do you leave butter on the counter?

[Tinkermommy]

Ok, as a dairy farmer, I just have to say this: Unless she was eating butter by the POUND, it was not butter that killed her! The amounts eaten by a person in general is nowhere NEAR enough to cause a coronary occlusion all by itself! I'm sure there are gluttens out there that are the exception to the rule, but they'd be the extent of "death by butter"!

Margarine is only one chemical process away from being plastic. G.R.O.S.S.!! Ie, they only do one more thing to it, before it becomes plastic in a factory setting....same plants, same procedures (up to that last one), same industry....

I can quite honestly say that I know where my butter came from....and I know what that cow ate, where it lived, and how it was treated....in some cases, I even know the cow's name, and/or helped it enter this world!!

That being said, the dairy standards here in Canada are FAR stricter than the standards in the U.S. where you have to worry about growth hormones etc...

To the OP....I don't keep it out on the counter, but I do keep it in a kitchen cupboard with the salt, pepper, etc...I take a chunk off the pound block in the fridge as we use it up...

It is VERY obvious when butter goes bad...it stinks, and will grow mold. Up until that point, it is completely safe.

This.

My MIL's cardiologist told her not to use margarine. He said if you leave margarine out it will turn hard like plastic and even mice our insects won't eat it.

So my IL tried it. Put margarine out in the garage for a week or so(?). Turned hard was not touched by bugs (and there are a lot in FL).

My MIL still uses margarine though!

BTW, we keep out on the counter as well.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I can't believe no one has brought up the fact that margarine is made of trans fats and is worse for you than the saturated fat in butter.

Brummel & Brown and Smart Balance have no trans fats. Don't know about traditional margarines.

And here's what snopes says about the "margarine is one molecule away from plastic" silliness: http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/butter.asp

and another article: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/books/story.html?id=a82305be-0b9f-4753-baff-1790778033be that explains it well:

These warnings, often forwarded by good Samaritans looking out for our welfare, are generally based on some sort of misinterpretation of scientific research. But not always. Margarine being "one molecule away from plastic" is just plain nonsense. Plastics are composed of long molecules called polymers, while margarine is a blend of fats and water. There is no chemical similarity between the two. In any case, being "one molecule away" is a totally meaningless expression.

Substances are made of molecules, which in turn are composed of atoms joined together in a specific pattern. I suppose one might say that hydrogen peroxide, H2O2, is one atom away from water, H2O, but even this is meaningless. That extra oxygen atom changes the properties of the substance dramatically. Stick your finger into a bottle of pure hydrogen peroxide and you will quickly experience the effect of that extra oxygen.

The tiniest change in molecular makeup can make a huge difference. Carbon Dioxide versus Carbon Monoxide. Oxygen (O2) versus Ozone (O3).

Not that I give a hoot whether anyone else eats butter or margarine. We all have our own preferences. I just don't like seeing ridiculous myths cited as some sort of evidence that one person's product of choice is better than another's.

 

[ems_mom]

Counter in covered dish 7 months of the year. Warmer weather means butter in the fridge unless I put it out for baking.

And butter is no better or worse than margarine healthwise...butter just tastes better.

 

[klj27]

We use margarine and it goes in the refrigerator.

 

[dyna]

Covered on counter here too....1st thing my grandmother did every morning was set out the butter (oleo as she called margarine) last thing she did before bed was put butter back in fridge.

Here in the USA we refidgerate many foods that does not have to be mustard, pickles, apples oranges many fruits a lot of our veggies don't have to be but many are better if kept cold. I've left catsup in cubbard in my camper all summer long without it going bad too.

 

[roscoepc1]

Brummel & Brown and Smart Balance have no trans fats. Don't know about traditional margarines.

And here's what snopes says about the "margarine is one molecule away from plastic" silliness: http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/butter.asp

and another article: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/books/story.html?id=a82305be-0b9f-4753-baff-1790778033be that explains it well: The tiniest change in molecular makeup can make a huge difference. Carbon Dioxide versus Carbon Monoxide. Oxygen (O2) versus Ozone (O3).

Not that I give a hoot whether anyone else eats butter or margarine. We all have our own preferences. I just don't like seeing ridiculous myths cited as some sort of evidence that one person's product of choice is better than another's.

No one said anything about molecules....we were talking about the manufacturing process. That's completely different. Plastic is made from plant-derived oils, so is margarine.

Margarine was originally called "oleo"....made from the same base as linoleum...comes from the greek for "olive oil", although it's actually other plant oils used for both....

 

[Angelhalo]

I have never, ever, ever, in my entire life known anyone friend or family who left their butter out of the fridge. I mean, no one! This thread is very bizarre to me. I can't believe that the vast majority of people leave their butter out. How strange.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

I have not read all 8 (!) pages of this thread on what is apparently a most contentious issue verging on being classified as political and thus shut down with all of us receiving warnings and such, but...

I use a butter bell and would not otherwise leave my butter out on the counter. Maybe it's a climate thing (living in Louisiana and Houston most of my life where it is hot and humid 9 months of the year), but I don't think I know anyone who leaves butter out.

 

[wdw_girl_18]

I have never, ever, ever, in my entire life known anyone friend or family who left their butter out of the fridge. I mean, no one! This thread is very bizarre to me. I can't believe that the vast majority of people leave their butter out. How strange.

Same here! I've never heard of people leaving butter out all the time until this thread!

 

[SC Minnie]

I have never, ever, ever, in my entire life known anyone friend or family who left their butter out of the fridge. I mean, no one! This thread is very bizarre to me. I can't believe that the vast majority of people leave their butter out. How strange.

I've never heard of anyone leaving butter out all the time either. My grandparents lived on farms and their butter was always in the fridge.

