{"id":364002,"date":"2017-10-09T22:12:08","date_gmt":"2017-10-09T22:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/origin-www.tasteofhome.com\/?p=364002"},"modified":"2024-03-14T06:42:53","modified_gmt":"2024-03-14T11:42:53","slug":"is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/","title":{"rendered":"How Long Can Butter Sit Out?"},"content":{"rendered":"Is anything more frustrating than trying to smear cold butter on a slice of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/collection\/recipes-for-homemade-bread\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fresh bread<\/a> and tearing it to pieces? There's an easy way to prevent this problem: leave your butter on the counter. But is it safe? And how long can butter sit out?\r\n<h2>Can Butter Be Left Out on the Counter?<\/h2>\r\nIt <em>is<\/em> safe to leave your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/best-butter-taste-test\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">favorite butter<\/a> at room temperature, as long as you follow a few guidelines for storage (more on that below). Countertop butter is soft and easy to spread, but it will also spoil much more quickly than cold butter from the fridge.\r\n\r\nTrue butter fiends should bookmark these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/collection\/butter-hacks\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">butter hacks<\/a>.\r\n<h3>Why It's Safe<\/h3>\r\nButter is most often made with pasteurized milk, which means that it's free of food-borne bacteria. In addition, butter's makeup is naturally unattractive to bacteria: All of that glorious fat (80 percent of its composition!) means butter doesn't have much water where germs can thrive. While milk is being churned into butter, the water molecules are separated and surrounded by fat, which is almost impenetrable to bacteria. So in this case, fat is our friend!\r\n\r\nPlus, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/salted-or-unsalted-butter\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">salted butter<\/a> has even more points in its favor when it comes to hanging out at room temperature. Salt and bacteria do not get along.\r\n\r\nStill, the butter will spoil eventually. Those water molecules will mingle with the fat molecules and cause them to decompose. Light and heat will speed up this process.\r\n\r\nButter keeps well in the fridge, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/can-you-freeze-butter\/\">can you\u00a0<em>freeze<\/em>\u00a0butter?<\/a>\r\n<h2>How Long Does Butter Last on the Counter?<\/h2>\r\nThe <a href=\"https:\/\/ask.usda.gov\/s\/article\/Is-butter-safe-at-room-temperature\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">USDA<\/a> recommends leaving salted, pasteurized butter out for one to two days. Their main caution is that the butter will eventually go rancid, which you should be able to smell (and taste!). Butter will keep longer in a cool house and spoil quickly in a warm house.\r\n\r\nThe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/your-complete-guide-to-butter\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">type of butter<\/a> matters, too. Unsalted butter may not keep as long, and unpasteurized or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/how-to-make-butter-from-scratch\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">homemade butter<\/a> should stay in the fridge.\r\n\r\nIf you love room-temperature butter, it's best to portion out as much as you need for a few days\u2014perhaps set a butter dish out on Friday night to enjoy all weekend.\r\n<h3>Can You Store Margarine on the Counter?<\/h3>\r\nThe USDA gives the nod to keeping margarine on the counter, but it's not usually necessary. Margarine is generally quite spreadable straight out of the fridge. Plus, margarine left on the counter can separate into oil, water and solids which, while safe to eat, is pretty unappealing.\r\n\r\nIf you do keep your spreads on the counter, you might need to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/12-simple-tricks-to-gain-more-counter-space\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">free up some counter space<\/a>!\r\n<h2>What's the Best Way to Store Butter?<\/h2>\r\nDon't just leave butter sitting out on a plate! That leaves it exposed to contaminants and plain old dust. Store butter in a covered butter dish or crock to protect it. Some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-you-should-use-butter-crock\/\">butter keepers<\/a>, like the popular <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Original-Butter-Bell-Tremain-Collection\/dp\/B002LA364Y\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Butter Bell<\/a>, are specially designed to keep butter safe at room temperature by using a combination of water reservoir and domed lid. (Here are more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/collection\/gadgets-for-people-who-love-butter\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">favorite butter gadgets<\/a>.)\r\n\r\nIn addition to keeping butter covered, store it out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources like your oven.\r\n<h3>How to Bring Cold Butter to Room Temperature Quickly<\/h3>\r\nIf it sounds like too much work to keep butter out, don't stress! It's easy to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/how-to-soften-butter-quickly\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">soften butter<\/a> quickly. (Plus, baked goods prefer cold butter anyway.)