What You Need To Refrigerate – And What You Can Leave In The Pantry

Many of the items you pack into your already overstuffed refrigerator might not need to be there at all. I chatted with CleanPlates about which foods you can take out of the fridge and put in the pantry instead:

Because butter is pasteurized and higher in saturated fatty acids, it’s less prone to bacterial growth than other types of dairy. If you want to store your butter on the counter or in the pantry, you’re probably better off going with salted butter, which allows for less bacterial growth than unsalted butter.

“On the other hand, unsalted, whipped, and unpasteurized butter are best stored in the refrigerator to reduce bacterial growth,” says Feller. “Keeping butter in an airtight container at room temperature is okay, but no longer than two weeks.”

If you want your butter to last longer than two weeks, Feller advises keeping it in the fridge. One perk of room temperature butter, thought? It’s a lot easier to spread on toast.