Spread on waffles for breakfast on the go, added to a sauce for noodles, or just plain on a spoon for a protein-rich pick-me-up, peanut butter is as versatile an ingredient as they come. A jar of peanut butter almost never lasts one month in my house. But one day, I opened a container from my pantry and found dry, hard crumbles. Had I been storing my peanut butter correctly? Did it go badwithout me noticing? What did I do wrong?

Where To Store Peanut Butter, According to Smucker’s 

Unlike other condiments we’ve covered recently, open jars are perfectly fine to sit in a pantry away from heat and direct light. A representative from Smucker’s had this to say when reached for comment:

“Stabilized peanut butters, like our Jif products, should be stored in a cool, dry area away from strong odors and direct sunlight. This applies to both opened and unopened jars. Refrigeration is not necessary and may make the product difficult to spread. Natural peanut butters that do not contain any stabilizers, like our Smucker’s ‘Adams’ and ‘Laura Scudder’s’ natural peanut butter products, are typically best stored at room temperature whether opened or unopened.”

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