[DelaWhere]

You can can butter.

Here’s what you do:

1. Heat pint jars in a 250ºF (120ºC) oven for 20 minutes, without rings or seals. One pound of butter fills slightly more than 1 pint jar. 11 pounds of melted butter fills 12 pint jars. A roasting pan works well for holding the pint jars while in the oven.

2. While the jars are heating, slowly melt butter until it comes to a boil. Use a large spatula to stir the bottom of the pot often to keep the butter from scorching. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 5 minutes. More simmer time lessens the amount of shaking required in Step 4. Place the lids in a small pot and bring to a boil, leaving the lids in hot water until needed.

3. Stir melted butter from the bottom to the top with a soup ladle and pour melted butter into heated jars through a canning jar funnel. Leave ¾” of head space in the jar, which allows room for the shaking process.

4. Carefully wipe off the jar tops. Add the lid and ring and tighten securely. Lids will seal as they cool. Once a few lids “ping,” shake the jars while still warm, but cool enough to handle easily. The butter will separate and become foamy on top and white on the bottom. In a few minutes, shake again, and repeat until the butter retains the same consistency throughout the jar.

5. While still slightly warm, put jars into the refrigerator. While cooling and hardening, shake again, and the melted butter will then look like butter and become firm. This final shaking is very important. Check every 5 minutes and give the jars a little shake until they harden in the jar. Leave in the refrigerator for an hour.

Canned butter should store for 3 years or longer on a cool, dark shelf.

http://www.dailypress.com/features/dp-life_edibles_0507may07,0,3410258.story

[CottonBall]

Very interesting.

I bought more wide mouth jars at $7.58.

What type of jar do you prefer?

[metmom]

That’s pretty interesting. I’ll have to give that a try.

Butter keeps indefinitely in the freezer, but if the freezer goes, that will be pretty useful.

[upcountry miss]

Canning butter. That intrigues me. Have you ever tried this, DelaWhere? This old couple, one in their eighties and the other not far behind, is looking for the simplest, easiest way to prepare a few survival items. I don't own a modern pressure canner, mine is about half my age and hasn't been used for years and suspect I couldn't justify the cost of buying one. I have so far contented myself with storing dried beans,lentils and peas. Now I am thinking of maybe some comfort foods. Have several quarts of honey and molasses along with over a gallon of maple syrup so the canned butter has piqued my interest. I always have flour stored so maybe in an emergency, I could dry peaches, pears and apples as my grandmother did. (I still have the butter firkin that she stored her dried apples in and can smell the apples 50 years later when I open the firkin.)

If you, or any other freeper have tried the canned butter, I would be interested in your opinions.