Butter is a cooking staple, used for just about everything you cook. But how long is it safe to keep butter at room temperature? Here’s a little more info about his popular ingredient.
Butter is most often made from cow milk, though you will occasionally find goat or sheep butter as well. First, it’s pasteurized, which means it’s heated to 185 degrees then cooled to 40 degrees. Then the fat globules mix with the cream to create one mass—butter. After that, it’s churned until it is the right texture.
The USDA states that butter should only be softened 15 minutes or so before using it. The logic behind this is to keep any bacteria from contaminating the butter. Bacteria grows in temperatures higher than 40 degrees, so in theory, butter could become contaminated. However, others say that because butter is made from pasteurized milk, it reduces the chance of bacteria growth. Additionally, butter does not have much water in it, which further prohibits bacteria, which needs moisture to grow.
Many cooks leave butter out for longer periods of time than recommended by the USDA. Some recommend leaving it in a French “butter keeper”, which is an enclosed container filled with cold water. This keeps the butter soft, but supposedly bacteria-free as well.
It’s important to make sure that what you’re using is butter an alternative like margarine or other “spreads”. These may be more prone to bacteria if left out.
So how long is it safe to keep butter at room temperature? The USDA says only for about 15 minutes before use, but cooks everywhere leave it out for much longer, especially those who keep it covered in butter keepers.