\r\n\r\nThe quickest method to soften butter comes courtesy of the editors at <a href=\"https:\/\/lifehacker.com\/soften-butter-to-room-temperature-in-seconds-with-a-war-1413834257\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lifehacker<\/a>: Place the butter you want to soften on a plate. Fill a glass with hot water, let it stand for a minute, then empty and dry the glass. Invert it over the butter. In about a minute, remove the glass. Ta-da! Perfectly spreadable butter in minutes.\r\n<h2>Signs Your Butter Has Gone Bad<\/h2>\r\nHave you heard the old saying, 'the nose knows'? The clearest sign that butter is bad is a nasty, rancid smell. Mold is another obvious non-starter: toss that butter immediately, and thoroughly clean the storage dish before re-use. Other signs of spoilage are discoloration or an off texture.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/collection\/food-safety-mistakes\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Food safety<\/a> is important: When in doubt, it's safest to throw it out.\r\n\r\n[cf]skyword_tracking_tag[\/cf]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soft butter is spreadable and easy to use. But how long can butter sit out on the counter? Here&#8217;s how to store butter safely, plus signs it&#8217;s gone bad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7022,"featured_media":1791162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[303883],"categories-v2":[308476],"coauthors":[152278],"acf":{"long_pin_file":false,"ncv_override_generic_settings_option":false,"ncv_autoplay_option":"","ncv_stickyplay_option":"","ncv_ads_option":"","ncv_mute_option":"","ncv_comscore_option":"","ncv_moat_option":"","ncv_autoplay_mobile_option":"","ncv_viewable_threshold_option":"","ncv_sticky_offset_option":"","ncv_autopause_option":"","ncv_sticky_offset_mobile_option":"","ncv_autopause_mobile_option":"","ncv_sticky_mobile_option":"","ncv_remove_player_option":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.3 (Yoast SEO v23.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How Long Can Butter Sit Out on the Counter? And Is it Safe?<\/title>\n\n\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/\" \/>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Long Can Butter Sit Out on the Counter? And Is it Safe?","description":"Soft butter is spreadable and easy to use. But how long can butter sit out on the counter? Here's how to store butter safely, plus signs it's gone bad.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can You Really Store Butter on the Counter?","og_description":"The absolute best way to store butter (and stay safe).","og_url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/","og_site_name":"Taste Recipes","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tasteofhome","article_published_time":"2017-10-09T22:12:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-03-14T11:42:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2400,"height":1260,"url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Butter-TOH-Social-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kelsey Dimberg","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Can You Really Store Butter on the Counter?","twitter_description":"The absolute best way to store butter (and stay safe).","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit.jpg","twitter_creator":"@tasteofhome","twitter_site":"@tasteofhome","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kelsey Dimberg","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/"},"author":{"name":"Kelsey Mueller","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8a3fd800e669bd30b6c816c968dd0fd7"},"headline":"How Long Can Butter Sit Out?","datePublished":"2017-10-09T22:12:08+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-14T11:42:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/"},"wordCount":698,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit.jpg","keywords":["Test Kitchen"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/","url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/","name":"How Long Can Butter Sit Out on the Counter? And Is it Safe?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit.jpg","datePublished":"2017-10-09T22:12:08+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-14T11:42:53+00:00","description":"Soft butter is spreadable and easy to use. But how long can butter sit out on the counter? Here's how to store butter safely, plus signs it's gone bad.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit.jpg","width":2400,"height":1600,"caption":"stick of butter left out on the kitchen counter on a wrapper with a knife"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Test Kitchen","item":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/test-kitchen\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"How Long Can Butter Sit Out?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/","name":"Taste Recipes","description":"Find Recipes, Appetizers, Desserts, Holiday Recipes &amp; Healthy Cooking Tips","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#organization","name":"Taste Recipes","url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/toh-logo-red.