Butter is a popular ingredient to use in many cooking and food recipes. It’s can be used on bread, sandwiches, making biscuits, pies, and other delicious food. Therefore, most people will buy a lot of butter at a time. Butter will start to lose its quality once the package is open and to keep the butter that’s not used yet fresh, you will need to find a way to store it.
So, can you freeze butter? Yes, you can freeze butter. Butter freezes very well in the freezer and they can last up to 6 months if stored properly.
Butter Expiration Date
| Freezer | |
|---|---|
| Butter | 6 Months |
Can You Freeze Butter?
Butter is one of those dairy products that can be frozen and still maintain quality for many months.
Both salted and unsalted butter can be stored in the freezer. Both types of butter will last the same in the freezer and will still maintain their freshness if stored properly.
When freezing butter, whether it’s salted or unsalted, always keep them in their original carton or packaging. This is to prevent air from getting into the butter and causing frost when it’s frozen.
Find a resealable freezer storage bag or an airtight container that’s suitable for the freezer and put the butter in there. The bag or container will give the butter double protection against frost and to protect its delicate flavor. Put the butter in the freezer and you can leave for many months until you’re ready to use it.
For butter that you’ll be using often, it’s best to cut them into portion and freeze each portion instead. Freezing and thawing repeatedly could cause your butter to lose its quality. Over time, repeated exposure to air, the moisture in the air will start to cause the butter to lose its fresh butter taste, pick up flavors and odors.
Therefore, cut how many portions you’ll need to use and freeze it in an airtight container or freezer bag.
How Long Can You Freeze Butter?
Butter that is stored properly will last up to four months. Make sure to freeze them before the USE BY date on the package. If you try to freeze it after the USE BY date, the butter has already lost its quality already.
Butter will start to lose their fresh butter taste and the buttery odor if stored longer than four months. Once the butter is removed from the freezer, try to use it within 30 days.
Also, avoid keeping the butter at room temperature for a long time. It can spoil the taste of the butter rather quickly. Instead, cut the required amount of butter you need and store the rest in the refrigerator quickly.
How To Freeze Butter?
Freezing butter is quite simple and requires only a couple of minutes to prepare it. The whole process is straightforward and if you don’t need to portion the butter.
Below is what to do to prepare the butter for the freezer:
- Take out the entire stick of butter and portion the butter. If you’re using the butter as a spread or storing it for more than a month, skip to step 2. Otherwise, cut them into smaller pieces that are enough to use each time. Thawed butter will need to be used within 30 days or they will go bad.
- Take the butter and wrap each piece into an aluminum foil. If the stick of butter isn’t portioned, you can leave in its original packaging. Put them into a freezer bag and seal it tightly. For butter, you can put as much as you can into a single bag.
- Before putting them in the freezer, label it with the name and date of each bag. This is so you know how long the butter has been in the freezer and which one you should use first.
- Put the freezer bag into the freezer somewhere where it won’t be damaged easily by other foods in the freezer.
How To Thaw Frozen Butter
Depending on what you’ll be using butter for, there are many options for thawing butter. Below are some popular ways to thaw butter:
- Take the butter from the freezer and put it in the refrigerator overnight. It will take about 6-10 hours for the butter to completely thaw and ready for use.
This is all dependent on how cold your refrigerator is. - To use butter for sandwiches or bread, cut thin slices of frozen butter and leave it at room temperature on a plate for about 10 minutes. The butter will begin to soften and you can then spread them on the sandwich or bread. Instead of slicing the butter with a knife, an egg slicer will do a better job.
- To use butter for spread, grate the frozen butter with a cheese grater onto a plate. Since the surface area of the grated butter is much larger than a sliced one, it will defrost faster, usually within 5 minutes.
- Thawing in a microwave is another popular option. Simply cut the required amount of butter and put them onto a plate. Then put the plate into the microwave and set the timer for about 20 seconds. If some part is still not melted, microwave it for another 20 seconds. Keep the butter in the microwave for a long time could result in the butter becoming super soft butter.
- Heating it on the stove is the quickest and my favorite option. If you’re planning to cook with butter, just throw the butter into the food while it’s cooking. If not, cut the required amount of frozen butter and put the butter into the pan. Keep it on low heat and it should melt within a couple of minutes.
How To Use Frozen Butter?
If you don’t want to wait for the frozen butter to thaw, try grating butter. Grating butter is a useful and a technique that’s quite popular for incorporating butter into cooking and food recipes. Simply take the frozen butter from the freezer and grate the butter into your recipes.
For biscuits or pie, grating frozen butter is a great option. Take the butter and grate it over the flour and then mix the flour and butter together. After a couple of minutes mixing them, coat the mixture with flour. Since the butter is still frozen, it will keep the dough cold and will melt perfectly when put into the oven.
Frozen butter is great for using as a spread on bread as well. Simply grate the frozen butter right onto the bread. Within a couple of minutes, the butter will start melting right on the bread.
Related Questions
Can I Freeze Spreadable Butter Products?
Spreadable butter products cannot be frozen in their original packaging. These products usually contain canola oil or olive oil, which will expand when frozen. Therefore, if you try to freeze it, the package will break or crack. If you choose to freeze spreadable butter products, it’s recommended to remove them from their original packaging and place them into a freezer-grade container.
Does frozen butter have to be thawed to use it?
It depends on what you’ll be using it for. If you’re using it for cooking food in a pan or skillet, you can simply cut the required amount of butter you need and toss them into the pan while the food is cooking.