What is available in the way of "canned butter?" I have heard it called butter oil but I have not found it in any stores, but have heard that such a long term storage butter is available in some "ethnic" food stores. Can anyone shed some light on this or give me brand names and suggestions?

-- Steve F (smfdoc@aol.com), May 02, 1999

Answers

You might want to try dehydrated or dried butter. Available at most survival food dealers. The best (cheapest) source I've found is Custom Dried Foods.

Standard disclaimer -- don't work for them, don't get paid by them, but do use their product.

Simply add water, stir, and you have butter. If you're using it for cooking, just add the water and butter to the receipe.

-- De (delewis@inetone.net), May 02, 1999.

Custom Dried Foods.

-- x (x@x.x), May 02, 1999.

This is called ghee. Canning Butter Only use Land-O-Lakes butter or other high quality brand(I liked the unsalted best). Heat mason jelly jars in a oven @250* for 20 minutes(not the rings or seals). While jars are heating, melt the butter slowly till it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover. Simmer for 5 minutes. Pour melted butter in hot jars, be careful not to get any butter on rim of jar. If you do, wipe it off carefully with a clean damp cloth. Add seal and ring. They will seal as they cool. Shake them gently a few times during the cooling process to keep the butter from looking separated, but this is not necessary. put in refrigerator to harden again. Once hardened, remove and store on shelf. They will keep for 3 years. (I seem to remember reading that you want to separate the solids out as that is what goes rancid. If I find that site I'll post it) Cannning Margarine or Butter in an Oven Use sterile pint jars. Boil lids and rings. Use about 3.25 sticks of margarine or butter in each pint jar. You absolutely cannot use margarine that's been whipped. It must be margarine or butter that remains solid at room temperature. You may melt your margarine or butter ahead of time, in which case fill pint jars approx. 3/4 full of melted product. Fill your clean room temp. jars. Put lids & rings on snugly as you would when canning any product. Set jars in a pan in the oven in case your jars ooze a bit, which is perfectly okay if they do. Set this into a 225 degree oven for 25 minutes. You should look in and see the margarine moving as though bubbling. If there is no movement leave them about 10-15 minutes. This means the jars have built up enough internal pressure to seal your lids. This is the impotant part! DO NOT REMOVE FROM OVEN UNTIL THEY HAVE COOLED...I suggest leaving them overnight. These will keep for a year on your shelf. This comes from:

The 20th Century Homekeeper

There's lots of interesting and useful info here. mb in NC

-- mb (mdbutler@coastalnet.com), May 02, 1999.

Or buy Vegetable Crisco and add yellow food coloring...

I'll bet "Old Git" remembers that GI "margarine" w/ coloring tablets from the bad old days when butter was rationed.

Dano

-- Dano (bookem@blacksand.srf), May 02, 1999.

As a matter of fact, *I* remember that WWII margarine. It came in 1 lb. bricks, light grayish color, and there was a small packet of orange coloring. The brick was put into a bowl, the coloring sprinkled over it, and then mash, mash, mash, until it was a deep yellow throughout. Then reshape it or just use it from the bowl. Didn't taste like butter, no siree. I think the basic stuff was just lard, like Crisco. BTW, plain Crisco (not the butter flavored) has a shelf life of many years. Anyway, after the war, when rationing was lifted, butter became the first choice, but the margarine industry got a real start from the previous butter shortages, and that industry evolved into what we see today. Incidentally, I once lived in Minnesota and the Wisconsin butter lobby made it illegal to sell margarine there for quite a few years. People used to come over to Minnesota and smuggle boxes of margarine back to their home. Lastly, there apparently is actual butter that is canned. I had a post from someone in Australia that buys it that way there. I think it comes from New Zealand. Has a shelf life of 18 months or more depending on temperature of storage. Haven't seen it around here though.

-- Gordon (gpconnolly@aol.com), May 02, 1999.

Crisco is pure hydrogenated vegetable oil. The same process that makes it so shelf stable also makes it clog your arteries. No need to survive y2k and then have a heart attack from eating all that hydrogenated stuff. Or worse, have heart problems and the docs & hospitals still don't have their systems and equipment working! At least chelation doesn't need electricity! It will clean out all that hydrogenated stuff sticking to your arteries...

I've read some interesting stuff on the increase of myocardial infarctions (heart attacks) since margerine came on the scene. That along with refined white flour, sugar and white rice.

mb in NC

-- mb (mdbutler@coastalnet.com), May 02, 1999.