The Perfect Containers

When I lived in Arizona my friend Jamie, a food storage/emergency preparedness guru, got me hooked on these storage containers from Wal-Mart:


I know, nothing special, right? And as always, not a super-flattering picture either. But here's why I like them. First of all, they hold the contents of a number ten can perfectly. Second, they have a lid like this:


As you can see, it has a small spout for pouring things like sugar and a larger opening for larger particles like potato pearls or refried bean flakes. Third thing I like about these containers is that I never have a hard time finding what I'm looking for. I have a lot of number ten cans in my pantry that all look really similar and sometimes I have a hard time finding the one I need or the one I've already opened. But having the items I use often in these transparent containers really saves me the hassle. And one last thing that I like about them is that the labels from the LDS cannery fit right on the front of them so I have the nutrition/preparation info when I need it.


Yes, I am aware that these containers don't really do anything that a number ten can doesn't do, but my obsessive-compulsive side is at peace when I open my pantry and see a nice row of uniform, neatly labeled, transparent storage containers. I know, I need help.

Canning Butter: No Canning Equipment or Experience Necessary!

That's right, you can can or bottle butter for your long-term food storage. And you don't need any special canners or know-how. Trust me, I have neither. You might think that for my first crack at solo canning I would choose some kind of fruit or vegetable, but I know that when it comes right down to it, butter is the food I can't live without. Actually, there are a couple of good reasons I decided to can butter (besides its deliciousness):

- You can buy butter that's already canned, but it's very, very expensive.
- The only alternatives I know are reconstituted butter powder and butter-flavored shortening and I can't imagine spreading either of those on my toast.
- YOU DON'T NEED ANY CANNING EQUIPMENT! Did I mention that already? That's the most exciting part, for me.
- Having butter in your year's supply really opens up a lot of options for food storage meals. Or if nothing else, you can use it in your kids' macaroni and cheese.
- If you have your butter stored in jars, you don't have to waste precious freezer space or worry about your power going out and ruining all your precious frozen butter.


I read a couple of slightly different methods for bottling butter and came up with this:

1. First, put all the jars you will be using (I used half-pint jars) into a 200-degree oven and leave them there until you're ready for them (at least 5 minutes).

2. Put all the rings and lids into a pot of gently boiling water. (I'm not sure of the reason for this, if it's just to sterilize them or if it's to get them hot, so I just left them there until I needed them.)

3. Melt the butter over low heat. Or maybe you should start doing this first. It actually took longer than I thought, so I probably could have gotten everything else ready while it was melting. If you're lucky like me, you'll have a lovely assistant like this to stir the butter for you while you read blogs or watch TV or whatever.


4. When the butter has all melted, pour it into the jars, leaving about 1/4" at the top. The easiest way to do this is to pour the butter into a pitcher and then use the pitcher to pour it into the jars. I found that out the hard way.

5. Take a damp cloth and wipe any butter off the tops of the jars. This is very important for getting a good seal on the jars and if I'm not mistaken, an important step when you're canning anything.

6. Put the lids and rings on the jars and let them sit to cool. As they cool, the jars will seal and
the lids will eventually "pop" as they form an indentation in the middle. If you're like me and you're really afraid that the jars won't seal, you'll stand there and obsessively push on all the lids to see if they've sealed yet. If you push on a lid and it pops back up, it hasn't sealed yet. Be patient or go do something else while you wait. Here is what it will look like at this point:


7. When the jars have sealed and the butter is at room temperature, shake all the jars and put them in the fridge. Take them out and shake them every ten minutes until they've solidified. Once they've set up, you don't have to worry about them separating anymore.

Here is a picture of my finished butter:


I did three pounds of butter and that's what I got out of it, plus a few tablespoons that ended up on the counter. (I started out pouring the butter straight from the pot into a funnel that my not-so-steady-handed, 3-year-old assistant was holding.) So I think that if I hadn't lost so much, three pounds of butter would have filled seven half-pint jars pretty well.

Butter has an official shelf life of 2 to 3 years, but one of my sources said that she has some cases of butter that are six years old and are still perfect.

One source also said that you should use high quality butter (land o' lakes or better). I used the Kirkland Signature butter from Costco, and I think it turned out fine. I think you have to worry more about the quality when you are canning margarine (which you can also do by this method), since cheap margarine sometimes contains water and separates easily. If you have any doubts about the quality of the butter or margarine you're using, start with just a pound. If it looks okay and hasn't separated after a month or so, go ahead and do some more.

Try it! It's fun, easy, and makes you feel like you know something about canning. And as if this post wasn't long enough already, let me just end with a picture of a couple of cows made out of butter. When my three-year-old saw it she said, "Hey look, that's me when I was a baby cow! You was a big cow."