Confused? Is Buttercream Perishable?
Decorating By chinacat77 Updated 1 Mar 2010 , 9:52pm by costumeczar
forgive me as im sure this has been answered many times but ive searched the forums and cant find an answer. Im using buttercream dream, so when you have a crisco/butter/few tbsp of milk based frosting...is it perishable? most i would let a cake sit is two days before cutting, is this ok?
thats fine doll! i use the wilton recipe most, which sounds similar. and i have never had a problem. ive let mine sit up to 3-4 days and never had a problem. apparently it has something to do with the sugar affecting the dairy? not sure exactly...but it will fine. =)
Most American b/c's are shelf stable, even when milk or cream are used as the liquid.
Sugar is hygroscopic, or moisture absorbing.
The powdered sugar in American b/c's controls the water activity in the butter/margarine and/or milk or cream in the mixture. (Butter and margarine are both 80% fat and 20% water, while shortening is 100% fat.)
Water activity & microbial growth:
(Prolonging Bakery Product Life.)
http://tinyurl.com/ya8po4z
WJ Scott in 1953 first established that it was water activity, not water content that correlated with bacterial growth:
http://tinyurl.com/bmsato
Formulating for increased shelf life:
(Decreasing water activity results in hostile environment for bacteria.)
http://tinyurl.com/csu2b9
HTH
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I wouldn't use anything in my products that would last a week on a shelf. Yuch.
That is excessive to say the least.
Do you throw out flour and sugar after a week?
Yes, this did help, and it was good reading from a scientific point of view. So if sugar inhibits the growth of bacteria then those nasty little things would never stand a chance in a buttercream...sugar sugar sugar! thanks!
Yes, this did help, and it was good reading from a scientific point of view. So if sugar inhibits the growth of bacteria then those nasty little things would never stand a chance in a buttercream...sugar sugar sugar! thanks!
It inhibits growth but doesn't totally prevent it, so you still have to be reasonable about it!
So what about storing? When I make Indydebi's BC or Sugarshack's, do I need to store it in the refrigerator and then bring back to room temperature before I use it? Or can I store it in the pantry?
TIA!
What about IMBC or SMBC? I use SMBC and always refrigerate even though it tends to get very firm.
Are non-crusting BCs perishable?
In my food safety course they always stressed that if something had a perishable component you should treat it like it's perishable to be on the safe side. I refrigerate all my buttercream cakes if I can, even though they'd probably be okay out for a day.
So do you have to beat the buttercream after you take it out of the refrigerator? Or just let it warm to room temp?
Crisco-based you can use without rebeating. Meringue buttercreams need to be rebeaten after they warm up.
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