# Canned Butter



## catsraven (Jan 25, 2010)

Im going to try this with my churned butter and see if it works.

1. Any butter can be used but the higher quality butters will be easier to work with. There isn't as much separation.

2. One pound of butter is a little more then a pint so it is easy to figure how many one pint jars you will need.

3. First clean your jars thoroughly and put them in an oven at 250 degrees F. for about 30 minutes. Put your rings and lids in a small pot and simmer for ten minutes.

4. Next melt the butter slowly until it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes.

5. Then pour the melted butter into the hot jars. I use a large pyrex measuring cup. Make sure you keep the butter stirred so that it doesn't separate.

6. Clean the tops of the jars with a cloth and put on the lids and rings. Tighten securely. Leave about one half of an inch space at the top of the jars.

7. As the jars start to cool you will need to shake them several times. It isn't a necessary step but the butter will look much better if you do.

8. When the jars are cool and SEALED put them in your storage. They should keep for three or four years if kept cool and dark.

Enjoy

How to can butter


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## Concerned_ Citizen (Jan 20, 2010)

Good Luck! ill see if my other half has any pointers or exp on this...


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Let us know how it turns out.  

When I have extra I freeze it ... but most of the time I just make it, when I need it.


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

That's going to be great if it holds.


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

My wife has done it before and she said the process you have should work okay. You can also can cheese similarly. It works great. Use wide mouth jars if you have them because it's easier to get the butter and cheese out later.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

mosquitomountainman said:


> You can also can cheese similarly..


Can cheese??? I've never heard that one.


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

My wife can and has canned about everything. Even the dog starts looking nervous when she gets the canner out. Cheese and butter both come out great when canned. 

Athough we have solar electricity our plans are to be able to live completely without electricity if the need arises. We rely on canning, drying and the root cellar for food storage. We're working our way toward more drying and root cellar as time goes on. They are both sustainable for the long term and use less resources.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

LINK PLEASE! or directions for canning cheese.
Now that I've started canning meat, I want to can everything I see. DW is getting a little concerned.


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

I'm wondering how canning cheese works as well.


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

Try this one: Ask Jackie by Jackie Clay Issue 92

You'll have to scroll down. The actual instructions are in reply to a letter near the bottom of the page.


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

That was interesting. I'm going to have to try it some time.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Thanks. That sounds easy enough. Wait till DW sees me melting cheese. eep:


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## UniqueOldGal (Mar 7, 2012)

It's encouraging that in the outback of Australia they've been living off canned ghee and cheese for decades and it has NO expiration dates....as in it lasts until the CAN goes bad by being exposed to moisture or heat!

NOTE for non homesteading Preppers: Look up Red Feather and Bega brands if you want long term storage butter and cheese and can't do it yourself! It's sold by the can or case!

Making clarified butter or "ghee" lasts Twice as long as canning butter with the water left in it too. It'll outlast any oil you try to store for the long term because properly canned--not a hint of water or solids left--(water slowly steamed out and then double strained with cheesecloth) it just doesn't go rancid..........or so I've researched...  I've canned some ghee but can't say I Know it's true until 10 years from now. LOTS of testimonials can be looked up though.


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## jungatheart (Feb 2, 2010)

UniqueOldGal said:


> It's encouraging that in the outback of Australia they've been living off canned ghee and cheese for decades and it has NO expiration dates....as in it lasts until the CAN goes bad by being exposed to moisture or heat!
> 
> NOTE for non homesteading Preppers: Look up Red Feather and Bega brands if you want long term storage butter and cheese and can't do it yourself! It's sold by the can or case!
> 
> Making clarified butter or "ghee" lasts Twice as long as canning butter with the water left in it too. It'll outlast any oil you try to store for the long term because properly canned--not a hint of water or solids left--(water slowly steamed out and then double strained with cheesecloth) it just doesn't go rancid..........or so I've researched...  I've canned some ghee but can't say I Know it's true until 10 years from now. LOTS of testimonials can be looked up though.


