I'm getting totally two different stories on how to store butter for extended periods of time. The first is in a brine salt solution. The second is to make ghee. Made mostly in India Help, the home economist said the brine wouldn't work. And the ghee recipe she sent was very confusing. If you have personally made ghee before, please respond. If you have personally made a brine salt solution for store butter and it was successful, please respond. What is it that you are straining after the butter has been cooked? Thank you most kindly please help I need butter for Y2K

-- linda benson (lcbenson@bellsouth.net), July 12, 1999

Answers

1. Use any butter that is on sale. 2. Heat pint jars in 250 degree oven for 20 minutes, without rings or seals. One pound of butter is a little more than 1 pint jar, so if yuou melt 10 pounds you will get 11 pint jars.3. Whilr jars heat, melt butter slowly until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. (Also put canning lids in pot of water and simmer for 5 minutes. 4. Pour melted butter carefully into heated jars using a large ladle, stirring the melted butter before pouring into each jar. Use a canning jar funnel, then wipe the rim of the jar with a damp towel. Leave 1/2 inch to 3/4 " air space, which makes shaking easier. 5. Add lid and ring and close securely. Thay will seal as they cool. Shake while the jars are still warm but cool enough to handle easily, because the butter separates and becomes white on the bottom of the jar. Send e mail

-- Catherine Dufresne (Tiyocat@aol.com), July 12, 1999.

Page old git. If there is an answer, git got it:)

-- FLAME AWAY (BLehman202@aol.com), July 12, 1999.

Linda, I have a lot of info in canning butter, will e-mail if you want, but a friend made a better discovery. She really likes real butter. Bought Crisco butter flavored shortening (you can get it in small alluminum (sp?) packages. She mixes a little salt in and claims it tasted like real butter. We had another discussion on another board, because Crisco says, "Don't use as a spread." about the health ramifications. Seems the statement was just protection against law suits.Anyway, seems to work well and doesn.t need refrigeration.

-- DuffyO (duffyo@mailcity.com), July 12, 1999.

Thanks, Scotty! I don't always have an answer but I do have one for this: Adventurefoods.com

At this site you'll find some neat stuff, among which is dehydrated butter. I've tried it and it's surprisingly GOOD! You can't use it for sauteeing, but you can use it to put on corn on the cob, mix with foods, spread on bread. For more info on uses, e-mail Sam at the site. Very helpful and friendly people, not in the survival foods business, in the backpacking and mountaineering businesses.

They even have freeze-dried Cheddar (VERY good), mozzarella (strings up just like the fresh stuff), sour cream and cream cheese.

Also at the site is nutritional information for all their dried stuff (which you can buy in small quantities, by the way), including diabetic exchanges. And they have a superb cookbook using freeze-dried ingredients.

Will be getting my Adventure Foods stash out of storage at the Hungarian's house soon, will let you know how the foods have held up for the past 6-8 months.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), July 12, 1999.

Duffy, can you point me to that discusion about Crisco ? I also saw that "do not use as a spread " bit and wondered why not.

To me it doesn't taste like butter - I'll have to add Butterbuds or something - but at least it gives food the right texture and amount of fat.

-- biker (y2kbiker@worldnet.att.net), July 12, 1999.

Uh, . . .

Go to Sam's Club.

See the end caps of large tubs of Country Crock margarine, which are not refrigerated. Check the expiration dates. Ask the sales staff why they are not in the refrigerator.

Maybe it's because margarine doesn't need to be refrigerated? Maybe the only reason it's in the dairy case is to make us think it's more like butter?

I like butter,. . .but. . .if you're in a pinch?

-- country (crock@ain't.sobad), July 13, 1999.

My father grew up in South St. Paul. He didn't live in the house on top of the hill. So. St. Paul had a major stockyard in the early part of this century, and lard was cheap. He told me he regularly had lard sandwiches as a child.

He didn't recommend 'em.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), July 13, 1999.

I've just canned 9 pounds of butter using the first method described above. Worked just fine. I'm going to do 9 more pounds this week.

Shep

-- shep (debb@tenforward.com), July 13, 1999.

PRUNES FOLK,S LOTSA PRUNES. of course if you get bound up for awhile you,ll save on plastic bags. flame on loose-lips. nothing worse than fermented food cookin-in your gut,s.

-- change of diet. (dogs@zianet.com), July 13, 1999.

There's a lot more info on this on the preparation forum

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a.tcl?topic=TimeBomb%202000%20%2 8Y2000%29%20Preparation%20Forum

-- try (this@today.now), July 13, 1999.

Linda

I've used the same recipe as Catherine. I would make only two changes, though. 1) Use unsalted butter (the salt seems to brown and then you have little brown specks in your ghee) and 2) I've always skimmed all the foam from the ghee as it cooks and have never done the shaking step of the recipe.

Hope this helps. Linda

-- newbiebutnodummy (Linda@home.com), July 13, 1999.

Linda, why has it GOT to be butter? How about olive oil, which is actually good for you?

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWAyne@aol.com), July 13, 1999.

I have used and intend to use the salt brine solution in a crock- will hold for at least 2-3 months maybe more if it's cool. The trick is to keep the butter submerged in the brine with heavy lid and check frequently.

For long term brine storeage might want to get sweet (unsalted butter) as the brine will make it some saltier.

Consider getting a copy of the Frugal American Housewife Mrs Childs originally printed in 1833 reprinted by Applewood Books Bedford MA lots and lots of useful old time tips (and great philosophy on frugality) that really work.

I'm a living history specialist and I've tried alot of this- quality sometimes not as good as what we're used to but you can adjust. By the by- salt brine margarine in a crock works too. Kept mine in summer- temp about 65 degrees 2 months no problem.

EC

-- EC (JHnck1776@aol.com), July 13, 1999.

check out:

www.pleasanthillgrain.com

-- Phil Morris (pemorris@digitalexp.com), July 13, 1999.

linda honey,

k-y jellie works just fine. don't fret.

.

-- corrine l (corrine@iwaynet.net), July 13, 1999.

Just barter away some guns in exchange for butter :)

Econ 2001

-- Joe O (ozarkjoe@yahoo.com), July 13, 1999.