After you opened a bottle of peanut butter, is it ok to keep it in the cupboard, instead of the fridge?

Question

And how long can you keep it for? I have just eaten some of it (on toast) which is over 3 months in the cupboard, hope I will be fine!

Answer 1

Certain brands of peanut butter add vegetable oil to it to make it easier to spread. These are the ones that if left too long the oil separates from the natural peanut butter and you have to keep stirring it to make it usable. If you buy Kraft peanut butter, this doesn't happen. If it was necessary to refridgerate it, then it would say so on the container and I have never found it written on any of the peanut butter i've purchased. I suppose it depends on what side of the fence you were bought up on, normally what your mum did, you will think it's the right thing but it's not necessary to refridgerate. There should be a use by date stamped on the container however, this is only a guideline and I have found that it doesn't go off if kept in the cupboard and is usable well past the use by date. Happy eating! Celery sticks filled with peanut butter are yummy! Enjoy.

Answer 2

Our natural Whole Foods peanut butter is sitting on top of our fridge. It's there because it's convenient. We also use the Skippy Natural, which is also sitting on top of our fridge. We've been keeping it there for as long as we have lived here (two and a half years) and I even ate it through pregnancy (copious amounts, daily). I mix the Skippy with the Whole Foods when the Whole Foods peanut butter begins to dry out. I don't like it in the fridge because it's harder to spread. I hadn't even heard of putting it in the fridge until I started dating my husband. (While I mix the two brands, I like the Whole Foods better. It's got a much better taste.)

Answer 3

It is OK to keep in the cupboard, but anything that is open should be checked on and anything after 6 months could be bad, but the smell is a good indicator.

Answer 4

I personally keep items like this in the fridge, but I know many people who keep this kind of thing in the cupboard for many months and they are fine !!! Do not worry.

Answer 5

Don't put it in the fridge. Leave it in the cupboard. because the water activity in peanut butter is low (only fat-protein, hardly any water) no micro-organisms can develop in it. However, if you put it in the fridge, you could get condensation of water resulting in waterdrops on your peanut butter which allows micro-organisms to grow. This depends of the time you leave it untouched and the humidity of your kitchen.

Answer 6

It depends what typy of peanut butter you purchase. If it is the processed Jiffy type crap with all the preservatives then there is no need to refridgerate. If it is the natural peanut butter from the health food store and only contains peanuts and maybe salt.. then yeah you should refridgerate it. There are no preservatives to keep it fresh.

Answer 7

I always store it in the pantry, instead of the fridge. It should be fine for up to 3-6 months.

Answer 8

Peanut butter does not require refrigeration and can be kept for up to six months. You may have to mix it up if it sits for a long time because the oils tend to separate.

Answer 9

The only peanut butter I keep in the frig is the natural one...the one where the oil rises to the top....otherwise peanut butter is just fine in your pantry.

Answer 10

cupboard. always. even in heat. I live in Houston TX, and it's very hot in the summer, and we went through one year with no AC in the house, and it has *never* gone bad on us.

One exception: natural peanut butter (no preservatives). That needs to be refrigerated.