Canned butter: some results

OK so, even while I am unemployed, we are still putting back preps. Since I have copious free time, I decided to can 4 pounds of butter. Essentially, this is ghee, or clarified butter. Now, I bought the butter at Sams Club, and 4 pounds was running about 6 FRNs for the pack. Now, at Costco, you can buy a quart - one quart, mind, of ghee for nearly 8 FRNs. Canned buter from major suppliers runs approximately 10.50FRNs/15 ounce can (source - Red Feather Canned butter - 65.00/frns for 12 15 ounce cans - Amazon.com)

Now, pictured below are 1/2 quart (8 oz.) jars. The lids are the Tattler brand, and there are several great YouTube vids showing the process. No water bath or pressure canner needed. Anyone with some jars, butter and time can do this.

My grandmother told me it could be done, with a near indefinite shelf life, many years ago. Now, I am not a mathematician, but this is easy, cheap, and puts some critical fats on the prep shelves.

4 pounds made 9 half-pints. I want to add: care must be taken when melting and clarifying the butter. It will scorch if you are not careful. Follow the process very carefully, take your time, and your rewards will be BUTTAH in a BOTTLE.

 

is that just vacuum sealed?
is there salt added to extend its shelf life?
do you know you can pack butter in salt and it will keep nearly indefinitely?

 

What you see is clarified butter, or Ghee. There is salt in it (I used salted butter, and the clarification process concentrates the saltiness, because it is literally boiling the water out, leaving the pure oil and butter solids). Technically they are vacuum sealed- hot clarified butter in sterilized hot glass jars, put on rubber seals, lids & rings and as they cool they seal. I have done some additional checking and this stuff needs zero refrigeration even after opening. Of course once open, it may go rancid after a time, hence the smaller jars.

 

if any goes rancid on you...
deep fry some raw potatoes in it
that returns lard to its original state
may well work on your butter also

thanks for your info btw

 

Please let us know in a follow up how it goes. I really like this post.

 

Does the canning and setting process affect the taste at all?

 

I can report on the first open can. The butter is loose and grainy, right off the shelf. It spreads easily (duh).



And on the bread:

I spread it out evenly and consumed the bread. The butter was butter. It had a bit of a grainy mouth feel, and was very tasty - the salt levels of the butter were perfect. Under refrigeration, it will solidify, of course. If it was a no power, no refrigeration situation, this is a very, very tasty alternative to powdered artificial butter flavor. I will be canning more.

Hope that answers any questions for now. I will cook with it and let you know how that works.

 

Thanks bunches for that info. Can't wait to try my hand at it. We have lots of cooking oil but no butter-some fake stuff.

 

Okay, first off, i love the thread and the open sharing of ideas on the site. I have learned more stuffses and been impelled and compelled to think and rethink certain aspects of my preps by the great ideas. I have checked out the FAQ's on the site and even copied and saved some lists and other info. Even saved the preppers acronym list. NOW to the question....what is an FRN??? Assuming (gasp!) that it is a term for money, maybe even fiat money related term, but I don't know!!! LOL

Thanks in advance for what i know will be a face-palmer of an answer. Probably something i should know but defnitely something i will understand....eventually.

 

Read the top front of any American paper cash you have. It says FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE.

 

Obligatory (and necessary) face-palm!

I must really be as dumb as my 16 year old thinks i am!! LOL

Any reason not to call it a dollar? Does the word dollar represent an amount or worth that the FRN no longer carries? Just curious and love "trivia" even though the current situation with federal money is not trivial.

 

Because only the Congress is empowered to print or coin money - AKA dollars known legally as United States Notes. Under the Congress and until the criminal passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913, and the subsequent removal of the US from the gold standard (Thank you Tricky Dick - what a jerk weed) the United States Notes were real currency, backed by tangible assets like gold or silver (you remember gold and silver certificate money right?).

After the passage of the Federal Reserve Act, the money stopped being issued by the United States and started to be issued by the Federal Reserve Bank, which is about as Federal as Federal Express. The Federal Reserve Bank is a private bank with private stock holders. Once they were given the power to print our nations money, the United States Note ceased to exist and Federal Reserve Notes came into existence.

They are only known as "dollars" because of common branding, and common label use. Kind of like how all tissue paper is called Kleenex, even though Kleenex is a specific brand of tissue paper. It aslo helps to perpetuate the illusion that the Federal Reserve Note as some real value.

 

Well you could call it a dollar, I guess. But since the Federal Reserve was established it has decreased in value of real goods to about 2 cents. So, ...... you have 3 choices. FRN, 2 cents, or a Dollar. Makes no real difference, at this point it ain't even good butt wipe.

 

Falcon I hear you and agree. Shameful what "politicians" have passed off on us as "helping or positive change". Steel and lead are still negotiable commodities, thank God.

 

I'm usually averse to post "me too", but I canned four pounds last night due to your topic Falcon. It didn't take much time though, lol. Thanks Pal. My next project is beast's Laundry detergent.

 

Last few months a local quick-ie mart was selling #1 of butter for $1.99, so we decided to buy-up-n-stock up. We ended up with about #25.
So when buying up my wife figures to freeze everything. [I hate frozen bread!]
I decided to can some of the butter. 5 pounds processed and prepared in the manner needed to can butter.
Turned out very good. 12 1/2 pint jars and one leftover pint jar with about 3/4 contents.
My wife refused to use until she actually tried it...now all is OK.
Her mother who thinks I am nuts, refuses to even comprehend as to why I would can butter. But then again she has never tried anything that I have cooked.
So all is well in the canning butter arena. Follow the recipe [exactly] and can clean.

Enjoy.

 

Griffin, thats what mother in laws are for ha ha ha . Mine thinks Im nuts for buying 2 cases of red feather canned butter. That stuff is expensive but great stuff. Kingfish

 

Red Feather is indeed great stuff. Canning your own butter cuts the costs by over 90%. This post is more from a practical and inexpensive perspective.