Butter - in the Fridge or on the Counter

Fridge. Always.
But we never ever use margarine. We used to have a rental property and the last guy who lived there had a fridge that died. He put it out on the back porch and didn't clean it out. When he was evicted several months later, we had to clean it out (NASTY!) and the only thing we could recognize was the margarine. It was still in the wrapper, still yellow, and still in a rectangle shape.
I decided at that point that it must only be a few chemicals away from plastic and it was better to have all the fat and cholesterol from butter.

I grew up with it on the counter, Northern state hubby from the same state has to have everything refridgerated butter, bread, you name it. personally i think cold bread is gross and i hate hard butter but he's pretty cute so...

I have it in a butter dish with a cover. Have done this for almost 50 years. My mom did it and grandparents. I also keep sticks in the fridge. I like it soft for toast.

fridge, then take it out when I need it

I have alway's put it in the fridge never seen it on anyone's counter.If your worried about spreading buy the spreadable kind by Land O Lakes that is for the fridge

We keep it in the fridge because it's a dairy product and will go bad (and it smells funny if left out... fat really attracts odors). However, if you'd like spreadable butter that you can keep on the counter and not worry about spoiling, I'd look for a butter bell. You can find it on Amazon for cheap; just do a search for 'butter bell'. I got mine several years ago, and I don't remember where, but it's been great for us. I don't have to worry about feeding my family spoiled butter, and I don't have to worry about having butter that's hard as a rock either.

Edit: Perhaps leaving it out in the U.K. has to do with the weather? It's probably much hotter where you live now than in the U.K. I'm in TX, and room temperature here in the summer (with A/C) is 78 degrees, depending on where we set the thermostat. That makes things spoil in a hurry. I suspect it was much cooler where you were before.

I keep mine in the fridge. I only leave it on the counter when I need it to soften up before I have to blend it into something for cooking (cookies, etc). If I need it soft in a hurry, a few seconds in the micro wave does the trick without melting it. I find a hard butter stick slices very finely with a ceramic knife and I like delicate slices rather than chunks of it. It the toast or other bread product is warm, it melts right in.

Haha I thought about this myself. Considering butter is a dairy product, I keep it in the fridge. Some people say it's harder to spread, so for toast and bagels, etc I buy spreadable butter in the tub. My ex used to keep butter out on the counter and it would get moldy... eww, gross!

On the counter, all weather, all seasons, it is gone in a week or so and is never bad.

I leave mine on the counter in a covered dish. Never had a problem, thought when it's really hot in the summer, I usually refrigerate it. Butter doesn't last long enough in my house to go bad :) so I am happy to have it soft enough to spread.

My parents always kept it - covered - but on the counter. I only use butter for baking so it is not an issue. Yes it is a dairy product but as long as the indoor temp is cool (I am in MN...we had our first frost last night) and as long as a stick of butter isn't lasting you all week, it is probably fine. Leaving it out too long will turn it rancid.

I keep one cube out on the counter and the rest in fridge or freezer.

I keep my butter in the frige, but it is very hot here. I know a lot of people do it, but it is a dairy product.

we keep ours in the butter dish turned upside down (so it's like a bowl with the lid on it) on the counter top by the toaster. I'm 43 and myself and everyone in my family does this. I live in AZ where its hot so sometimes it gets a little melty and turning the butter dish over has helped. Good luck!

Growing up, we always kept it in the fridge. But then I started buying and using ACTUAL BUTTER (not some margarine or "spread") and did a little reading, and lo and behold.. for generations it was kept on the counter. Well, for the last probably 5 years, I have been leaving the butter in a covered ceramic butter dish, out on the counter, and have had no problems whatsoever. We live in the deep south, but run the A/C when the temps are too warm (which is most of the year, lol). We rarely let our indoor temps rarely get over 77 degrees. The butter is nice and soft for spreading and doesn't even lose it's shape/form. No melting, just getting very soft.
If you leave out "spread" or margarine, however, it will separate when it gets warm. I have come to realize that that is why ours was always refrigerated when I was growing up. My mom still buys "spread" or margarine, but I buy butter. My husband likes Smart Balance spread, and we keep that in the fridge.
hth

It is fine on the counter... If you want to keep your MIL happy, use a butter bell. http://www.webexhibits.org/butter/crocks.html

:)

I think it's personal choice, I use soft margerine so mine is in the fridge, but my mom always kept hers on the table. J.

I always thought it depended on where in the US you're from, people from northern states kept it on counter or in cupboard, and of course people from southern states don't, I'm from the middle and my family kept it in fridge

covered and on the counter!!! This is how they used to do it back in the day before fridges. They did have cellars that were cool, but for the most part was up in the kitchen.

We use a butter bell and leave it on the counter. The butter bell suspends it upside down in fresh water, keeping it fresh. In the hear of summer we do put it in the fridge though.

I keep some on the counter for easy spreading and then the rest is stored in the fridge...of course, I don't use 'real' butter either, but margarine.

I keep mine on the counter in a covered butter dish. If for some odd reason it was so warm in your house that it started to actually melt I'd put it in the fridge. Other than that mine is always on the counter. Havent gotten food poisoning yet ;)

I keep 1 1/4 in a covered butter dish, or in the cupboard... and the rest in the fridge.

Butter *can* go rancid, but it takes QUITE some time (typically several weeks), in a very warm environment.

A LOT of Americans keep things in the fridge that don't need to be. It's 1/2 a byproduct of how big our fridges are, and 1/2 the little "warning labels" that say refrigerate after opening. Sheesh. Pickles, Catsup, veggie sourced Oils, Mustard, Vinegar, Jams... none of these or many others need to be in the fridge (their high sugar or salt content, or lack of anything that degrades over time -like oil- are naturally antimicrobial... they were *invented* to be safe outside of the "icebox". Jam *can* grow mold (the others can't), but only on the very very surface where any liquid is. Scrape it off and it *cannot* go lower, microbiology fact.).

But in most American homes, there they are catsups and mustards and etc, in the fridge.

In the cupboard...we have cats. I hate hard butter.

HAHA If I left it on the counter the cats would eat it. If I covered it the cats would try to get into it and knock it on the floor and the dogs would eat it. So it's in the fridge. Nothing is on my counter, except my cats obviously,in the middle of the night.