Had a craving for chocolate chip cookies last week but was out of butter and didn't want to make the 50 mile round trip to town so I broke into my stash of Red Feather canned butter. Great stuff!! At least 4 years old.


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## kathyprepper (Oct 6, 2011)

I feel I would be remiss not to point out the the USDA does not endorse canning either butter or cheese. Both are low acid foods and can not be safely canned in a water bath or oven canner. The possibility of botulism, while small, does exist. You do not want to chance illness, especially during a crisis, unnecessarily. Ghee may be canned as the milk solids are removed and only the fat remains. The other problem with both products is the difficulty in getting a good seal because of the fat that gets on the rim. I do know people who can both with only the occasional rancid batch but I just want to take a chance with my family's health. I teach food preservation classes and I'm in the process of writing a book on the subject so I'm not just talking out of my hat here. I hope that everybody who does any canning gets an up-to-date copy of the Ball Blue Book or the UGeorgia book, So Easy To Preserve.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

I'm glad to find out that I am not the only one who cans butter and cheese. I have many, many pounds of both canned and on the shelf.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

kathyprepper said:


> I feel I would be remiss not to point out the the USDA does not endorse canning either butter or cheese. Both are low acid foods and can not be safely canned in a water bath or oven canner. The possibility of botulism, while small, does exist. You do not want to chance illness, especially during a crisis, unnecessarily. Ghee may be canned as the milk solids are removed and only the fat remains. The other problem with both products is the difficulty in getting a good seal because of the fat that gets on the rim. I do know people who can both with only the occasional rancid batch but I just want to take a chance with my family's health. I teach food preservation classes and I'm in the process of writing a book on the subject so I'm not just talking out of my hat here. I hope that everybody who does any canning gets an up-to-date copy of the Ball Blue Book or the UGeorgia book, So Easy To Preserve.


Your concerns are noted and appreciated, but, It comes down to what chances you are willing to take, I feel that the risks are so small and remote that canning and eating butter and cheese are well worth it. I saw that you keep Bee's, their is a risk of botulism poisoning eating honey, especially for very young children. Granted, It very, very rarely happens but the possibility is there, same with the canned cheese and butter.

Those of us who can and consume butter and cheese feel that it is an acceptable risk.

I, for one, have alot of respect for your knowledge and experience, we just happen to disagree on a few points. If we all agreed on everything, this world would be a very boring place.


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## kathyprepper (Oct 6, 2011)

Agreed. I would feel terrible if I had information I kept to myself rather than rock a boat and then found out someone had become ill. BTW. I would never let a child under the age of one consume raw honey for just that reason. An adult immune system can handle it just fine.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

kathyprepper said:


> BTW. I would never let a child under the age of one consume raw honey for just that reason. An adult immune system can handle it just fine.


Figured that would be the case, was just using it as an example because it was a such a remote possibility.


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## Rachel (Mar 5, 2012)

So has anyone tried pressure canning butter or cheese and does it change the texture?


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Rachel said:


> So has anyone tried pressure canning butter or cheese and does it change the texture?


Pressure canning can work with butter without much trouble, Cheese is a whole nother story...I have done it but I have also messed it up more often than I have had success. With cheese it can be kinda expensive to make mistakes.


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## kyredneck (Aug 12, 2012)

kathyprepper said:


> I feel I would be remiss not to point out the the USDA does not endorse canning either *butter* or *cheese*. Both are low acid foods and can not be safely canned in a water bath or oven canner. The possibility of botulism, while small, does exist. You do not want to chance illness, especially during a crisis, unnecessarily. *Ghee* may be canned as the milk solids are removed and only the fat remains. The other *problem with both products is the difficulty in getting a good seal because of the fat that gets on the rim.* I do know people who can both with only the occasional rancid batch but I just want to take a chance with my family's health. I teach food preservation classes and I'm in the process of writing a book on the subject so I'm not just talking out of my hat here. I hope that everybody who does any canning gets an up-to-date copy of the Ball Blue Book or the UGeorgia book, So Easy To Preserve.


