Your refrigerator is full, and you find yourself wondering, “how long can yogurt sit out.” Sure, yogurt doesn’t go bad for a while, but is there enough time for you to find space in the refrigerator to put them in?
If you’re one of the many people who are considering whether you should leave yogurts out at room temperature, you will find this article helpful. In this post, I will inform you how long yogurt can stay fresh in various conditions and offer you some tips on how to store it.
Contents
- Yogurt And All Its Glorious Benefits
- 1. Help Maintain Healthy Bones
- 2. Ideal For Weight Loss
- 3. Support Digestive Health:
- How Long Can Yogurt Sit Out Without Going Bad?
- A Comprehensive Guide On How To Spot Spoiled Yogurt
- 1. Look At The Liquid Whey
- 2. Take A Good Sniff
- 3. Look For Signs Of Curdling
- 4. Examine For Mold
- Yogurt Sitting Out Vs. Refrigerated?
- Other Important Notes In Storing Yogurt
- How To Store Yogurt For Longer?
- How Do You Store Yogurt Without Refrigeration?
- FAQs
- Time To Refrigerate Your Delicious Yogurt
Yogurt And All Its Glorious Benefits
Yogurt is a product that is made by a process known as “bacterial fermentation of milk.” To make yogurt, you’ll need a type of bacteria called “yogurt cultures.” These bacteria ferment the sugars in the milk, leading to the characteristic texture and flavors of yogurt.
There are lots of health benefits linked to the regular consumption of yogurt. Here are a few benefits linked to the regular consumption of yogurt.
1. Help Maintain Healthy Bones
In yogurt, there are many nutrients that can help you maintain healthy bones, such as calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, and even vitamin D. Consuming yogurt every day can drastically improve your bone mass and strength.
2. Ideal For Weight Loss
The high amount of protein in yogurt, combined with its calcium content, can promote the production of appetite-reducing hormones. As a result, yogurt can make you feel full for longer, thus curbing your hunger.
3. Support Digestive Health:
Many types of yogurt contain probiotics that might be beneficial to your digestive tract. These probiotics can relieve the symptoms of mild gastrointestinal disorders like constipation or boating.
How Long Can Yogurt Sit Out Without Going Bad?
Everyone knows that yogurt needs to be refrigerated to stay fresh. Because of its high nutritional value, yogurt is not suitable to be left outside for long, as warmth temperature can speed up the growth of bacteria, making this dairy product spoil faster.
However, sometimes, something may crop up, forcing you to leave your yogurt outside the safe zones provided by the refrigerator. How long can yogurt sit out, then? The table below will answer this question for you.
| Temperature | Time | |
| Yogurt From Refrigerator | Frozen Yogurt | |
| 40°F – 90°F | 2 hours | 2 hours |
| Higher than 90°F | 1 hour or less | 1 hour or less |
As you can see from the table above, yogurt must not be left out at room temperature for any longer than two hours. This means that 2 hours is the maximum lifespan of yogurt outside a fridge.
Sure, the yogurt might not look that bad, even after more than 2 hours outside of the fridge. However, while the yogurt might not show any obvious signs of spoilage, there’s no telling for sure if the yogurt is 100% safe to eat.
A Comprehensive Guide On How To Spot Spoiled Yogurt
Eating spoiled yogurt is no fun. Aside from the fact that the taste will be off, consumption of bad yogurt can land you a free ticket to the hospital.
Spoiled yogurt can give you stomach cramps, nauseous feelings, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. These are all the signs of food poisoning, a potentially life-threatening illness. This is why it’s essential to be able to tell if the treat is no longer edible.
1. Look At The Liquid Whey
Most yogurts have a layer of liquid on top called “whey.” This layer is packed with many crucial nutrients and protein. When the yogurt is still good, you can mix the whey with it before eating it.
However, if the surface of the yogurt seems to contain quite a lot of liquid on top of this creamy whey, it’s a telltale sign that this dairy product now should have a place in the trash. How unfortunate!
2. Take A Good Sniff
Trust your nose when it tells you that your food has gone bad. If there’s any putrid or rancid smell coming from the yogurt, just let the thing go where it belongs – the trash.
Of course, one’s sense of smell can vary. This is why this isn’t necessarily a foolproof way of telling if the yogurt is bad. Some spoiled yogurt might not give off any noticeable odor, which is why you’ll need to keep an eye out for other signs of spoilage.
3. Look For Signs Of Curdling
When you open a yogurt and are greeted with a layer of curdling instead of the smooth and creamy whey, you should probably bid it farewell. It might look unharmful, but curdling is a very certain indication of spoilage.
