Taste it, you'll be able to tell.

Not an expert, but you might be able to smell if it is off. Wish I could offer more advise
! I always freeze my butter as I buy it in bulk, and take it out as needed. Might be something you would want to consider if buying it in bulk.

I planned to freeze it but hadn't gotten the chance. The freezer is working perfectly of course. :P

I hope you don't have to get rid of your refrigerator.

1. Are you sure your thermometer is accurate?

2. Are you sure you don't have food blocking the cool air blowing port into the refrigerator?

3. If you have a frost-free refrigerator, every few hours, the refrigerator goes into ice melting mode and the temperature will go up for a short period of time.

dcarch

I believe it's fine. I leave butter on the counter longer than that, but I'd be putting it straight into the freezer.

You can definitely tell if it's going bad by tasting, butter can be rancid if left too long but you'll be able to tell and it won't make you sick by tasting it.

Frankly, the cream cheese might have been OK too, if you had used it promptly.

Annie

The refrigerator is older and the door doesn't seal all the way (a family friend was getting rid of it so I took it for extra storage). The freezer gets cold enough but ice is building up all over the place. So the freezer is too cold while the fridge is too warm.I have no idea how to fix it, especially the seal. It runs constantly. It is sometimes cold and sometimes warm.

Thanks for the advice! I tasted a bit and it tasted fine so I think it is okay.

I don't leave butter out, but my sister in law leaves her active cube of butter out 24/7 and it doesn't get used up fast. I'll bet it sometimes stays out for a week, perhaps more. It is always fine. She keeps it in a heavy crock like hand made (not perfectly fitting) butter dish. I would guess that the only issue might be picking up off flavors from other unfrozen items in the closed freezer.

It may sound very complicated, but you can actually fix your own refrigerator without spending a lot of money:

1. Door seals - Put a light inside the refrigerator, you can then see where you have leaks. You can get bathroom silicone caulking and spread some on the leaking area (on the refrigerator, not on the gasket). Lay a layer of thin vegetable plastic bag on the caulking and close the door. In one or two days the silicone caulking will be cured then peel off the plastic. If the leak is not much, you can get a door latch and epoxy glue it one the refrigerator to help compress the door when the door is closed.

2. Freezer icing up - get a small (3" x 3") computer fan (110v muffin brushless fan) and install it near the freezer to help circulate cold air and let it blow full time. The fan uses very little power and is very quiet.

3, It does not sound like the refrigerator is lacking refrigerant, even that can be fixed. You can recharge refrigerant yourself for less than $20.00.

4. Clean the coils in the back and under the refrigerator while you are at it.

dcarch

Good advice dcarch,

Dog hair and dust clumps will make a refrigerator lose much or all of its efficiency.

My last side by side had this happen and the refrigerator got REALLY warm. Vacuuming the coils got it cold again.