How long does Peanut butter last?

Keep the jar in a cool, dark pantry, lid tight. The line is commercial peanut butter. Unopened, the pantry is 6–24 months. The bold number is six months, the short end of the printed window. The fridge is No time is printed for this cell. No time is printed in that cell. The freezer is No time is printed for this cell. This page does not invent a fridge or freezer month. A sooner date on the jar wins. Date types are on the use-by and best-before guide. The split is in the use-by and best-before article.

After opening, wipe the lip, close the lid, and use a clean knife. The pantry is 2–3 months. The bold number is two months. The fridge is No time is printed for this cell. The freezer is No time is printed for this cell. No time is printed in either cell. Oil that sits on top can be quality; stir it back. A smell like paint or stale nuts is not quality. This page does not paste a month onto a natural jar or a homemade bowl. Honey has its own page. If you are still unsure, the still-safe tool asks from the short end of the chart.

Get perishable food into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking it or bringing it home, and within 1 hour if the kitchen is above 32°C (90°F). USDA FSIS and Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry both publish that cutoff. A closed deep pot stays warm; a shallow box cools.

A chart is a window, not a verdict on the container in your hand. A sour smell, a slimy surface, or mould means it is finished, even on day one. This page is not medical advice.

• A sharp smell like paint, old paint, or stale nuts. The peanut’s own smell is not that.
• A layer of oil on top. If it stirs back in, that is not the rancid smell.
• Mould on the lid or the surface. Wiping does not rescue the jar.
• A taste that stays metallic or like soap.

Oil separation can be quality. A rancid smell is not. This page does not tell you to taste a doubtful jar to decide.

FoodKeeper prints no freezer time for this line. The unopened cell is No time is printed for this cell. The opened cell is No time is printed for this cell. This page does not invent a month for commercial peanut butter, and it does not write a refreeze recipe for an empty cell. USDA says food held continuously at −18°C (0°F) stays safe. That sentence is not a month printed for this line.

The fridge cells are empty too: No time is printed for this cell and No time is printed for this cell. A thawing note is for a food with a printed freezer time. These cells have none. The opened pantry is separate, 2–3 months. The bold number is two months.

Thaw in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Do not refreeze a portion that has thawed. The ministry states the same rule: thaw frozen food in the fridge and take out only what you will eat.

• Natural peanut butter keeps the same month. The line is commercial. The unopened pantry is 6–24 months. This page does not paste a month onto a natural jar or a homemade bowl.
• The fridge and the freezer have a month. The cells are No time is printed for this cell, No time is printed for this cell, No time is printed for this cell, and No time is printed for this cell. No time is printed. This page does not invent one.
• An opened jar keeps the unopened pantry window. The opened pantry is 2–3 months. The bold number is two months. The unopened pantry is 6–24 months. A sooner date on the jar wins.

The windows assume a generally healthy household. Pregnancy, young children, older age, or a weakened immune system are reasons to keep the shorter figure, to skip raw or undercooked food, and to reheat leftovers until the centre is steaming. USDA’s figure for reheating leftovers is 74°C (165°F).

In pregnancy, for young children, in older age, or with a weakened immune system, do not taste a rancid or mouldy jar to decide. Heating does not undo a bitter smell. This line is commercial peanut butter. This page does not add a fridge or freezer month.