That was one of the concerns I had with canning our lard, getting fat on the rim. So far only one pint has lost it's seal, so I guess we did a pretty good job of keeping the rims clean before putting the lids on.


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## marlas1too (Feb 28, 2010)

been canning(clarifying butter)for years now and at present i have 4 cases of butter stored up --tried some of the oldest canned last week and it was still good good to see someone else is doing so too


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## marlas1too (Feb 28, 2010)

p.s.--i use the pressure canning method


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

marlas1too said:


> been canning(clarifying butter)for years now and at present i have 4 cases of butter stored up --tried some of the oldest canned last week and it was still good good to see someone else is doing so too


4 cases??


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

marlas1too said:


> p.s.--i use the pressure canning method


marlas, can you explain your pressure canning method a little? I'm assuming the butter is melted down and put into jars, like the other method - but how long do you process it, and at what weight? (and roughly what's your elevation - since that effects the weight used)

Oh, and what size jars do you use? I'm leaning towards half pints, since I've read canned butter doesn't keep as long as regular butter once it's opened (I believe that was Davarm's experience) - but it's so hard to find weights/times on half-pints, lol.


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

I do my butter in half-pints, and for the reason you mentioned, goshen. It tastes... I dunno. Flat, sort of, after a while.

Four cases sounds great to me! I'd love to have that much canned, and I hope to get more of it canned ahead.

I, too, would like to know more about the pressure canning method. I've always water-bathed my butter and cheeses. By the way, cream cheese cans up very well, even better than Cheddar and mozz. Canning cottage cheese was a disaster though. It separated into a white clump and a bunch of clear watery stuff. Oh, another thing we did last year was to can some egg nog while it was out on the shelves. Then we chilled a jar for "Christmas in July"!


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

gypsysue said:


> Canning cottage cheese was a disaster though.


Doesn't dehydrate much better, tried both.


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## timmie (Jan 14, 2012)

gypsysue said:


> I do my butter in half-pints, and for the reason you mentioned, goshen. It tastes... I dunno. Flat, sort of, after a while.
> 
> Four cases sounds great to me! I'd love to have that much canned, and I hope to get more of it canned ahead.
> 
> I, too, would like to know more about the pressure canning method. I've always water-bathed my butter and cheeses. By the way, cream cheese cans up very well, even better than Cheddar and mozz. Canning cottage cheese was a disaster though. It separated into a white clump and a bunch of clear watery stuff. Oh, another thing we did last year was to can some egg nog while it was out on the shelves. Then we chilled a jar for "Christmas in July"!


how long did you can eggnog and waterbath or pressure?


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Hey Gypsy, have you ever canned Velveeta cheese? You've got such a knack for regular cheeses, I just wondered if you'd done Velveeta, too. I'm gonna try it one day soon, but I'm leaning toward pressure canning (just more comfortable with that, go figure - probably because it was the method I learned first). Just wondering if anyone has first-hand experience with Velveeta and pressure canning.... :wave:


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

gypsysue said:


> I, too, would like to know more about the pressure canning method. I've always water-bathed my butter and cheeses. By the way, *cream cheese cans up very well*, even better than Cheddar and mozz. Canning cottage cheese was a disaster though. It separated into a white clump and a bunch of clear watery stuff.


Details, please!!


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

PrepN4Good said:


> Details, please!!


Oh, cream cheese is a breeze. I let the block of cream cheese warm up to room temperature, then cut it into pieces and stuff it in the jars. I mash it down into the jar so I can get the whole block in. Then I process it in the water bath canner for 45 minutes.

The taste and consistency remain the same as before you canned it. It's great. It goes on sale here around Thanksgiving time, so I buy a bunch of them and can them.