I wonder if it has to do with being down south and not having AC in the hot, hot summer months.

 

[weswife]

I use to leave my butter out in a butter dish. Now I work in the food service industry and would never leave it out! I have went to many food server courses and I have learned alot! I am a manager, so the chance of making someone sick is my concern! Butter can be safely left out for 4 hours at room temp. then a chance of bacteria growing in it. Thus may make you sick.
So, nope won't leave it out. Just my info.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

No one said anything about molecules....we were talking about the manufacturing process. That's completely different. Plastic is made from plant-derived oils, so is margarine.

Maybe you didn't say anything about molecules, but another poster brought up the "one molecule away from plastic rumor" a few pages back, and that's what I was referring to. On the other hand, your claims of "same plants, same procedure, same industry..." conjure up equally ludicrous images of divergent conveyor belts at the Fleischmann's factory, one taking sticks of margarine to packaging while the other takes them for their one next process that will turn them into plastic.

Now that you've toned your hyperbole down, I would love to see the source of your claim that plastics are made from the same plant based oils as margarine. A quick google confirmed my memory that most plastics are made from petroleum and natural gas, not from plant based oils. In efforts to produce biodegradable plastics and to reduce use of petroleums (to save them for our vehicles), there are some newer plastics being made from plants, but so what? They make flooring out of bamboo, too. Does that mean I should avoid eating the bamboo shoots next time I go out for Chinese food? Will a poppy seed bun get a person intoxicated? After all, opium is made from the poppy plant, too!

Margarine was originally called "oleo"....do you know how they discovered it? By goofing up a batch of linoleum flooring! Not kidding, not myth.

Really? How about an unbiased source for that one?

I have not read all 8 (!) pages of this thread on what is apparently a most contentious issue verging on being classified as political and thus shut down with all of us receiving warnings and such, but...

I'm involved in the "debate" but I have no idea what you're talking about. What on earth could be political about the making of margarine?

 

[cheshireqt]

have to respond to the linoleum comment
Actually "Margarine was created by a Frenchman from Provence, France -- Hippolyte Mège-Mouriez -- in response to an offer by the Emperor Louis Napoleon III for the production of a satisfactory substitute for butter. "

This link is a nice little history lesson on Margarine.
http://www.karlloren.com/Diabetes/p46.htm
and another one:
http://www.margarine.org/historyofmargarine.html
and another one:
http://www.imace.org/margarine/history.php

I could post 50 more references, they all say the same thing. By a frenchman for Napoleon III!

For me it is both, about lowering cholesterol and because I do not leave butter out on the counter.

 

[Fly4free]

We only use real salted butter and I have been leaving it on the counters for years, except in the summer when it melts.

I often wonder how a dairy product doesn't go bad being left out.

NOTHING better than soft butter on bread-NOTHING!!!

Me too! NOTHING beats fresh bread with soft butter!

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

No, but not for safety reasons.... we don't keep it on the counters because:

A. We would use more of it because people would make bread with butter all day....

B. My Yellow Lab will most likely eat it if she can reach it. She once ate 3 pounds of butter that someone forgot to put away after shopping.

 

[msjprincess]

No one said anything about molecules....we were talking about the manufacturing process. That's completely different. Plastic is made from plant-derived oils, so is margarine.

Margarine was originally called "oleo"....do you know how they discovered it? By goofing up a batch of linoleum flooring! Not kidding, not myth.

Do you have any links or anything?

I tried Googling it, but all that came up was this thread.

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

Do you have any links or anything?

I tried Googling it, but all that came up was this thread.

I don't think so... from wikipedia.... not always 100% perfect, but here ya go:

HISTORY:

Margarine originated with the discovery by Michel Eugène Chevreul in 1813 of margaric acid (itself named after the pearly deposits of the fatty acid from Greek μαργαρίς, -ρῖτης or μάργαρον (margarís, -îtēs / márgaron), meaning pearl-oyster or pearl).[1] Scientists at the time regarded margaric acid, like oleic acid and stearic acid, as one of the three fatty acids which, in combination, formed most animal fats. In 1853, the German structural chemist, Wilhelm Heinrich Heintz, analyzed margaric acid as simply a combination of stearic acid and of the previously unknown palmitic acid.[2]

In 1869, Emperor Louis Napoleon III of France offered a prize to anyone who could make a satisfactory substitute for butter, suitable for use by the armed forces and the lower classes.[3] French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès invented a substance he called oleomargarine, the name of which became shortened to the trade name "margarine". Mège-Mouriés patented the concept in 1869 and expanded his initial manufacturing operation from France but had little commercial success. In 1871, he sold the patent to the Dutch company Jurgens, now part of Unilever.[4]

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

We dont but that's because we have at any given time 10 cats (sometimes less) on our floor. Nothing gets left out even with a lid, unless its a screw on lid, cause my cats can knock off most lids.

 

[arminnie]

I can't believe how many people use margarine and other fake stuff. Every doctor or nutritionist I've ever known says stay away from that crap.

Processed food is just that processed food. Not exactly the healthiest stuff in the world.

I either use butter or nothing. Good bread doesn't really need butter. Trying to fake it out with processed substitute is just gross.

I always left the butter out in California - and it was still too hard to spread. In New Orleans I put it up, or it just melts totally. But it doesn't really go bad - is just too mushy to use. My butter after Katrina (almost 2 months of no electricity and searing heat) was not bad. It had melted and reformed so the texture was off. I got rid of it - but it was not rancid.

I totally gave up "lite" and "low fat" processed crap several years ago. My cholesterol went from okay to FANTASTIC.

 

[Fintastic]

We leave ours on the counter in a covered butter dish.

Same here.