Butter - Do you worry about the expiration date?

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I usually buy the blocks or sticks of salted butter that is used for cooking or buttering bread. It stays in the fridge when not used.

I just realized today that all of my butter sticks expired in Sept 2019 but they honestly taste fine and don't have a rancid smell.

I'll probably toss them and buy fresh next time I go to the store, but I have a hard time believing they can go bad in the fridge.
 
I've google searched for this type of info and in general, the myriad of results come to a conclusion that gave me some confidence.
Probably the last thing I recall is my wife questioning how long cooked meat is okay to eat when refrigerated 3- 5 or ? days after cooking.
Sometimes I'm the only one still feasting on some things but that's okay with me. I'm not trying to change her mind or comfort zone but rather not wanting to needlessly toss out food.

As for butter, you might find some info out there too, but going by sight and smell would be the first test.

She had me dump about 1/3 gallon of milk as we noted the date is 6 days past stamp. She said it smelled bad but it did not to me. I think it's better to be safe though.
Take no chances - - - NO trips to the hospital if can be avoided !!
smile.gif
 
I usually buy and freeze it and then break it out a couple sticks at a time. No worries here about the expiration date.
 
Fresh butter lasts 6 to 9 months in the fridge. I would not eat butter if the outside has turned much darker than the inside or if there's any sign of mold or an off smell. Does your butter really have an expiration or rather a sell by date on it?
 
I view the expiration date on food as the "SELL BY DATE". Meaning, the FDA requires the stores to sell that product by the date listed on the package. Doesn't mean it isn't good! Long before the required "Sell By Date", we never worried about it but, no one wants spoiled food.
 
Originally Posted by ctechbob
I usually buy and freeze it and then break it out a couple sticks at a time. No worries here about the expiration date.


Exactly what we do!
 
Use it, Freeze it, Refrigerate it, Leave it out.

Butter doesn't go bad, long long time, high water content. Are you aware that it doesn't need to be refrigerated to use? You can leave it out to soften for weeks, 65 years of leaving it out and using it, mother did it, I do it. I've never seen butter that has spoiled and neither have any of you. Go ahead and try it, you'll see you can do it. Easy to determine if I'm wrong.
 
I have a pound of Land o Lakes in my freezer. I bought it just before the PC police banished Mia(the Indian maiden on the wrapper)to the happy hunting grounds. I'm never gonna open it.
 
Originally Posted by JLawrence08648
Butter doesn't go bad, long long time, high water content. Are you aware that it doesn't need to be refrigerated to use? You can leave it out to soften for weeks, 65 years of leaving it out and using it, mother did it, I do it. I've never seen butter that has spoiled and neither have any of you. Go ahead and try it, you'll see you can do it. Easy to determine if I'm wrong.

That's not entirely true. Butter does have a high fat content but it does have some proteins that will spoil, unlike clarified butter which has a very long shelf life.

But the fats in both will go "rancid" eventually if exposed to oxygen, heat and light. Maybe I'm just sensitive but I can taste the excess butyric acid in the summer if butter has sat out too long. Not necessarily at our house since we go through it so fast but I have tasted (or rather smelled it) elsewhere. Fats will eventually hydrolyze and oxidize under favorable conditions.
 
Originally Posted by Reddy45
I usually buy the blocks or sticks of salted butter that is used for cooking or buttering bread. It stays in the fridge when not used.

I just realized today that all of my butter sticks expired in Sept 2019 but they honestly taste fine and don't have a rancid smell.

I'll probably toss them and buy fresh next time I go to the store, but I have a hard time believing they can go bad in the fridge.


If it tastes fine just use it. Jeepers. Its Salted.

Maybe make a recipe that uses a lot of butter to use it up.

Croissants anyone?
 
What's the difference with a brand such as Kerry Gold and the store brand. I'm not a chemist or a farmer. I like the taste of Kerry Gold but's that's about all I know about it.
 
IIRC, a higher butter fat content is what make Irish Butter special.

Originally Posted by Aredeeem
What's the difference with a brand such as Kerry Gold and the store brand. I'm not a chemist or a farmer. I like the taste of Kerry Gold but's that's about all I know about it.
 
I use tubs of Kerry Gold for everyday. Never will last past the best by date in my house. For sticks I cut it in pats and freeze it to use for cooking.. This way you don't have to worry about expiration date. Personally, I think a whole lot of good food is wasted by people going by those dates.
 
Growing up in the 1970s, I had a great aunt who never refrigerated her butter, it simply sat in a covered glass dish on her table. She had homemade butter as well as store bought, but kept them the same. I am certain she never paid any attention to an expiration date.
 
Originally Posted by JLawrence08648
Use it, Freeze it, Refrigerate it, Leave it out.

Butter doesn't go bad, long long time, high water content. Are you aware that it doesn't need to be refrigerated to use? You can leave it out to soften for weeks, 65 years of leaving it out and using it, mother did it, I do it. I've never seen butter that has spoiled and neither have any of you. Go ahead and try it, you'll see you can do it. Easy to determine if I'm wrong.



I have to disagree with you. We don't use a lot of butter in our house, and I have had a couple instances where it was left in the butter dish at room temperature in the summer, and definitely ended up with an off/rancid smell. At least once, I've had it develop mold or something similar looking on the surface.

With that said, in OP's case, I wouldn't worry about it if it were in the fridge and smelled/looked fine. My grandma used to bring home flats of individual milk (plastic cups with foil lids) from her job in a commercial kitchen. They couldn't serve them after the expiry date, but they tasted perfectly fresh even a couple weeks or more past the expiry.
 
Salted butter is old unsalted butter that was not sold. So it's already processed to extend its life.

As long as it's not rancid you can use it safely. If it's gone bad, you can make ghee out of it.
 
Originally Posted by Aredeeem
What's the difference with a brand such as Kerry Gold and the store brand. I'm not a chemist or a farmer. I like the taste of Kerry Gold but's that's about all I know about it.



Kerry Gold is butter made from cows which were predom grass fed. Butterfat content is about 82%. American mass produced butter is about 80% but you can buy organic which is higher (84 %). European butters are about 82-84%.

As i understand it, the type of feed as an impact on the taste of butter. Some of the best butter I've ever tasted came from Brittany/Normandy area of France. Personally I prefer butter made by President (French)


Note: When used for baking, higher butterfat content isn't always better. Things like cookies come out differently
 
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