a year because you cannot store it for more than a year. Even if you try to store it for more than a year, you will not get the same texture and taste of the butter as before because the texture and taste will change after a year.

The product will stay fresh for a long time but you have to know the proper time period and the way of storage. The products are all different due to their different manufacturers.

Final thoughts

We have provided information about does butter go bad in this article. Hopefully, our article will come to your help. The final tip is to always purchase the product in small quantities. Even though it takes time to perish, you should always try to eat fresh food!