The Vicky Challenge 2020. Canning Butter by Vicky.

I cannot manage a Feather your Nest Friday post this week and only thanks to Vicky we have a Vicky Challenge post!

Andy has been really ill.  He was air lifted in the air ambulance with a perforated bowel.  So this was an emergency situation.  We really didn't know what was wrong at first and it was sudden and a shock.   He left in the air ambulance Monday and today (now Friday night) we are just home.  And he is doing well!   I don't know how many hours I was on the road this week but it was a lot. Six today alone!  So this is why I cannot even manage my Friday post and why I am behind on replies and correspondence so please accept my apologies.

I hope it was a better week for you!  We can report on our weeks and our Vicky Challenge savings all in one place.  I am so glad to be home and catch up with everyone.

Two weeks ago Vicky posted on the possibilities of Pressure Canning.  This is something I had not really considered.   When she said butter is one thing you are able to can I realised diary products canned would be very useful.   So Vicky very kindly canned some butter in order to make up a tutorial.  I hope this will be useful information to lots of you.   Our discussion two weeks ago was an introduction and I shared photos of commercially canned butter which is very expensive.  So canned butter is available and I believe was also part of rations for soldiers in war time.   In hard times I am imagining some stored butter would be such a luxury!
Over to Vicky...

Let's talk canning! 

This time we are canning butter. You will need to decide for yourself if this is something you will like to do because it isn't conventional, but there are many that do. My great grandmother and aunt and grandmother canned butter. It has not been tested mainly because of the availability of fresh butter. Some preppers, homesteaders and off - gridders can a year's supply of butter so let's look at a few things before you decide if this is for you or not. I have been doing research just to make sure of things and in my opinion the older generation may not have had the modern things we do, but they certainly were not stupid. 

The following is on the Red feather website:

There is no Expiration Date written in stone, because the shelf life depends largely on the storage conditions (temperature, humidity, altitude, sunlight/shade, etc.).  We do guarantee the shelf life for two years however, the actual shelf life of the butter will ultimately be determined by the storage conditions (temperature being the main factor) and the seal on the can remaining intact and therefore protecting the butter from the introduction of oxygen.  After this, one can expect some nutritional value loss, although it will be edible, provide fat and calories in an emergency, and still be perfectly safe to eat if the cans remain sealed. 

And here is one from Wisegeek:

Canned butter is real butter that is sealed in a can or Mason jar. Its history dates back to the late 1800s. The non-perishable nature of this product allows it to be stored and consumed in situations where regular butter could not be.

And another I read from a college that tests things said your not really canning butter, just storing it in mason jars. 

And the CDC has a few references about canning. 

Now for the science part. Butter has a pH of 6.1-6.8 which means it's acidic. Kind of surprising isn't it? 

Now to can:

I used 8 stick of salted butter which gave 5 half pints of canned. 

Wash your jars in hot water and make sure to dry them well, you don't want any water in the jars. 

Preheat oven to 250 degrees and place the jars on a baking sheet. Once the oven is up to temperature shut it off and put the jars in the oven. We are only keeping the jars warm and sterile. 

Wash lids and rings, drying well and lay on a clean towel to be ready for the jars of butter. And get the pressure canner water simmering so it's ready for the hot jars of butter.

Put your sticks of butter in a pan on low heat to melt. 

Once melted turn the heat up to medium and stirring often so it doesn't burn let the butter come to the start of a boil. When you see a few good bubbles pop shut the heat off and start filling your jars. Be sure to stir each time before filling the next jar because as we heat it the milk solids separate. You will see them in the bottom of the jar after it's filled and that's ok. After the jars are filled leaving a one inch headspace wipe the rims and put on the lids and rings. 

Put the jars in the pressure canner, put on the lid and let it vent for 10 minutes then put on the weight.

 We will be doing 10 pounds of pressure. As soon as the canner has built up the 10 pounds and your weight starts rocking shut it off and leave it. 

As soon as the pressure has released and you can safely remove the lid take the jars out and place wherever you want them to start cooling. 

This part is very important! You have to shake the jars every 15 minutes to keep the butter solids mixed in the liquids. So every 15 minutes shake, shake, shake. I used oven mitts until the jars were cool enough to handle without them. You can put them in the fridge when the jars are cool enough, but you really have to keep an eye on them and shake them every 5 minutes or so because the butter can harden pretty quick that way. So for me I just kept shaking them every 15 minutes and voila canned butter! 

Any questions you may have I will gladly answer and I will have additional information in the comment section as well.

XOXO

Vicky

Thank you Vicky!  The end result looks so good!   Last year there were butter shortages in many places plus massive price rises.  Imagine having your own canned butter in your pantry! 

