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Apr 18, 2023

Why You Should Be Storing Butter In The Freezer

Butter is one of the most valuable ingredients in your kitchen. It provides

Butter is one of the most valuable ingredients in your kitchen. It provides flaky layers in a batch of pie crust, it can be toasted into a nutty, luxurious brown butter, and no slice of toast would be complete without it.

It's also one of the most reliable ingredients. It can last for months in the fridge. When stored properly, it can sit on your kitchen counter at room temperature for around a week. But can you store butter in the freezer?

The answer is simple: yes, you can. And you should. The best thing you can do for your home cooking is to keep a stash of frozen butter for whenever you need it. Don't believe us? Let's unpack all the reasons why butter actually belongs in your freezer.

Because butter is primarily composed of fat, it lasts longer than most other foods. So unlike steaks or a batch of leftovers that’ll quickly develop a layer of freezer burn, butter can last in the freezer for up to a year.

Just make sure your butter's not expired before you pop it in the freezer. The best way to keep your butter tasting fresh is to leave it in its packaging. At the very least, don't remove the individual sticks from their original papers. but ideally, you'd keep them in the sealed box they came in.

The cost of food is on everybody's minds right now—have you seen egg prices lately? But beyond just limiting your grocery list, there are several ways to cut costs at the supermarket. One of the best ways is to buy ingredients in bulk.

Fresh ingredients like produce or seafood may not be the most practical options to buy in large quantities. Butter, on the other hand, is one of the best items to buy in bulk. At Costco, you can snag 16 sticks of butter for less than $13. It might mean more money upfront, but that means each stick comes with a savings of more than 20% compared to other grocery store brands.

If you stock up on butter and just keep it in the freezer, you’ll be able to cut some major costs on your weekly shopping trips.

One of the most important rules for making pastry is that the butter has to be cold. On a technical level, cold butter melts and releases steam in the oven, which creates air pockets and leaves your pie crusts and croissants flaky and tender.

What's even better than cold butter? Frozen butter! In fact, chef and self-proclaimed biscuit whisperer Carla Hall swears by grating frozen butter directly into her biscuit dough. It keeps your butter perfectly chilled and gives your baked goods the ideal texture.

What other pantry essentials do you store in the freezer? Let us know in the comments!

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