a pre- can I eat this question (cookie butter edition)

July 7, 2021 4:19 AM

I've been eating some cookie butter out of the jar with a spoon. In between the times I do that the jar lives in the fridge and has lived there since its opening. Given that it's had my saliva in it (I suppose), how long before it becomes unsafe to eat? It's the Biscoff one if that matters.
posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Like you, I've eaten Biscoff cookie butter out of the jar with a spoon, and I never refrigerated the jar. I think it would take weeks before I finished the jar. I've never seen any evidence of spoilage in it.
posted by alex1965 at 4:43 AM on July 7, 2021

with the sugar and stabilizers in there, I would assume the jar would be finished long before there were any spoilage problem. And when spoilage happens it would be in the form of rancidity, not unsafe bacteria/mold.
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:04 AM on July 7, 2021

At the same time, my approach to this kind of thing (but with peanut butter) is to follow a one-spoonful per clean spoon rule. If you want a second spoonful, you need to get a second spoon from the drawer.
posted by rockindata at 9:11 AM on July 7, 2021

And that’s why you get a couple 4-for-a-dollar packs of spoons at the dollar store to have a jar of tasting spoons on your counter; also good for when you’re cooking, I guess
posted by jeweled accumulation at 10:02 AM on July 7, 2021

Following the one-spoonful rule here as well, which usually limits how much I'm shoveling in at once (somehow one giant spoonful feels okay, going back for a second spoon just reeks of gluttony).
posted by jabes at 11:05 AM on July 7, 2021

I eat Nutella out of the jar with a spoon, do not follow the one-spoonful rule, store the Nutella in a kitchen cupboard (not the fridge) and depending on my level of sugar cravings, it can take months for me to finish a jar. Never had any issues, never thought about it.
posted by widdershins at 12:28 PM on July 7, 2021

I’ve done this with peanut butter (refrigerated) and Nutella (not refrigerated) and never had a problem with spoilage. I wouldn’t worry about it.
posted by insectosaurus at 1:57 PM on July 7, 2021