You can also use a spoon to feel the bottom of the yogurt carton. Is there any curdling texture there? If the answer is yes, the food is definitely bad.
4. Examine For Mold
Mold is the most obvious indicator that any food has gone bad – a case that is also applicable to yogurt. So, if you’re not sure whether the treat is still edible, see if there are any little black or green dots. If there are, it means that mold and fungus have taken hold of your yogurt.
Once the yogurt has developed mold, it’s no longer safe to eat. Don’t think that you can simply remove the moldy surface and eat the rest. When yogurt shows signs of mold, the entire thing is contaminated. Eating it might give you food poisoning or other digestive problems.
Yogurt Sitting Out Vs. Refrigerated?
To prevent yogurt from going bad quickly and protect you from exposing yourself to spoiled food, it’s important to remember how long yogurt can sit out at room temperature. However, it’s even more essential that you understand the benefits of storing yogurt in a refrigerator.
When you store yogurts inside refrigerators, they will be able to last considerably longer. If you want to know specifically how long yogurt can last inside a fridge, you can look at the table below.
| Type Of Yogurt | Refrigerator (Less than 40°F) |
| Unopened Yogurt | Two week past “use by” date printed on label |
| Unopened Greek Yogurt | One week past “use by” date printed on label |
| Opened Yogurt | 5 to 7 days after opening |
| Opened Greek Yogurt | Less than 5 days after opening |
You should also note that yogurt shelf life can also be shortened if you take the yogurt out of the fridge, let it sit at room temperature for an hour or so before returning it back to the fridge.
Other Important Notes In Storing Yogurt
I’m sure that you’d want to learn how to store yogurt the correct way to expand its longevity. That’s why I’ve written this section to help you understand this process better.
How To Store Yogurt For Longer?
Fortunately, yogurt is quite easy to store; you don’t need to go through elaborate steps to keep them properly. Here are some tips to keep this dairy treat fresh longer.
1. Avoid Cross-Contamination
Always use a clean spoon to scoop the yogurt out of the pot. Get enough yogurt into a separate bowl and put the rest in the fridge immediately to preserve its freshness. Should you want to take out more yogurt, get a new spoon to scoop the yogurt out.
2. Keep The Yogurt In The Back Of The Fridge:
To make sure that your yogurt is always at optimal temperature, you should store it in the back of the fridge. This is where yogurt’s temperature can remain consistent, allowing this dairy product to last longer.
The least ideal place to keep yogurts is the fridge’s door because the temperature here might not be as cool and consistent. Keep in mind that constant fluctuation in temperature can seriously affect the longevity of your yogurt.
3. Make Sure It’s Tightly Sealed
Once you’ve opened the yogurt pot, you should always tightly seal it back with its original lid. If you wish to be extra careful, it doesn’t hurt to wrap the yogurt pot in an airtight bag. This is because tightly sealing the yogurt will make sure that strong odor and bacteria can’t get to it.
4. Freeze It
Freezing will allow the yogurt to stay edible the longest. Once frozen, yogurt can stay fresh 1 month past its “use by” date. Simply place the unopened yogurt pot in the back of the freezer, and you’re done.
Once you thaw frozen yogurt, you need to eat it immediately. Thawed yogurt cannot stay fresh for long, so it’s best to finish the yogurt within 2 or 3 days after you defrost the treat.
One drawback of this method is that the freezing process will affect the yogurt’s texture and overall taste. This is why you should only resort to this method when it’s absolutely necessary.
If you want to learn how to store yogurt by freezing it, the video below would be helpful to you.
How Do You Store Yogurt Without Refrigeration?
It’s almost impossible to store yogurt without a fridge; however, there’s still a temporary solution to help you keep your yogurt fresh until you can put it away in the fridge.
For this, you’ll need a cooler and a few packs of ice. Layer the bottom of the cooler with ice, and put the yogurt in. Once you get that down, layer the yogurt with more ice to keep it as cool as possible.
It’s best to avoid opening the cooler frequently to avoid speeding up the melting. However, you should keep an eye on the cooler to make sure that you’re there to replace the ice once the old ones have completely melted.
FAQs
If you read this section, maybe you’ll find out more important information that you might not know before. Below are some common problems one might encounter when storing yogurt.
Time To Refrigerate Your Delicious Yogurt
Now that you’ve learned yogurt can’t last for more than 2 hours outside of the fridge; I’m certain that you’d want to refrigerate this yummy treat immediately. After all, yogurt tastes best when it’s served cool; warm yogurt is no fun.
Did I answer your question? Do any other yogurt-related questions still bother you? Comment and let me know.
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