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/toh-logo-red.png","width":166,"height":125,"caption":"Taste Recipes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tasteofhome","https:\/\/x.com\/tasteofhome","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tasteofhome\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/taste_of_home\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/tasteofhome"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8a3fd800e669bd30b6c816c968dd0fd7","name":"Kelsey Mueller","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/294eb957f53753e6bf80ee7e93ad25ff","url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0003-Kelsey-Dimberg-scaled.jpg?resize=150,150","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0003-Kelsey-Dimberg-scaled.jpg?resize=150,150","caption":"Kelsey Mueller"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kelsey-dimberg-mueller-448475a7\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/author\/kmueller\/"}]}},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2025-06-30 07:57:00","action":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"canonical_url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/is-it-safe-to-leave-butter-on-the-counter\/","author_details":{"883623":{"ID":"883623","display_name":"Kelsey Dimberg","first_name":"Kelsey","last_name":"Mueller","user_login":"kelsey-mueller","user_email":"krdimberg@gmail.com","linked_account":"kmueller","website":"https:\/\/www.kelseyraedimberg.com\/","description":"A former senior digital editor at <em>Taste Recipes<\/em>, Kelsey now writes articles and novels from her home in Chicago. Since 2010, she\u2019s followed a gluten-free diet, and especially enjoys the challenge of baking sourdough bread and pizza dough. As a contributing writer for <em>Taste Recipes<\/em>, she covers a broad range of topics but with a special emphasis on gluten-free cooking and baking. Outside of her gluten-free experiments in the kitchen, Kelsey is also the author of the thriller novel \u201cGirl in the Rearview Mirror.\u201d","twitter":"kraedimberg","instagram":"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kraedimberg\/","facebook":"","public_email":"","linkedin":"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kelsey-dimberg-mueller-448475a7\/","tiktok":"","youtube":"","location":"Chicago, IL","school_and_year":"University of San Francisco","education":"<ul>\r\n \t<li>Arizona State University, bachelor's degrees in English literature and Spanish<\/li>\r\n \t<li>University of San Francisco, master's in creative writing<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","highlights":"<ul>\r\n \t<li>10 years of professional writing and editing experience with 5 years writing about food<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Popular <em>Taste Recipes<\/em> articles include: \"How to Make Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread\" and \"The Secret to Making a Sourdough Starter That Actually Works\"<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","expertise":"Cooking techniques; baking; cleaning &amp; organizing; home decor; gardening &amp; plant care; health &amp; wellness; parenting; grocery shopping","short_bio":"A former in-house editor at <em>Taste Recipes<\/em>, Kelsey now writes articles and novels from her home in Chicago. After going gluten-free more than a decade ago, Kelsey turned to home cooking and baking as a way to re-create her favorite foods. Her specialties include gluten-free sourdough bread, pizza and pastry.","user_nicename":"kelsey-mueller","type":"guest-author","nickname":""}},"images":{"1791162":{"image_url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit.jpg","post_data":{"ID":1791162,"post_author":"7859","post_date":"2022-08-01 09:53:23","post_date_gmt":"2022-08-01 14:53:23","post_content":"","post_title":"Butter Toh Gettyimages 858280960 Jvedit","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"inherit","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"butter-toh-gettyimages-858280960-jvedit","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-09-01 16:55:14","post_modified_gmt":"2022-09-01 21:55:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":364002,"guid":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit.jpg","menu_order":0,"post_type":"attachment","post_mime_type":"image\/jpeg","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},"post_meta":{"_wp_attached_file":["2017\/10\/Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit.jpg"],"_syndication_rights":["1"],"_wp_attachment_image_alt":["stick of butter left out on the kitchen counter on a wrapper with a knife"],"_wp_attachment_metadata":["a:5:{s:5:\"width\";i:2400;s:6:\"height\";i:1600;s:4:\"file\";s:51:\"2017\/10\/Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit.jpg\";s:5:\"sizes\";a:16:{s:6:\"medium\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:51:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-300x200.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:300;s:6:\"height\";i:200;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}s:5:\"large\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:51:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-700x467.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:700;s:6:\"height\";i:467;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}s:9:\"thumbnail\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:51:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-150x150.