Today's post is going to be rather short. I'm not going to discuss the intricacies of canning butter and cheese, for a very simple reason: DON'T DO IT!
Supposedly people in previous generations did this and survived. My great-great-grandmother Jane treated my great-grandfather's diphtheria by pouring kerosene down his throat. Although my great-grandfather Chester survived, that doesn't mean that the kerosene saved him or that it was a good idea. Just because our ancestors may have canned meats and vegetables in a boiling water bath and survived doesn't mean that was a good idea, either.
The folks at the government Cooperative Extension have put a lot of time and research into studying home canning and promoting the safest methods. Those are your tax dollars at work. There may be someone's agenda in play here, but the research shows that canning butter and cheese just isn't in our best interests. Butter is 16-17% water. It's enough water for botulism to live and grow in. And kill you. And yes, I know the scientists can manipulate data and results just like everybody else, but let's err on the side of caution here. And learn from my personal experience, as well.
Look, I understand. I really do. Cheese is such a nice thing to have. And butter? Is life really going to be worth living without butter?
Those were my thoughts when I first canned cheese and butter years ago. I followed the same directions you can find for yourself on the internet. And I canned a lot, because I sure as heck want both butter and cheese til the day I die.
Early on, I used some of the butter for baking. We all survived. No one even got sick. I probably used some of the cheese, too. But as time went on, some of the cheeses turned color. In case you feel you have to can cheese, which again, you really should not do, at least learn from my experience. Mozzarella cheese turns a kinda gross brown color pretty quickly. Same goes for Monterey Jack. The ten-year-old cheddar (probably mild, but maybe medium) still looks ok. It doesn't smell completely gross.
The butter, however, was a completely different matter. Some seals failed early on and the butter started smelling a bit like blue cheese. However, a lot of jars held their seals until I emptied them a few months ago. And they also smelled like blue cheese. Why did I hang onto them for so long? Well, I wouldn't have felt bad sharing it if someone came along demanding food.
Do I regret having canned butter and cheese? After all, that was a bit of time and money wasted.
No, I do not regret it one bit. I regret having canned so much, but I don't regret having done it for the simple fact that I learned, from my own sad experience, that it is not a good idea, despite what the nice folks on the internet say. You don't want to risk giving your family botulism or other food-borne diseases, especially in a grid-down situation where hospital laboratories (for diagnosis) and physicians and medications are in short supply or non-existent. Especially when you have alternatives.
Alternatives?
First off, cheese stores for a long time. What did people of previous generations do? How did they preserve the abundance of cream their cows and goats provided? They made it into cheese. The cheese was stored in root cellars where it was cool and dark. And depending on the kind of cheese, it could be kept for many, many months. Hard cheeses store longer than soft. Big blocks store longer than smaller. If the power goes out for good, the cheese doesn't have to be eaten or thrown away immediately. Make soft cheeses like yogurt and cream cheese from powdered milk. Wax hard cheeses to prolong the shelf life.
There are commercially canned options. There is freeze-dried cheese. And there is always Velveeta. (Or not. Personally, I just can't go there.)
And for butter? Ghee and clarified butter are ridiculously expensive. However, coconut oil substitutes almost perfectly for butter in baking breads and cookies. It's shelf-stable, and the store brand sells for about $3.50 a pound, the same as butter on a good day. Dehydrated butter is a pretty expensive option, and doesn't work well in most recipes. That's because it's basically powdered milk and dehydrated butter, not pure butter.
Links to related posts:
Coconut Oil for Butter
