Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Bottled Butter Instructions

***We were recently sent an e-mail that states that this method is not safe at all and could result in serious sickness or possibly death - please research this further and decide for yourself***

(I haven't tried this yet, but got it from someone who attended the workshop that has done it. I look forward to trying it soon.)

1. Use any butter that is on sale. Lesser quality butter requires more shaking (see #5 below), but the results are the same as with the expensive brands.

2. Heat pint jars in a 250 degree oven for 20 minutes, without rings or seals. One pound of butter slightly more than fills one pint jar, so if you melt 11 pounds of butter, heat 12 pint jars. A roasting pan works well for holding the pint jars while in the oven.

3. While the jars are heating, melt butter slowly until it comes to a slow boil. Using a large spatula, stir the bottom of the pot often to keep the butter from scorching. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes at least: a good simmer time will lessen the amount of shaking required (see #5 below). Place the lids in a small pot and bring to a boil, leaving the lids in simmering water until needed.

4. Stir the melted butter from the bottom to the top with a soup ladle or small pot with a handle; pour the melted butter carefully into heated jars through a canning jar funnel. Leave ½” of head space in the jar, which allows room for the shaking process.

5. Carefully wipe off the top of the jars, then get a hot lid from the simmering water, add the lid and ring and tighten securely. Lids will seal as they cool. Once a few lids “ping” shake while the jars are still warm, but cool enough to handle easily, because 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.

6. At this point, while still slightly warm, put the jars into a 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 15 minutes and give the jars a little shake until they are hardened in the jar! Leave in the refrigerator for an hour.

7. Canned butter should store 3-5 years or longer on a cool, dark shelf. It does last a long time. Canner butter does not “melt” again when opened, so it does not need to be refrigerated upon opening, provided it is used within a reasonable length of time.

10 comments:

Heather said...

I am amazed at the things you can can and look forward to your sister's workshop and Thursday for sweet pork!

Shalyse said...

Hi, just wanted to say thanks so much for sharing these tips! Do you mind if I share your blog with others on my blog?

-Shalyse

Karli said...

I can't speak for all the contributors, but I'm pretty sure that we want EVERYONE to know about food storage. So Shalyse, YES! Share, share, share. And if anyone that reads this has a pearl of knowledge, please share with us too!

Born2Save said...

Okay, here comes the crazy couponing lady..... (at least ONE of them!)

Albertsons has 8 oz butter on sale 10/$10. Go to this link:
http://www.challengedairy.com/coupon/index.htm

and I believe you can print out 2 coupons. Since Albertsons doesn't double it would be $.50 for 8 oz. I checked Fry's yesterday and their pound butter was $2.50, so a great deal at Albertsons.

Since it is a printable coupon you can go to your in laws, friends, work, etc and print one from each computer.

Don't forget, Albertsons will take your $5 off a $20 purchase coupon from Fresh-n-Easy too!

Mindy said...

Brooke's Mom...awesome tip on the butter sale. Thanks! Heather, it was fun to meet you today. And, Shalyse, yes...share away! I am anxious to try canning butter. It is pretty awesome!

The Burtons said...

I just canned butter using this recipe. I used 11 lbs of butter and had 12 pint jars ready. Next time, I would adjust the recipe to 10 lbs butter and 12 pint jars. I had a lot left over and poured it into a tupperware bowl to use now. All in all, I was pleased with the result.

Carrie said...

I have "canned" butter and taught how to do it for a long time. I find that using half pint jars work really better for me than the pint jars. Less shaking and using the butter in smaller quantities is easier for me. Good luck. Did you know you can "can" cheese too? If you want the recipe let me know! It doesn't look that great, but if you like cheese and you can't get any it's nice to have.

Carrie said...

They say canned butter lasts 10 years!

Shari said...

I have been canning butter for a while now and have had nothing but great results. As a personal preference I use half salted half unsalted butter.

Tracy said...

I freeze butter all of the time. I know I'll be in trouble if the freezer goes out. I've never tried canning butter...it's an interesting concept. Also, thanks so much for this blog!