22/03/2021
***CANNING BUTTER***
From time to time I see websites, blogs, or social media posts giving directions on how to preserve butter in canning jars for long-term storage. Let me just put your mind at ease, it’s not recommended, nor regarded as safe for home canning.
“Indeed, there are some directions for 'canning' butter in circulation on the Internet. Most of what we have seen are not really canning, as they do not have Boiling Water or Pressure Canning processes applied to the filled jar. Jars are preheated, the butter is melted down and poured into the jars, and the lids are put on the jars. Some directions say to put the jars in the refrigerator as they re-harden, but to keep shaking them at regular intervals to keep the separating butter better mixed as it hardens. This is merely storing butter in canning jars, not ‘canning’. True home canning is when the food is heated enough to destroy or sufficiently acid enough to prevent growth of all spores of Clostridium botulinum (that causes botulism) and other pathogens during room temperature storage on the shelf.
In conclusion, with no testing having been conducted to validate these methods, we would NOT recommend or endorse them as a safe home-canning process, let alone for storing butter at room temperature for an extended period. We do know that the methods given for preheating empty jars, or even filled jars, in a dry oven are not recommended by the jar manufacturers or by us for any food. Aside from the physical safety and quality issues, and the fact that it is not canning at all, if there happened to be spores of certain bacteria in there, these procedures will not destroy those spores for safe room temperature storage.”
https://nchfp.uga.edu/questions/FAQ_canning.html #33
So, what are my long-term storage options for butter? There are dehydrated butter options, you can substitute olive oil for butter, or you can freeze your butter. There may be other options as well but I’m not thinking of if you can think of some, share below!
