One of those foods that give a better taste to everything is butter. It is used in baking, cooking, or to spread, butter is very versatile and delicious. If you, however, have overstocked it or you are not using it quickly enough, storing it could be your next option, and you might want to ask if freezing butter is allowed.
Butter can be stored inside the freezer and it can also be thawed and then refrozen. Refreezing butter will not necessarily spoil it, but it could affect the quality by reducing its flavor and could also change the consistency.
Freezing Butter
There is nothing wrong with freezing fresh butter and it can remain frozen for more than a year. It will use roughly 4 months if placed inside the fridge. If you have kept the butter frozen all the time, you can use it after one year, however, you may notice it showing signs associated with freezer burn.
Whenever you are storing butter inside your freezer, ensure it is kept away from foods like onions that perceive odors. This is because butter usually picks up the flavor and odor of foods in its surroundings and it will not be too good when you use butter to bake your cookies and they taste like garlic. It is easy to thaw frozen butter and you can leave it to defrost itself for some hours.
How To Freeze Butter
You can place your butter still in its original wrapper or box directly inside the freezer. It will be easily identified this way and the best-by date that you will use later will still be on it. Its original package will function to ensure that freezer burn is prevented. However, you may also put it inside your freezer bag in case you want to store it for longer. The freezer bag will protect it more from picking other flavors and odors from some other foods within the freezer.
If you have already removed the butter from the wrapping or box before freezing, use plastic wrap or aluminum foil to wrap it and then put them inside an air-tight container or freezer bag to freeze. You could also freeze the butter in smaller portions by cutting it into different sticks and wrapping them individually before placing them inside the freezer bag. It will prevent you from defrosting an entire block when you only need a little.
Thawing Butter
Whenever you want to thaw your butter, the best thing to do is to put it inside the fridge overnight so that it will not contact heat and it will still be cool while thawing. If you want to defrost it quickly, put it inside a microwave for about 10 seconds and flip it to the other side for an additional 10 seconds. Remove the butter from your microwave if it begins to melt.
Some recipes allow you to use frozen butter while others want melted butter. You will need to check the state of butter needed to suit your recipe.
Another wonderful trick you can use to quickly thaw your butter is to use your cheese grater to grate it while frozen. It will thaw much quicker than the non-grated ones. Another thing you can do is to get your egg slicer and run your frozen butter over it, laying the slices of butter on the platter. It will become softened after a while and you can easily pick it and use it for your buns or bread.
Refreezing Butter
Typically, putting fresh butter into the freezer is not a problem, but refreezing could get you a bit nervous. You never can be sure how good it will be for your butter and this is dependent on how you have handled and thawed the butter in the first place. The cell walls of any product you freeze usually rupture and it is why the taste will not be the same.
More cell walls will be broken down when you first freeze the butter, thaw it, and then you refreeze it. The taste and the integrity of your butter will change because more moisture will seep from it. Bacteria are another problem concerning refreezing butter. Harmful bacteria will develop much faster on thawed butter than the fresh ones. Bacteria begin to develop immediately after thawing begins.
Refreezing Different kinds Of Butters
It is fine to freeze every kind of butter, but this differs when you are considering refreezing. Check below for the types of butter and to see if you can refreeze them or not once they are defrosted.
Ghee
This butter originated from South Asia. Ghee is melted until the milk solid becomes separated and then settle at the base where they become brown. It will then simmer until all the water is evaporated, leaving it to have a higher smoke point and longer shelf-life. The shelf-life of ghee is longer than that of almost all types of butter and you can freeze and also refreeze it. However, it is not needed because pure ghee with no additives can remain good for about 12 months. If you want to use ghee within one year, freezing it and refreezing is not needed.
Whipped Butter
More air is beaten into this butter and that makes it softer, has increased volume, and it easily spreads on bread. The butter is not suitable for baking recipes that you need plain butter for. You can freeze and thaw whipped butter, but its airiness will be lost to a certain extent and the lightness would reduce as compared to how it was when it was still fresh. It will worsen when you refreeze and thaw it again because it will be thicker and over time become less creamy. You can refreeze it but the overall integrity will be ruined.
Specialty Butter
This butter is usually gotten by adding spices and herbs like thyme or garlic. This adds flavor depth when used for cooking. The taste from the herbs or spices will seep more within the butter in the process of freezing as well as thawing. When you refreeze, the taste becomes more potent and you have to ascertain the ingredients that are added to it before you know if you can refreeze.
Cultured Butter
This is not salted butter and before the process of churning, a bacterial culture gets added to the cream. The butter will have a flavor that is “old-country” and the taste will be tangier. It is fine to freeze cultured butter but refreezing should not be done.
Due to the additional bacteria, the chances of bacterial infection become higher after thawing the first time and it will increase whenever you freeze and thaw again. All you have to do to prevent refreezing cultured butter is by freezing it in smaller portions that you will only thaw what you need.
Semi-Salted Butter
This salt contains a salt content of about 1% and it can be kept inside the refrigerator for some weeks after it is thawed. This refreezes well, but it will taste saltier after refreezing.
Salted Butter
This butter has a salt content of 2% and it is commonly used for spreads and in cooking. It will remain preserved for a longer time inside the refrigerator because of the extra salt, so there is no need to refreeze it if you will be using it within one month. When you refreeze salted butter, you will notice that its salty taste will become more intense after refreezing become more liquid is lost. If, however, you can handle it properly, you can refreeze it.
How To Keep Your Butter Fresh
You will enjoy butter better when you take it fresh but ensuring it stays fresh is not an easy task.
- Place it inside the fridge immediately you buy it and it should be stored on the shelves of the fridge.
- If you have stored it unwrapped, use it within some days. In case you might not finish using it within the stipulated time, place only the amount needed to cover these days.
- Butter will taste rancid if you leave it for too long at room temperature.
- Leaving butter in the original wrapper allows it to keep the best. The foil that is wrapped around it will help to prevent it from getting spoilt from light and air exposure and helps to protect it from flavors and aromas from other foods in the surrounding.
- If you leave it unwrapped, unsalted and salted butter can last inside the refrigerator for a minimum of 8 weeks. Usually, salted butter will stay for 4 extra weeks because the salt will preserve it for longer. It is, however, safest when you use it within three weeks after you have opened it.
- Thaw frozen butter inside the fridge for about 6-7 hours or at room temperature for about 3-4 hours.
- You should only remove the one you need for your meal and ensure you return it there when you are not using it.