Now I do not have much to report as my week is a blur!  BUT on Monday before all this happened I had been in the town and I did a big stock up.  I also looked for an ironing board as with my sewing of late suddenly I need to iron.  No I normally don't iron and didn't even have an iron or ironing board!  In town the cheapest ironing board was over $100.  So forget it.  For that I would want someone to do the ironing to be included.   But I got one from an op shop for $12 and it is a beauty!  Also it has a thick padded cover that is perfect.  So that was a saving right there of $88. 

How did you build up your home and save this week?  

If you have any questions for Vicky I know she will help you.

My dream for tomorrow is to sleep in then begin to catch up!  Have a lovely weekend! xxx

The Vicky Challenge, 2020. Saving on food when costs are skyrocketing.

Last year I wrote quite a bit about beating the rising cost of food.  Goodness, if I knew then what I know now!  We did have rising prices.  But since then we had continued drought then massive fires that went for several months.   Now last year looks rosy compared to the present time.  We had many shortages too and some things just unavailable due to being decimated by heat or fire.   Things have not become easier for households to budget for food.  I get a lot of comments on this subject in particular from families with young children.   They know their growing children will soon be eating much more and wondering how they will afford it.
Added to this we have Corona Virus and a mounting impact.  Last week we ordered pumps since we have rainwater tanks and almost all pumps in Australia come from China.  So we quickly ordered spares.  But there are many drugs and other things that could become a shortage problem.
Then the dairy industry has been in so much trouble and now overseas companies are buying some of the biggest dairy businesses.   World wide there have already been butter shortages and dramatic price rises there.   Next week Vicky will teach us how to can butter.  This was going to be today but she was half way through when her power went out!

At the bottom  I will link to some past posts that are helpful on this subject.  Laine taught me to approach grocery shopping and menu planning in an entirely different way.  The way she does things basically flipped how I shop!   Now I shop many different shops.   Not all in the same week but I check out a wide range of stores over a month.   I run a little book of lists so when I am in certain store I will check my list and remember what I need.

Now things vary from area to area but in general I have found ...

I can get toothpaste and laundry power cheaper in discount chemists than the supermarket.  Also often toothbrushes and other cleaning products.

The discount chemist sells prescriptions at around half of the cost of our old chemist.  In the first year this saved me over $600.  At the time I had it in my head that all prescriptions were priced the same.  WRONG!  If you have prescriptions ring around for the best prices.
 
Plastic and paper products are cheaper in the cheap store/$2 store.  I get most garbage bags, snap lock bags and so on in the cheap stores.  Also often shampoo, conditioner, cotton buds, soaps...
Whatever is on my list I look there first.

I do check the supermarket catalogues and write down any deals I want to get.  This week I will be in two towns on different days.  I will check each catalogue first and note anything on a huge deal.
This is worth doing however the very best specials are rarely in the catalogue!   The best specials will usually be clearance, markdowns and discontinued items.  You have to look for those.

Last week I had a really successful shop.  Before I left I had gone through the catalogues and there was not one single thing I considered a good deal.  It was GRIM!
I decided God is greater than a catalogue and went to town anyway.  I did what Laine does and I prayed over my trip.

The first store I went into had the best priced roasts I have seen in a couple of years so I grabbed several of those.
A lady was going along the shelves in the fruit and veggie department marking things down.  I got 2 bunches of asparagus,  a bag of avocados, a container or mushrooms and so many things that looked fine although I knew I would need to use them within a day or two.  Each were under $1 as opposed to the $11 a bunch asparagus I saw the other day!

The next supermarket had marked down bread, pizza bases and rolls, brie for $2 and so on.  Over all I had a great shop!   None of these things were in the catalogues.  You have to hunt.

Once I have shopped I consider what I have brought home, what I have in the garden, fridge, freezer and pantry and then I get planning.  What can I make from all this stuff?
Last week we ate a lot of asparagus, mushrooms and avocados!  I had some cream so one night I made a creamy mushroom sauce with a steak.  It was beautiful!   Those mushrooms were also a big mushroom, tomato (from the garden) bacon and eggs (from the chickens) brunch.

This week I have zucchinis.  Suddenly there are lots of zucchinis!  And eggs!  So I am planning zoodles and making zucchini slices for dinner and lunch.  I have noted that with the purchase of cream I can make a heap of meals.   The excess zucchini (after sharing some with the girls) will go into the freezer to be added to winter soups.  I love putting some food away for later!

Dad tells me the apples on the big old tree will be ready in a couple of weeks.  So I will start thinking of loads of things to make.  Apples are wonderful as they are so versatile.

