Butter

My family, all dairy farmers, leave a stick of butter out on a dish all of the time and never worry bout it going bad... He we don't necessarily eat it right away either.

If you are worried just put out half a tick at a time.

Just remember to change the water in the butter bell every day or two, especially in the summer. It can get moldy.

my sister has her butter on the counter in a regular butter dish all the time and never has had a problem. It's salted normal butter.

I have a butter dish (well, I did before it was broken in the move). Just put your butter in a covered dish on the counter. Butter goes rancid when exposed to extreme heat and light.

Per the FDA, butter is safe at room temperature for 10 days.

I've gone as long as 3 weeks with no problem. But the kitchen at my old house was ALWAYS colder than the rest of the house.

We leave butter out on the counter in a butter dish. Never had any issues.

We have a butter dish that sits on our table. If you don't want to keep a whole stick out then maybe just cut it in half and only put one out. We store the rest of the butter in the freezer until we need it.

my butter sits in a butter dish on my counter, it lasts a long time sitting out

Butter doesn't actually have to be refrigerated. I have several coworkers who leave a stick out in a butter disk all the time.

Personally I leave it out ten minutes before I use it or if I am in a hurry and bread is involved, we have a tub of spreadable butter that is mixed with olive oil.

We are real butter eaters and I have it out in a covered glass butter dish. It has never gone bad, but we eat it before it could I guess. It is not as soft now as it is in summer, obviously because its winter (even in AZ!). I zap a stick in the micro for 13 seconds and its PERFECT to spread (12 sec is too hard and 14 starts to run lol). I do this before dinner parties if we need it soft. Otherwise I just deal with it. Good luck!

I leave my butter out. I purchased the Land O Lakes butter container and put it in that...after my Coca-Cola butter dish broke (boo hoo!!)

I've never had it go bad. Like you - I don't like hard butter!!

We always leave a stick of butter out in a butter dish. I've never had butter go bad.

My mama (who, if she were living, would be 107 years old) used to buy butter, soften it up well, use a wire whisk on it, and put it in one of those covered butter holders that have a little water in it. It was both spreadable and long-lasting.

My husband is on a butter fad right now, and wants it to be soft. I will cut a stick in half and put it in a covered container; that's about what he'll use up in a week. It's winter now, of course, so spoiling isn't such a problem. I'd be more cautious in the summer.

And THIS is the reason why I miss the butter conditioner found in the refrigerators of yesteryear. (Am I showing my age?)

When my friend's husband worked for Whirlpool I asked him to investigate the death of the butter conditioner. He learned that they were removed from refrigerators because it required a 'hot wire' from the motor onto the door which meant more energy consumption. Energy ratings are too coveted so therefore the death of the butter conditioner, never to be resurrected. :-(

While that may not answer your question, it is a little history that shows my age ;-)

I leave mine out. My house is cool enough.

I ALWAYS have a stick of butter on the counter in a covered dish. I have never had it go bad, but we use it somewhat regularly. Maybe cut your sticks in half if you don't use much.

I like my butter cold and hard.
I use a ceramic knife to slice off delicate thin slices.
I LOVE butter but if I had it soft, I'd be slathering on too much.

If your butter tastes stale, bitter, and has a strong smell, it’s probably rancid. Rancidity is the result of the fat oxidizing. This process is accelerated by exposure to light, heat, and contact with certain metals (for instance, in utensils).
Butter usually can be kept out for several days without going rancid (salted butter will keep longer because salt acts as a preservative). Exactly how long butter will stay fresh at room temperature depends on how much heat and light it gets and whether it’s wrapped. Ceramic butter crocks or “bells” extend butter’s life span because they keep it cool and protected. Chowhounds have discussed different butter bells.
That said, the California Milk Advisory Board recommends keeping butter wrapped and stored in the coldest part of the refrigerator for optimal freshness and flavor, and to keep it from picking up unwanted odors. Butter producer Land O’Lakes advises against storing butter in the butter keeper on the fridge door, as the temperature there may be higher than elsewhere in your refrigerator.
In a typical fridge, butter will keep for as long as four months. It can also be frozen for up to a year (longer freezing may impair flavor and texture).
Room temperature, refrigerated, and frozen butter all should be stored tightly wrapped or in a covered dish, advises Emily Luchetti, executive pastry chef at San Francisco’s Farallon restaurant. “Butter can pick up so many flavors, regardless of whether it’s in the fridge or not,” Luchetti says. “Even if you leave it out, it’s best to cover it with aluminum foil.”

