Cabinet, Fridge or Freezer: The Best Way to Store Peanut Butter
You clearly are no peanut butter amateur. You’ve been eating this golden spread for decades and are still going strong. However, what if I told you that there is more than 1 way to store peanut butter? Even more, what if I told you there’s a way to prevent oil separation? We know you are interested so let’s take a look at the different ways along with how to avoid oil separation.
Room Temperature
Storing peanut butter at room temperature is probably the most common method. After opening a jar of peanut butter you can store it in at room temperature for up to three months. However, keeping peanut butter at room temperature will cause oil separation unless your peanut butter contains binders. Peanut butter that contains hydrogenated oils will not separate so you won’t need to worry. Feel free to keep it in the cabinet without a care in the world.
Natural peanut butter is a little bit different. There are no binders to keep the oils combined. So every single natural peanut butter or the ones that contain just peanuts will separate. Oil separation is completely natural and normal. You can either give the jar a thorough stir or you can also pour some of the oil out. If oil separation bothers you then we have a little trick for you:
Store your jar upside down to eliminate a pool of oil at the top of the jar.
In the Fridge
Peanut butter that’s stored in the fridge will take on a slightly different consistency. As you might imagine it will be denser and not as easy to scoop out. The upside of storing peanut butter in the fridge is that you won’t ever have to worry about oil separation. The fridge helps to keep the fats in a solid-state. Storing it in the fridge will also extend the shelf life. Peanut butter stored at room temperature maintains a shelf life of 3 months. However, when it’s stored in the fridge it stays fresh for 7-8 months.
If your jars usually last a bit longer than storing them in the fridge will offer you the very best results. Also, if you live in a tropical climate or your house is always hot or humid then you should definitely use the fridge. The heat and humidity will turn the peanut butter rancid long before the normal 3-month mark. Make sure to fully stir your jars before putting them in the fridge. Otherwise, you will have a mass of solid oils at the top of your jar.
Make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and freeze them for easy snacking.
In the Freezer
Storing peanut butter in the freezer is an option but not exactly great if you plan to defrost it. The only time you want to store peanut butter in the freezer is if you plan to always keep it frozen. You can dish out small portions of it at a time and enjoy the cool treat or even share it with your dog. Another frozen idea is to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and store then in the freezer. They are deliciously cooling snacks. Or make peanut butter popsicles and store them for months. All of these options are perfectly suitable for freezing and storing peanut butter in the freezer.
So why do you only want to keep it frozen? The reason is that peanut butter will oxidize in the freezer which means that the water will slowly evaporate. If you attempt to thaw it out the consistency will not be smooth and the texture will be grainy. So only freeze it if you plan to keep it that way. Otherwise, you’ll probably regret it. Where do you store your peanut butter?
