Dairy expert says you should NEVER leave butter out of the fridge – and reveals the exact time you can leave it out for before it goes off
- Pepe Saya founder Pierre Issa is an expert in dairy products, in particular butter
- He said the number one question he gets asked is about where to store the block
- While some people prefer to leave it on the benchtop he cautions against it
- It could become contaminated from a dirty utensil and spread E. coli or listeria
The producer of Australia’s premium butter brand has warned against leaving butter out of the fridge.
Pepe Saya founder Pierre Issa said one of the most common questions he receives at his Sydney-based market stand is whether butter needs to be in the fridge – and he has a simple answer.
‘I came from one of those households where they would leave the butter out on the table for days and days. But in our house now? Never. We never leave it out. Ever,’ he told Delicious.
Pepe Saya founder Pierre Issa (pictured) said one of the most common questions he receives at his Sydney-based market stand is whether butter needs to be in the fridge
While some families will happily leave butter out, Pepe said the Australian climate does not create the right conditions for this.
‘If you lived in Norway you could probably get away with it as the temperatures don’t really get high enough to cause it to stink or melt, but in Australia, you can only leave it out for around 2-3 days in summer and 5-7 days in winter. After that, it’s gone,’ he told the publication.
If you’re not prepared to eat the whole block within that time frame Pepe urges everyone to place their butter in the fridge.
His own creations of cultured butters will, in general, not last as long as homogenised supermarket ones so it’s even more important to refrigerate
His own creations of cultured butters will, in general, not last as long as homogenised supermarket ones so it’s even more important to refrigerate.
There is also some risk if the butter is left out that a dirty knife will contaminate it with E. coli or listeria, and it will spread at a quicker rate because of the heat.
For those who like their butter softer it might be worth leaving them out of the fridge for 10 minutes before slicing, but then it should be placed right back into the cool.
Pepe prefers his butter to be rock hard, so he can cut it and spread it over bread like you would a piece of cheese, but this is a personal preference
Pepe prefers his butter to be rock hard, so he can cut it and spread it over bread like you would a piece of cheese, but this is a personal preference.
In the fridge butter will generally keep in the fridge for three weeks.
If you’re wanting it to last longer, wrap it in aluminium foil or cling wrap plastic.