Cooking with regular butter can make your meals mundane sometimes.
To up our cooking game, we often seek out the holy grail called compound butter. But as dairy products, there’s a chance of them getting spoiled with time.
So, how long does compound butter last?
If preserved properly, compound butter can stay good on the counter for almost 2 days. However, it’s better to store it inside a refrigerator. There it’ll last for almost 5 days before going rancid. But the best option is to use a freezer. It’ll last for almost 6 months with the right preparation.
Want to try out these methods? We’ve explained everything so that you can enhance the shelf life of your compound butter.
So, let’s get down to business, shall we?
Shelf Life of Compound Butter
As the name suggests, compound butter has a lot of flavoring ingredients in it. You can mix some unsalted butter with herbs and spices to create this elevated butter. Moreover, you can use compound butter extract as a caramel extract alternative, especially for non-sweet desserts.
Source: Kevin Is Cooking
But ultimately, it’s a dairy product and has high-fat content in it. This large amount of fat content actually helps it to prevent bacterial growth. However, this precious butter can go rancid if kept in the open for too long.
The higher amount of fat makes them quite susceptible to going rancid. This happens because of the oxidation of the fat in it. Exposure to Oxygen, I mean air will speed up the whole oxidation process.
As a result, the fat can be altered completely and become harmful compounds. This will also give off a foul smell and discolor your butter. However, there are ways to fix rancid butter.
But, as we know, prevention is always better than cure. So, it’s better not to keep the new batch of compound butter you made out in the open.
Nonetheless, it’s not quite reasonable to bring it out from the freezer or refrigerator every time. And that’s why we’ll give you some tips on storing compound butter on kitchen counter.
Storing Compound Butter on the Counter
Before going into the tips, I should warn you about the risk of butter getting spoiled. Well, you should not keep it on the counter for more than 2 days. Even that can be done only if you’ve taken all the precautions. So, here we go!
- Keep a very small amount of compound butter on the counter. Store most of the compound butter in the freezer or refrigerator.
- You should prevent light from reaching the storage container. In that case, you can use these opaque amber round glass jars.
- If the counter is capable of preventing light you can use air-tight containers for storage.
- Also, keep a thermometer to check the temperature of the counter. The temperature should be in the range of 21–25°C. Otherwise, the butter may get spoiled faster.
Using Soil Pot as Storage Container
Here’s a spare tip for you. If you have spare soil pots in your house, use that to store the cheese. The cold temperature inside the soil pot will reduce the oxidation rate. Thus it’ll keep the texture and quality of the compound butter intact.
Now you know about storing them for a very short period. What about keeping them perfect for a comparatively longer period?
2 Methods to Make Compound Butter Last Longer
For storing dairy products, there are two ever-present methods. One is storing compound butter in refrigerator and another one is using a freezer.
What’s the delay then, let’s check the options out!
Method 1: Using A Refrigerator
Dairy products are kept inside the refrigerator on a regular basis. Compound butter ain’t any different from that. The taste and the texture of your compound butter will stay the same if preserved in a refrigerator.
The main question is how long will compound butter last in the refrigerator?
Compound butter will last for almost up to 5 days inside a refrigerator. Given that they are stored in an opaque airtight container. Also, the temperature should be optimum.
Now, we’re done with that. Let’s move on to the storing procedure.
Step 1: Rolling the Compound Butter into a Log
Once you’ve finished preparing the butter it’s time to roll it. But how to roll compound butter? We’ve got you covered! But before that, you should get some wax paper for rolling.
So where were we? Yes, rolling the compound butter.
- First, take all the butter out of the pan with a spatula on a sheet of wax paper.
- Next, start rolling all the butter into the shape of a log inside the wax paper.
- Now hold the butter log against the surface of the kitchen counter. Try to make the hold as sturdy as it can be. Tighten the roll to squeeze all the air bubbles inside the log.
- Finally, fit as much butter as you can inside the roll.
If you’re still confused check out this video on how to roll compound butter into a log.
Step 2: Storing the Roll Inside the Refrigerator
Once the roll is done, wrap tightly along the sides of the roll. Ensure there is no chance of air getting in touch with the butter. This will reduce the rate of oxidation by a huge amount.
The temperature to store butter should be less than 41 degrees Fahrenheit (5°C).
Now, if all is done, find a suitable place to keep your compound butter roll inside the refrigerator.
Method 2: Using A Freezer
If you’re thinking about storing a huge amount of compound butter, this is the method you should go with. Freezing compound butter will keep the quality, texture, and flavor intact.
So, how long will compound butter last in the freezer?
You can expect your compound butter to last up to 6 months if preserved correctly. Freezing will turn the 20% of water inside the compound butter into ice. This is a big hindrance to bacterial growth. Also, the oxidation rate almost halts at 0 degrees Celsius.
Now, let’s head onto the storing process. The first part of processing the compound butter is rolling it into a log-like shape. This process is the same as the previously mentioned process of rolling compound butter.
Source: Thermo Blogs
Now, that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the storing part.
Storing the Compound Butter Logs into the Freezer
Storing butter inside the freezer is as easy as it sounds unlike fixing soft caramel topping.
Step 1: Check the Internal Temperature of the Freezer
Before storing you should make sure the freezer’s temperature is 0°C or less. Use a freezer thermometer to check the temperature.
Step 2: Pack the Compound Butter Rolls Inside Storage Containers
Once it’s done get yourself some plastic containers or ziplock bags. Make sure that they are thoroughly airtight. Otherwise, what’s the point, right?
Now fill up the ziplock bags or plastic containers with pre-made rolls of compound butter. Make sure there is no air inside and it’s totally airtight.
Step 3: Store the Containers in the Freezer
Finally, it’s time to finish the whole process. Find a stable flat surface to keep the packages. Place the containers by pilling them up and voila! You’re done.
Be careful with the packages as the butter rolls will still be soft by then. You don’t want to freeze some weird-looking butter rolls for sure.
FAQs
Can I become sick by having old butter?
The problem with the old butter is rancidity. However, rancid butter can’t make you sick. The oxidation makes the butter rancid. This will not harm you but it won’t smell or taste any good.
Can you cook with rancid butter?
Yes, you can cook with rancid butter, considering you’ve removed the outside layer. But make sure the smell isn’t too sour. If not then remove the darker yellow layer and start cooking with it.
Bottomline
So that’s a wrap. We’ve tried to give a whole idea about how long does compound butter last.
We hope the experience was enlightening and you have your answer.
Remember to label the rolls otherwise, it’s easy to mix up the compound butter rolls.
Best of luck!