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:150;s:6:\"height\";i:150;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}s:12:\"medium_large\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:51:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-768x512.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:768;s:6:\"height\";i:512;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}s:9:\"1536x1536\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:53:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-1536x1024.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:1536;s:6:\"height\";i:1024;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}s:9:\"2048x2048\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:53:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-2048x1365.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:2048;s:6:\"height\";i:1365;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}s:18:\"categories-v2-hero\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:51:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-768x768.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:768;s:6:\"height\";i:768;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}s:18:\"categories-v2-card\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:51:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-568x568.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:568;s:6:\"height\";i:568;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}s:21:\"homepage-featured-big\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:51:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-522x522.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:522;s:6:\"height\";i:522;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}s:23:\"homepage-featured-small\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:51:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-185x185.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:185;s:6:\"height\";i:185;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}s:16:\"square-thumbnail\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:51:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-295x295.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:295;s:6:\"height\";i:295;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}s:21:\"medium-featured-image\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:51:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-350x350.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:350;s:6:\"height\";i:350;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}s:28:\"curated_content_joke_archive\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:51:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-640x800.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:640;s:6:\"height\";i:800;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}s:27:\"web-stories-poster-portrait\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:51:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-640x853.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:640;s:6:\"height\";i:853;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}s:26:\"web-stories-publisher-logo\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:49:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-96x96.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:96;s:6:\"height\";i:96;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}s:21:\"web-stories-thumbnail\";a:4:{s:4:\"file\";s:51:\"Butter-TOH-GettyImages-858280960-JVedit-150x100.jpg\";s:5:\"width\";i:150;s:6:\"height\";i:100;s:9:\"mime-type\";s:10:\"image\/jpeg\";}}s:10:\"image_meta\";a:12:{s:8:\"aperture\";s:1:\"0\";s:6:\"credit\";s:0:\"\";s:6:\"camera\";s:0:\"\";s:7:\"caption\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"created_timestamp\";s:1:\"0\";s:9:\"copyright\";s:0:\"\";s:12:\"focal_length\";s:1:\"0\";s:3:\"iso\";s:1:\"0\";s:13:\"shutter_speed\";s:1:\"0\";s:5:\"title\";s:0:\"\";s:11:\"orientation\";s:1:\"0\";s:8:\"keywords\";a:0:{}}}"],"_one_time_use":["0"],"_image_licensor_id":["858280960"],"_image_licensor_name":["Getty Images"],"_license_type":[""],"photographer_credit_name":["MarianVejcik\/getty images"],"web_stories_base_color":["#e0dfe0"],"web_stories_blurhash":["UROWg7odt:IrRNDiIsNM9bskn#S6Vq%LkDIU"],"mdd_hash":["d05ce5a5328fef0c79db7c804ed453d2"],"mdd_size":["246292"]}}},"current_site_slug":"toh-com","_yoast_wpseo_title":"How Long Can Butter Sit Out on the Counter? And Is it Safe?","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Soft butter is spreadable and easy to use. But how long can butter sit out on the counter? Here's how to store butter safely, plus signs it's gone bad.","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","dek":["Your grandma insists on leaving her butter on the counter because that's the way her grandma did it. But is it actually safe to let butter sit out?"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364002"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7022"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364002"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1971011,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364002\/revisions\/1971011"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1791162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364002"},{"taxonomy":"categories-v2","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories-v2?post=364002"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=364002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}