(From chow.com)

Bottom line: it's a dairy product than CAN spoil, but I know many people that leave it out in a butter dish, and have for years, that are still alive!

Wow - I had no idea so many people did this. My family never left butter out of the regrigerator when I was growing up so I don't either. My husband's family did and I thought it a bit odd when I went to my MIL's house. That said, I would still be concerned with leaving a perishable food out of the refrigerator. Land o Lakes makes a spreadable butter in a tub that is always spreadable, even right out of the refrigerator. It's real butter not margarine and tastes great. If you don't want to leave your butter out, try that product.

I too, leave mine sitting on the counter in a dish. My bff came over and saw it and thought I was crazy. We have always done it and I have always eaten it that way. I have sort of an obsession with butter, I will put it on anything, including dragging raw almonds through it lol

I keep butter in the main part of the refrigerater. If I am just putting it on toast or bread for a sandwich, I cut off just enough to lightly butter the bread. Then, I use the microwave. This can be tricky, but with some practice you will figure out how to do it without melting it completely. I put the butter in a small microwavable dish (not plastic) and microwave on the lowest temperature setting for anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds depending on how thick I sliced the butter.

If I am using it for baking and don't wish to wait for it to soften, I use a rolling pin. I put the butter between two sheets of wax paper. Then roll it out the way you would roll a pie crust to about 1/8 inch thick. Peel it off the wax paper and it is ready to beat. Don't go any thinner than 1/8 inch or it will be too soft to peel of the wax paper.

my hubby and i had this debate. while were both butter lovers he says leave it out i say discusting its a milk product and will spoil...not so much mold but like rotting milk spoiled. turns out he looked it up asked a few food in the know folks and they all confirmed that yes butter is a product that need to maintain its tempature...of cold...does not happen in south texas. icky butter leaver outters :P

You can leave out salted butter because the salt acts as a preservative. Not unsalted butter.

I bought a glass butter keeper, and mine stays out on the counter, till it's gone. Tastes good, and I can't even tell you how long it sits there, but it is a long time!

I take out a stick of butter and cut it into 1/4's. I put the other part back in the freezer wrapped tightly so it doesn't get yucky. Then when the other one is about gone I pop another frozen bit onto a clean butter dish and use the rest that day from the other butter dish. Then wash that one. By the next morning the frozen part is fresh and ready.

We use a section of butter and sometimes it is still there several days later. I have only had it go stinky once and that was in the middle of summer.

Mine stays out (in a covered dish of course) for days, even in summer.
If you don't use a lot only keep a small amount in the dish, like half a stick or less.

Land-o-Lakes is usually pretty spreadable. When I know I'll need it, I still take it out so it has a little bit of time to soften more. But I don't have many problems with it.

We exclusively use butter.

I buy it in bulk at Costco and keep it in the freezer. From there I take cubes out and keep one in a covered butter dish on the counter or in the cupboard. It stays spreadable for instant needs.

I have never had a problem with it getting moldy.

I've tried the butter bell on the counter but the butter (whether salted or not) always got moldy and/or rancid. I'm sure it was because of cross contamination, but how do you prevent that without using a clean knife every single time you need some butter? That's a lot of silverware if you're buttering 6 rolls for dinner!
So I use Kerrygold. Seriously the best butter I've ever tasted! It's pure Irish butter that comes in a tub that stays in the fridge. It's definitely not as soft as, say, Country Crock. But it IS spreadable straight from the fridge.
Like you, we don't use a lot of butter. So the butter left on the counter was not a good option for us since we wasted more than we used.