Hey Minnesota! How Long Can You Leave Butter Out?

There are two types of people in this world. Those who keep their butter in the fridge, and those that keep it out on the counter or in a cupboard. For those that leave the butter out, is it safe to do so? Land O'Lakes just weighed in on the butter debate, and they make it clear as to HOW and WHERE your butter should be stored.

AllRecipes.com turned to the Minnesota butter maker and asked them where should people be storing their butter.

"Land O'Lakes recommends following the ‘Keep Refrigerated’ directions printed on the labels,” said Tonja Engen, Land O’Lakes' Culinary Content Specialist. But, don’t worry, when you need to soften butter, you can still leave it on the counter without it going rancid. Land O’Lakes says taking your butter out of the fridge for about 30 to 60 minutes before use will perfectly soften it for spreading and baking."

Engen went on to tell AllRecipes.com that "While butter is “safe” to consume at room temperature, you don’t always want to. Leaving butter out can cause it to go bad and become rancid, which can significantly impact the flavor."

So what is the longest that butter should be out of the fridge? 4 hours. It turns out that amount of time is a lot shorter than I thought it would be.

If you baking this weekend for Christmas and you need softened butter, Land O'Lakes has you covered there too. They recommend butter be set out for 30 to 45 minutes for the best results.