I love peanut butter. One of my go-to snacks during the day is peanut butter on an apple. I eat a lot of apples because I discovered back in college that apples helped me with heartburn, of all things. Anyway, I’m also pretty boring when it comes to my peanut butter choices. I still eat the same Smart Balance Creamy PB with Flaxseed Oil that I’ve used since college. My sister, on the other hand, only eats that Justin’s brand and tends to go for almond or sunflower butter because she says it’s healthier. Should I switch? Is it really that healthier?
Anyway, this is a very long preamble that’s supposed to be leading to some info about peanut butter storage safety, specifically when you store it at room temperature. Some people, like my sister, always store theirs in the refrigerator. Others, like me, always keep theirs on the pantry shelf. I always assumed that the more natural peanut butters – the ones that get that liquid build up on the top that you have to mix up – needed to be refrigerated but the regular old peanut butters like mine were fine in the pantry. Well, Simply Recipes is on the case! They spoke with Skippy brand manager Sam Hovick to get an expert’s opinion on how to store peanut butter, and for how long.
Where You Should Store Peanut Butter: According to Hovick, the answer to that question is entirely up to you! That’s not to say that there won’t be differences in consistency depending on whether you stick the jar in the fridge vs. the pantry.
Choose your own consistency: When kept in the fridge, your peanut butter will be firmer. This, as he points out, is ideal for those of us who like to go at it by the spoonful. Otherwise, “If stored at room temperature in the pantry,” says Hovick, “it will be more spreadable—perfect for making lunchtime peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.” Or, a PB and honey if you’re me.
All Skippys are created equal: When it comes to SKIPPY in particular, there’s no need to treat natural peanut butter any differently than no-stir. Hovick says, “They are both formulated and processed in a manner that helps to contain oil separation.”
Is it safe to store PB at room temp? For all kinds of peanut butter (natural or no-stir), storing it at room temperature is perfectly safe—for a few months, that is. Peanut butter should be moved to the fridge after two to three months if you’ve been keeping it in the pantry because the oil in it will eventually go rancid.
When is it time to throw it out? No-stir peanut butter lasts longer than “natural” options because it contains stabilizers that increase its shelf life. Either way, it’s time to toss your jar if the peanut butter smells or tastes off or rancid, and, as Hovick reminds me, check the “Best if Used By” date just to be safe!
[From Simply Recipes via Yahoo]
I did do a little bit of additional research and the National Peanut Board backs up the three-month at room temperature guideline, but also says it’s fine to move your opened peanut butter into the fridge after that time period to get another three or four months out of the jar. Barring surpassing the expiration date, the NPB also says that you can safely store unopened jars for six to nine months. If you use all-natural peanut butters, though, you should follow the “refrigerate after opening” rule.
Well, there you have it, folks. It’s pretty common sense, but nevertheless always nice to get confirmation for your “the more you know” pile. I definitely did side eye Hovick’s “They are both formulated and processed in a manner that helps to contain oil separation” comment because it sounds like they’re adding some extra chemicals in there to me. I’ve always preferred room temperature storage because I like my PB softer, but now I’m thinking I really should switch to a healthier PB or even a different type of butter spread. I’ve tried almond butter once or twice, but didn’t love it. Maybe I’ll give that sunflower butter a try.
My mother in law is still serving pantry peanut butter that expired more than a decade ago.
Yikes!
Omg 😂 i just go with whatever the expiry date is, but I buy only kraft brand. The other’s seem to separate. And I dont feel like storing it bottom up.
My parents and my mother-in-law were notorious for keeping “archival” spices and oils around. They all lived at least into their late 80’s and my mom is still around at nearly 90 and father-in-law is in his mid 90’s.
When I cleaned out their respective kitchens I found jars of spice with vintage graphics from the early 1970’s. I know my mother-in-law was still using them! Her cooking always tasted great.
I keep up with expiration dates. I do notice a difference using fresh spices.
That is wild, @Aud.
I keep mine in the pantry but I keep an eye on the expiration date.
Creamy Jif all the way. In the pantry, so it stays creamy. And it never lasts long enough in this house to worry about it going bad!
Same here!
Right?! I’ve been known to eat it off of a spoon – I call it my peanut butter lollipop!
+1 on PB jar going empty long before the expiry date. Also, +1 on PB & sliced apple as favorite snack.
Also, if you have an upscale chain in your city like CentralMarket, Sprouts, WholeFoods, see if they carry Fix & Fogg nut butters. For a while they had an Coffee&Maple PB that my luxe, $guilty pleasure PB purchase.
Yup! Expired peanut butter? Who’s she?
Best ever — Santa Cruz Dark Roasted Crunchy PB! We have it every day too Rosie. No jar would last three months here.
