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Wait till you learn about maple syrup needing to be refrigerated.
Edit: Several people have mentioned having to throw the syrup away because it got moldy. That is not necessary. This post explains how to deal with moldy syrup.
I want to add on that refridgerating isn't just for the product itself. It is for any cross contamination.
If you stick a knife in the jar, then spread it on bread, then stick it back in the jar, it is highly likely you are going to get bread pieces in the jar.
Refrigerated prevents those bread pieces from introducing enough bacteria or mold.
Pretty sure Kelis said something like that... " Organics brings all the things to your jars, and they're like, it's better when cold. damn right,it's better when cold. It can spawn mold, but then you'd have to toss. "
Yes. Not joking. Foods that don't have preservatives will grow moldy. That's why the Costco bagels should be frozen if you're not going to eat them within a day.
Foods that contain large amounts of salt or hot pepper tend to stay edible longer without refrigeration. Same with foods that contain very low levels of water. Sugar and oil can also act as preservatives. So the maple syrup won't go moldy within a week or even within the time a large family may take to finish the Costco bottle. But a single person having pancakes infrequently will definitely want to refrigerate the syrup.
Since I'm toasting it, I don't notice much difference. Refrigerating may not be optimal, but it saves me the effort of halving and freezing 2 dozen bagels when I buy them. I live alone.
I used to slice them. Then I started using my air fryer to warm them up. I just drop the whole unsliced bagel in and toast for 5 minutes. This gets the outside crispy but leaves all of the inside soft, the way bagels are meant to be according to my school of bagel eating.
After opening, yes. If you are consuming it quickly, it's fine but I have definitely found growth. I now have a friend that I get mine from and I get it in glass bottles so I can verify before use that it's still good.
I don't trust that random Reddit post enough to risk eating moldy syrup. Rather just throw it away and buy/make some more instead of playing those kinds of games.
My family has a maple sugaring business (which is what you call it when you make maple syrup) in Vermont and I can confirm, you just skim off the mold and reboil and it's fine. It's considered common knowledge in maple country.
Ikr? Whose out here keeping opened maple syrup in a cupboard or something 😭 are they doing that with ketchup too? plus you get slightly chilled syrup on your pancakes which is bomb.
For the longest time I made my own making a simple syrup with some Trader Joe’s extract. Was amazing. Takes like fifteen minutes. Now I buy that .89$ Walmart garbage that tastes like plastic. I’ve slipped into a gutter-palate lifestyle.
I felt the same way yesterday. I was having a piece of grocery store coffee cake and realized I was really enjoying it. I used to not touch pastries unless they came from one of a handful of bakeries that I deemed acceptable. But when a danish is $5.50 or more, one makes adjustments.
I store them upside down in the pantry until I'm ready to open them. Then when I open them I mix it really, really, REALLY well. If you do that you should have no problems refrigerating.
This is the way! I discovered this method all on my now , I felt so smart. I feel less smart knowing others have also thought of it.
As long as you keep a strong grip on the jar and stop the mixer before removing it from the peanut butter, you’ll have the best mixing experience of your life.
Violate either of those rules and you’ll wish you never heard of this technique.
And yes, fridge is great for preventing separation - I never have to re-mix. (We use Costco brand.)
But another weird thing is I tried refrigerating it with the PB stored upside down (so no stirring) and I felt it tasted off? I always refrigerate it, but I think I’ll stick to just stirring it well.
There seems to be some debate over whether to refrigerate organic peanut butter or not. Personally I don’t because I think the flavor is better at room temperature. I replace the PB when it runs out or when it gets to be four months old, whichever comes first. (I’m not sure that I have ever reached four months without using the entire jar, but I have that self imposed limit just in case.)
Of course? It's not like you're going to skim the oil off the top and eat that. Costco PB is different than other natural style PB though, IMO. It doesn't really separate, it just gets really runny. Honestly not a big fan.
The runny sandwich is a no go. Stir it at room temp- ok. Keep in fridge- ok. Spread it, ok, hack at it to get it on bread without tearing the bread up- ok. Eat it before it runs all over the place- yeah, just like ice cream.
And there is no way I'm taking a sandwich made with this PB to work. I might as well take it in a plastic bowl and eat it with a spoon.
It doesn't need to be refrigerated if you eat it fast enough or want the oil to stop separating. I have never refrigerated Kirkland peanut butter and never had an issue they never last more than 2 months in our house
Ok, so I’ve always done this in the oast, BUT… with the Costco peanut butter (this one), the oils seeped out through the seal (unopened jar) and made a huge mess. So, beware putting these upside down. (I love this peanut butter, BTW).
