[Sca-cooks] freezing butter

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Stefan wrote:
>However, Phlip also commented:
>  > We put what we aren't using in the freezer, have an open pound in the
>  > fridge, and take sticks out to keep a bit warmer in a butter dish on the
>  > counter.
>
>Huh? I always thought butter needed to be kept cool, these days in
>the refrigerator, to keep it from spoiling. Or do you go through
>butter so fast it doesn't have time to spoil sitting on the counter?
>I assume your countertop is near room temperature? Of course you
>aren't living in Phoenix, referencing another recent thread. :-)

The French think Americans are nuts to keep butter and cheese in the 
refrigerator.  And when i lived there in the early 1970s, most of my 
friends did not own refrigerators - too expensive - not supplied with 
an apt. - we had one, however, a little bigger than a "dorm" fridge. 
Let me note that the French at the time tended to buy only what fresh 
or "spoilable" food that they would consume within a day or so.

Most cheeses are fine *in a temperate climate* if left out for a few 
days - covered. In fact, cheese tastes better at room temperature 
than at refrigerator temperature. But i know i buy large amounts of 
cheese to keep for a week or so, and it would definitely deteriorate 
if i left it out that long.

Butter is ok *in a temperate climate* if left out for a few days - 
covered. Since i generally keep a pound of butter for over a month, 
that would definitely get rancid if left on the counter, even under a 
cover.

So, you could leave out what you'd use in a day or three, but keep 
the rest in the fridge in a temperate climate (in the 70s or lower)

But if you have no air conditioning and it's in the mid-80s or 
higher, butter and cheese definitely need to be refrigerated.
-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita