Do you HAVE to refrigerate peanut butter?

Question

Debate going on vs. leaving jar of PB out in cabinet or it MUST go in fridge.

Answer 1

i leave it in the cabinet

Answer 2

How long can I keep Jif on my shelf?

Unopened and stored in a cool dry area, Jif will last for about 2 years. After opening, you can keep it about three months on the pantry shelf.

Do I need to refrigerate Jif?

In the first three months after opening, Jif doesn't require refrigeration. If your family doesn't gobble Jif up by then, you may want to refrigerate the peanut butter to help prevent flavor loss.

How do I know how old my jar of Jif is?

We place a manufacturing date on each package. This date is printed in white near the universal product bar code "(UPC)" and might look something like this: 1122Y320.

The first number represents the year it was made. For instance, the 1 in our example code means it was made in 2001. A number 0 would mean it was made in 2000, 9 in 1999, and so on.

The next three numbers represent the day of the year the product was made. In our example, the 122 (or one hundred and twenty second day) is May 2.

The remaining numbers and letters are plant codes, which have nothing to do with the date.

Answer 3

Assuming you are speaking for a relatively short time, say a month or less, the answer is NO if it is a commercial store bought brand. However, if you go to a health food store where they have a peanut grinder and peanuts and you get it fresh, YES it is better to store that in the refrigerator. I have found that JIF Crunchy stores well outside the refrigerator, but I store fresh ground in the 'fridge. Answer based on years of exerience with two kids. (P.S.: A commercial brand usually tells on its label whether to refrigerate or not.)

Answer 4

That's really a good question. I love Mexican food and have found a suburb local restaurant. There's at least a half a dozen bottles of hot sauces at each table. I read the labels one day and all stated to refrigerate after opening .... hey, these are always at the tables.

I put peanut butter in the fridge ... when it gets super hot ... the heat can make it runny and sometimes separate.

Answer 5

I eat peanut butter pretty much daily, and our peanut butter has never lived in the fridge. Just close the lid all the way and no harm will come from leaving it in the cabinet.

Answer 6

No refrigeration is required but if you don't eat a lot of peanut butter, you want to turn it upside down until the next time you eat it. Then turn it right side up again. This keeps the oils moving around in there and prevents it from drying up. If you have natural peanut butter, I would refrigerate it, there will be very few to no preservatives in it.

Answer 7

If it takes more than a month to eat it and it came from the health food store then put it in the fridge. The stuff with hydrogenated oil from the regular grocery store can sit on the shelf for a few months. It won't turn rancid.

Answer 8

It depends on the brand.

Most do not need to be refrigerated.

The ones that do are usually the ones where the peanut paste and the oil separate and you have to mix them back together every time you want some peanut butter.

For the most part though, most brands do not need refrigeration

Answer 9

I tried to refrigerate my peanut butter a long time ago. I found that a small pool of water gathers on the surface. After I found that, I went back to keeping it in the cabinet. I am not certain, but it seemed to me that the water provided a better breeding ground for bacteria than the peanut butter.

Good luck!

Will D
Enterprise AL

Answer 10

No, you don't have to refrigerate it although it might taste better if you do. I am not sure never tried it but you just gave me an idea. I just leave mines out in a cabinet and I keep it at room temperature.

Answer 11

Maybe. You don't have to refrigerate the regular stuff. You should refrigerate natural peanut butter, the kind with no sugar or preservatives.