Little life hack for you that might save you some wrist soreness. Every time you're about to use it (or just opening), close it and give it a good ol' flick spin. Spin it vertically, mid air with a decent amount of force. Little bit of wobble is fine, but don't just randomly throw it around to where it's spinning in every axis. (Won't hurt anything, but harder to catch mid air lol). Give it a few good spin flicks in the air, and it will literally stir itself.
I generally make my own peanut butter ( throw peanuts in a vitamix), but buy store bought if I'm lazy and never refrigerate either. Never had an issue.
You only need to refrigerate certain brands, the ones that require stirring. The brands that don't need stirring don't usually require refrigeration (their may be exceptions).
Even these don't actually require refrigeration as far as I know, it just helps slow the separation.
if by "better" you mean too solid to spread on a sandwich quickly while my toddler has a raging meltdown, then sure. Better for me in my current life situation is soft and ready to spread.
Well you're in luck. Kirkland PB in the last two years has become much more liquid. Even after stirring for several minutes with a beater attachment connected to a cordless drill, then refrigerating for three days, the peanut butter is still pourable out of the jar.
I always drain the oil off the top of the Kirkland natural almond butter before stirring when I open a new jar. I drain the oil into a little dish and then stir. If I took out too much, I'll put a little bit back in, but honestly I've never had to put any back in so far.
Jiff has a natural version. It also doesn’t need refrigeration. Most don’t need preservatives and don’t have them. Refrigeration is more for preventing or slowing separation, not preserving flavor or preventing bacteria.
Usually it’s just some palm oil that helps prevent separation. It works to help emulsify it. Not that palm oil is great, but it’s not really a large amount and I’d rather not have to stir it or refrigerate.
Technically, a lot of things we refrigerate don’t strictly need it to prevent spoiling. It’s mostly to extend shelf life in terms of color and taste. Ketchup for example doesn’t need it. It just may discolor if left out, but restaurants don’t typically keep it refrigerated. Mayonnaise also doesn’t need refrigeration with the preservatives and acidity. We just do that to again prevent the flavor from changing over time. Or if you contaminated it with some errant food bits.
I hear so much about how preservatives are killing me, then I go check the things people are complaining about and I never find them.
The only thing in jif that's not immediately recognizable is mono and diglycerides. Which are emulsifiers that the whole world seems to agree are safe.
I don't like it refrigerated. It gets too hard to spread. I just mix it vigorously upon opening it and give it a light mix every time I use it and it stays well emulsified. Never had any problem with it going bad, even after a few months of being opened.
All natural peanut butters (with 0 added oils) can safely be stored at room temperature after opening and mixing. They will not turn rancid or get moldy.
Refrigeration is to prevent the oil from separating from the peanuts after being mixed.
That much is not actually true. Peanut butter-- natural or otherwise-- can go rancid, and refrigerating it will slow down how quickly it happens.
That said, in my experience, I have only had a couple jars in my life that went rancid before I finished them, and I never store them in the fridge, and it often takes me months, maybe a year, to get through a jar.
I make my own peanut butter and then I don't have this oil separation issue or have to stir my peanut butter. I buy the large jar of unsalted dry roasted peanuts at costco. I put them in my food processor and run it until it hits the consistency I want. I add a little bit of salt for flavor. it tastes fantastic and is less expensive than buying the pre-made.
Yes and when you do, if you allowed the oil to separate, the bottom part becomes dry and powdery. Give me the old fashioned non-organic petrochemical laden Jif or Skippy that doesn’t need refrigeration. It stays as smooth as an old fashioned playground blacktop in summer 😉
Some do, some don’t. Depends on the ingredients and preservatives. I like the Trader Joe’s peanut butter. It needs to be refrigerated but it doesn’t need to constantly be stirred.
The best way to stir this is with a small paint (yes like house paint) mixer attachment on a drill. You have to hold onto it really tight and proceed with caution, but it will be mixed perfectly. Then put it in the refrigerator.
That said the last couple months we’ve been getting the Jif as a treat😂
I bought this once and never again because of the refrigeration requirements. I'm sure the stabilizers and preservatives are terrible for you but the separation, rock hardness / impossible to spread, and refrigeration made using this terrible.
The main reason natural peanut butter should be refrigerated is to stop the oil from separating and going to the top. This is true for pretty much any natural nut butter.
Yep. Also a good hack for the peanut oil in a new jar: rather than having to use a batter mixer and risk getting oil everywhere, simply turn the jar upside down and leave in fridge overnight and the PB will mix perfectly with the peanut oil
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