Unwrapped samples of salted sweet-cream butter were stored in darkness at 1°C for 6–8 weeks over silica gel, water, isotonic salt solutions, and in free air. Moisture and fat peroxide gradients from the surfaces to the interior of the stored samples were measured in thin sections obtained by a simple macrotome technique. The surface oxidized at the same rate as the rest of the butter and its rate of oxidation was not affected by moderate drying or moisture uptake. With severe surface drying, especially when induced by silica gel, fat oxidation was inhibited, while moisture uptake by the more heavily salted butters promoted surface oxidation.