The big apples in this photo are some of Dad's apples from last year.   This picture is the back of my car on one apple picking trip...

Now what free food we might have available to us will depend on a lot on our location.  I hear of my Queensland friends getting bags of mangoes and avocados!   But the thing is usually free food doesn't fall out of the sky.  The first thing I do anywhere is learn where the fruit trees are.   I let everyone know I will pick fruit and return with jam or a pie.  I can barter with  eggs too.  I don't mind knocking at a door if I see fruit going to waste and I don't mind stopping by the side of the road and picking from a road side tree.  

Markets can be fantastic and if I go I shop in the last half hour as vendors don't really want to take  left overs home and often reduce it greatly.
A lot of us can grow some things ourselves.  Vicky has her annual Victory Garden.  She grows just rows and rows of veggies.   During the world wars governments encouraged everyone to grow whatever they could.  Well],  we can still have a Victory Garden!   You can grow a surprising amount in a small space.  Also in a few pots!
If you have the space and could possibly have chickens this is one of the very best ways to improve your food security.  You don't just get eggs but also fertiliser for the garden.
Another idea from during the war and depression years is to form a club or group.  One person might have the space for chickens yet several people could help and set up a share programme.
I read that pig clubs were a thing during the depression.   A group would form and they would all save scraps and weeds etc to feed pigs kept at one persons farm.  The costs and work were shared and everyone then had a portion of meat at the end.

Similarly if you can grow or produce one thing you have something to barter with. My main barter item is eggs.  Sometimes parsley, spinach and Bay Leaves.  I want to increase my barter items.

There are whole sale and restaurant supplies, wholesale butchers, spice markets, co ops, food pantries and pick your own orchards.  We need to consider going outside of what we have always done.
One thing for sure... supermarkets are no longer the cheapest places to buy your food.   The convenience of shopping in one place comes at a price.  Just comparing the fruit and veggies to those at a little grocery shop out of the way might be a massive surprise.  This sometimes saved 3/4 the cost of a supermarket when I lived in Adelaide.

Not wasting food is a big saver.  It is not just what we pay for food but how far we make it go!
I think it has been gradual but I really re assessed what I cook.  I am just not going to buy one random ingredient to make a recipe if I think that I will use one spoon out of a jar (or whatever) and the rest will probably be wasted.  Nor will I buy some outrageously expensive ingredient.  I will probably just skip the recipe altogether.    When I make Pesto I completely ignore the recipe that says"pine nuts"
as they are so expensive here.   Almonds will do for a fraction of the cost.
We have to remember that many recipes are aimed at getting us to buy certain things.   Free recipes come out in magazines the supermarkets  give way.  Many of these are great but also they try and get us to buy things and are a form of advertising.
I have also lowered my expectations.  It is ok to have a toasted sandwich or omelette for dinner.   It is good to have something simple.  If I can make enough for lunch the next day then I do.    If I can make enough for a couple of dinners then I do!

Pizza, fried rice, soups, frittatas and impossible pies are my favourite meals that will use up all kinds of left overs. They are all yummy and use up that little bit of bacon and left over roast veggies and goodness knows what!

Use what you have.  If you have an ingredient and don't know what to do with it google for ideas.

Do not feel defeated or worried about grocery prices.   We just have to change out tactics and maybe our habits.  Maybe even by shopping for simple basic ingredients we will also be healthier.  Basic ingredients give you so many options.


Here are some past posts on this subject...

Laine's Menu Planning.   Sorry about the test size changing in this article!  But Laine sheds light on how she shops and menu plans and it is really good!

How to beat rising prices like Nana did.   This is from last year and a general post on simple ways to save.

How to make meat go further.   Nan knew how to make meat go a long way.... just as we need to know now.

The Money Saving Baking Day.

Never waste one slice of bread.   If you have a challenge of filling hungry tummies and making lunches etc this post is for you.

Take a jar o f jam.   There are a lot of saving tips here  and a few tricks!

Economical and yummy cake.  This is good if you have left over stone fruit of any kind.

Miracle Muffins.   These are savoury or sweet and will use up anything from bacon, corn, cheese, herbs... to fruit, cereal, dried fruit, jam, yoghurt... you name it.  These can be good for breakfast and filling lunch boxes.

Consider that many with young families are reading.  What are your tips for filling hungry kids after school, filling lunch boxes and teenagers when they go through that inhaling fridges full of food stage?
Right there I have one word. Pikelets.  Boy did we eat some pikelets when we were young.  And fried rice and toasted sandwiches!  All cheap yet I thought they were all heavenly!

Enjoy your weekend.  Use up what you have and be inventive.xxx