Ooh thanks for the rec!
Thank you for the recommendation!
I would never put it in the fridge! I don’t keep a jar of peanut butter long enough for it to go bad.
I never put PB in the fridge! I just do not like cold peanut butter. I grew up on Skippy, but these days I prefer Justin’s brand (just the plain ol’ PB, not the other butters). I keep mine in the cupboard & every other use, I turn it upside down so that it’s standing on the lid rather than the base. This helps keeps everything mixed up & I rarely have to do additional stirring. Helps that the Justin brand holds together. I never worry about it going rancid, because PB is a staple in my vegetarian diet.
Between me, the husband and the dogs, a jumbo jar of peanut butter is lucky to make it to the 30-day mark in my house. So, no worries over here. 😜
The real question: is peanut butter a liquid or a solid?
I side eye any food company that brings out the expiration date as a common sense guideline. We waste so much food in this country for dates that are arbitrarily chosen. Take cheese, for example. A wedge of parm will so far out last that date, it’s almost laughable. It’s nothing but a corporate money grab. Peanut butter has a distinct smell when it isn’t good anymore, as do most foods.
Sorry, this is a massive soap box for me, I shall climb down. I never check the dates on anything but spices I don’t use that often, not because I am worried about getting sick, I don’t want the favor to be muted. Your eyes and nose will tell you when most food should be tossed.
Pip n Nut chocolate orange PB, or salted caramel almond butter. On toasted sourdough with a sliced banana.
Oil going rancid is about taste, not safety, so as long as the peanut butter tastes fine, it’s OK. There are people out there saying you need to get rid of your vegetable oil every few months.
I’m with you, rancid oil is obvious, but it won’t hurt anything but your nose and taste buds.
I’m sorry but I have to jump in there. It is unsafe to eat rancid oil. Regular consumption of rancid cooking oil has been linked to multiple cancers and inflames the lining of the blood vessels. It won’t kill you right away but it’s unquestionably harmful like trans fats.
I’m not advocating eating rancid oil, I promise! Just that you don’t need an expiration date to tell you anything.
If you want healthy peanut butter then these are the only ingredients you should see on the label: peanuts, salt, and maybe sugar or honey. Anything else and it ceases to be a processed food and becomes a highly-processed food. Most of the “natural” and no-stir peanut butters contain refined, bleached and deodorized palm oil (aka mono and diglycerides.) That’s what they switched to when people clued in about trans fats. Unsurprisingly, it’s also really unhealthy AND it’s produced via tropical deforestation and abusive labor practices.
It contains fat, should be kept in the fridge. Always.
Almost everything contains fat. Do you keep potato chips in the fridge, or cooking oil?
Natural peanut butter should be stored in the fridge, but regular processed peanut butter is good in the pantry (and nice and spreadable!) My kid’s school is peanut-free so we buy both wowbutter (soy based) and sunbutter for her school lunches — sunbutter is pretty good (but expensive! so is only sent to school) but wowbutter is an acquired taste
I forget where I read it, but someone strongly recommended the Kirkland Organic natural peanut butter. I bought with trepidation because its 2 decent size jars, but around $10. I stored one, stirred up the other and tried it. OH MY GOD! Its just organic peanuts and salt and once I got it will incorporated, it didn’t separate (I keep in the fridge because its just me). I don’t know what magical peanuts they are using, but I would argue that peanut butter must be one of the best on the market. SOOOO yummy.
You had me at Kirkland. I never considered checking out Costco PB. Thank you!
I order peanut butter from https://koeze.com/
It’s delicious and has no additives.
Thank you!
I’m on the natural peanut butter team, but with added salt.
Not in the US so not making any PBJ sandwiches but LOVE PB on apples. I buy the organic kind with no additives, no sugar, no salt, crunchy or noncrunchy and add my own sea salt. The reason I occasionally have a rancid quarter jar is because I buy and open way too many jars at once! Euro jar sizes are much smaller, so I am known to travel with one and apple slices in my purse, car, suitcase. When I find a forgotten rancid leftover jar I usually use it for cooking. West-African peanut butter chicken stew is the best thing. We waste no peanut butter. I do wish I could switch to almond butter for the protein and lesser carbs but I am not there yet. Almond butter is also much more expensive here, and we don’t have these single serving snack packs like Justin‘s. Anyone here use the powdered PB? Am always tempted to try that for travel.
So PBJ are only made in US? I like PB with apples also.
It depends on how warm your environment is. It does go rancid. I’ve had that happen where I guess it was the oil in the peanut butter that did that.
How are y’all taking three months to finish a jar of peanut butter?!? A jar doesn’t last a week on my shelf!