Cheddar stays close to fresh form but mozzarella darkens. We still can it and use it for pizzas and stuff when we're camping. It shreds nicely. If we're using something bigger than half-pints, such as pints, we use wide-mouth to make it easier to get the cheese out. You dip the jar in warm water for a few minutes, then slide a knife into the jar alongside the cheese, then pull it out. If it still won't come out you might have to jab the knife at a bit of an angle into the center of the cheese, sort of like cork-screw style, and pull. Then you can slice it or grate it.

Camping for us can be weeks or even months, and no cooler or fridge. So canned dairy and meat products are important to us.


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## Pampr (Jul 25, 2012)

from what i understand cheeses that come with wax can just be rewaxed as you use it and it will keep for ages in the cool dry storage...it doesn't need to be refrigerated...i saw that on some doomsday prepper show...(I also wondered why I didn't think any of those people were weird)


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

gypsysue said:


> I do my butter in half-pints, and for the reason you mentioned, goshen. It tastes... I dunno. Flat, sort of, after a while.
> 
> Four cases sounds great to me! I'd love to have that much canned, and I hope to get more of it canned ahead.
> 
> I, too, would like to know more about the pressure canning method. I've always water-bathed my butter and cheeses. By the way, cream cheese cans up very well, even better than Cheddar and mozz. Canning cottage cheese was a disaster though. It separated into a white clump and a bunch of clear watery stuff. Oh, another thing we did last year was to can some egg nog while it was out on the shelves. Then we chilled a jar for "Christmas in July"!


Sue--have you eaten any of your canned butter--what about the taste?
I'm ready to try my oldest; I canned 8 more pints today.

Cream cheese?? I like it on sale and will remember to can some --thanks.
It's nice for when you have everything for that recipe..but creamed cheese!!


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## marlas1too (Feb 28, 2010)

well here is a site that cans butter like i do but i clarify my butter first




i can my butter at 10 lbs. for 1 hr. like the video and i use salted butter--i like salt--but you can use unsalted butter


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Thanks, Marlas!


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## RUN1251 (Mar 15, 2012)

How do you can the cheddar cheese?


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

kathyprepper said:


> I feel I would be remiss not to point out the the USDA does not endorse canning either butter or cheese. Both are low acid foods and can not be safely canned in a water bath or oven canner. The possibility of botulism, while small, does exist. You do not want to chance illness, especially during a crisis, unnecessarily. Ghee may be canned as the milk solids are removed and only the fat remains. The other problem with both products is the difficulty in getting a good seal because of the fat that gets on the rim. I do know people who can both with only the occasional rancid batch but I just want to take a chance with my family's health. I teach food preservation classes and I'm in the process of writing a book on the subject so I'm not just talking out of my hat here. I hope that everybody who does any canning gets an up-to-date copy of the Ball Blue Book or the UGeorgia book, So Easy To Preserve.


The USDA thin has been beat ta death on here before, we all know they don't approve it.

So, those that don't wanna can it, don't. Thoses who follow clean practices an cannin procedures an be comfortable with it, continue on yall!

Many thins er done that the goobernut agency's don't "approve", this just happens ta be another one. This risks er minimal if good procedures be followed. The excuse of "commercially canned" methods can't be achieved at home don't hold much water with the fact that even they have bad product an thus recalls from time ta time.

So the best we can do as I've stated before, Clean everthin, follow good procedure an yall should have a good product.

Those that don't wanna eat my canned goods, find yalls self a dumpster, cause dinner be on the table an that be what there is ta eat.

By the way, there was a university in Utah what done a study on it an found no problems.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

OldCootHillbilly said:


> The USDA thin has been beat ta death on here before, we all know they don't approve it.
> 
> So, those that don't wanna can it, don't. Thoses who follow clean practices an cannin procedures an be comfortable with it, continue on yall!
> 
> ...


I have visited several sites to investigate botulism..go for it--do it yourself..about 125 to 150 annually depending on the study, and most are infants or Alaskans(from blubber)....why am I saying this??
I'm more worried about doctor negligence or drunk drivers than killing myself with canned goods improperly processed!!!:gaah:


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