Help Us Out…Canning Butter & Pickled Okra

Good morning, and I hope all you guys are doing fine today! Welcome back once more to Coverin’ the Bases! Thank you for coming back by and visiting with us!
I’d like to start off this morning by asking for some help. I’ve got a few questions to throw at you and I’m sure you can help us out.

Help Us Out…Canning Butter & Pickled Okra:

First off, does anyone have a GOOD pickled okra recipe? I’ve tried a few of our friends pickled okra they’ve shared with us, but I gotta’ tell you…I wasn’t too impressed. I don’t think this was because of my being to “picky,” as once more…take a look at my picture. Honestly, I’m one of those guys that if you call it food…99% of the time, I call it, GOOD!

I don’t know the reasoning for it, but what I’ve tried I really didn’t care for. But, there’s one brand, and I can’t remember the name, that I really like. Don’t tell too many others if you wouldn’t mind because…it’s “store bought.”

So, if you guys do have a pickled okra recipe you enjoy, please send it to us. I’d greatly appreciate it! Deb doesn’t eat it pickled, so I feel strongly that would be a really good product to put into our storage! More for me.

Another question I’d like to ask you good people is about canning butter.

I think I know how to can it, but here’s a question in regards to this, as stupid as it may be. Can you can margarine as well as butter? Will it work, or can you only can, butter? I’m under the assumption that you wouldn’t be able to can the margarine. Please advise.

In regards to canning butter though, one of the main reasons I consider going ahead and doing so, is freezer space. Which brings up yet another question? Will butter store in the freezer and still be fine to use after thawing, and then, how long can it stay frozen?

If it’s okay to store frozen, then we’re good to go as far as the butter we have frozen, if not, anybody want to buy some cheap butter? There’ll be a good sale going on here at Dub and Deb’s place!

So, let me get back to the point I was making about freezing it. If you can store it frozen, look at the freezer space it takes up. We have a considerable amount in the freezer, maybe 40 pounds or so. With that being the case, if we can it, look at the freezer room it frees up.

Plus, it then becomes a nonfactor if you were to lose power for any length of time. Simply store it on the shelves in your pantry, or, if cramped for space, simply slide it under your bed!

Yet another question for you? The process I’m aware of for canning butter, is not a hot water bath, nor a pressure cooking canning process. It’s along the lines of the same style ofcanning we use for sweetbreads or cakes.

I’ve never actually canned butter before, but we’re fixing to give it a shot. Our attempt at this will be as follows, but if you have any input, good or bad, please share with us, and your reasoning behind your thoughts, as well. We’d like to try this, at least by the weekend.

First off, we’d put our canning jars in the oven and let them be heating up. We’d be melting our butter down in a pot, and I’m assuming you’d need to stir this frequently to make sure it doesn’t stick.

After simmering for a few minutes, we’d then take the mason jars (pints), out of the oven and fill them with the butter, but be sure to leave your 1” headspace…don’t fill to the top.

I forgot to mention, but you need to have your jar rings and seals (lids), in a small pot of hot water, while your butter is melting and your jars heating.

After putting your butter into the heated jars, take your rings and seals out and “lid” your jars. Then you’ll start hearing the pings, of your jars sealing.

Once you start hearing the pings, you will then shake the jars, again this is after you’ve heard them seal, but cool enough to not burn you, holding the jars. This will remix the ingredients of the butter back together. Repeat this until the butter retains the same appearance in the jar.

After shaking, but while still warm, place the jars into the fridge. After the butter sits a while in the fridge, shake once again. At this point the butter should be beginning to look like butter again, and start beginning to set up. Every few minutes lightly shake the jars again until the butter looks as if has setup.
That’s it.

Once more, if we’re not doing something correctly, or you have differing opinions or methods, we’d love to hear back from you. In this way, by combining our heads together, we can insure the best product for everyone, and that’s exactly what we want, right?

I feel very strongly in regards that this can be truly beneficial for everyone. It gives us all one more way to become a little more self-sufficient, in case of no power, plus increasing our storage space in our refrigerators and freezers.

Please let us know your own thoughts on this topic. You guys have all been so instrumental in sharing your information with us in the past, we know that this subject will be no different! Thanks in advance!!

Our New Compost Area:

Well, as I stated in one of our other columns, you guys have all been so beneficial in regards to “schooling” Deb and I in a number of different topics, and one of these was composting. Again, I felt we really didn’t have too much of a need for this, UNTIL, we started hearing from so many of our friends…you guys!

After, listening to Bonnie, Sandra, Kunoichi, Linda, Ben, and several others of you, I saw that on this subject, I’d literally been missing the boat!

You guys know we have cows, so I just figured we keep adding manure to the soil, then we’d be fine. On top of this, I do apply a dressing of commercial fertilizer about halfway through the growing season of each plant variety. This has worked, but I’m learning more about the slow “leaching back into the soil the compost provides, along with the manure.

Commercial fertilize is really a one and done technique, as once you’ve had one GOOD heavy rain…it’s gone. Using compost and manure, this is not the case. These things continually keep breaking down, or leeching into the soil. Personally, I’m really beginning to like the idea of composting.

How much so, well, I’m building a compost bed and have done a little landscaping, or trying to make the area we’ve chosen, a little more appealing to the eye. Boy, you guys and your suggestions are really starting to get into my pocketbook!! LOL!

Seriously, I think this is money well spent, and in reality we’re talking pennies, compared to the benefits you’ll reap from projects such as this. I’m sold!
To “Mississippi Queen,” we’ll definitely be making up a little cow tea, I’m still looking for a plastic drum, but will get a trash can, if Red, doesn’t come up with a drum pretty quick.

For those of you who might have missed the article describing “cow tea,” that I’m referring too, here’s the “recipe.” Thanks again, young lady!

Cow tea is famous in the south. For large gardens it is not practical.

For trophy plants, vegetable (think Tomato) and ornamentals it is almost a must. Ferns really love it.
1 huge container. (non-toxic, 55 gal. drum)
or (a big lug bucket plastic)
old panty hose (does anyone wear those anymore)
dried cow pies ( our immigrant ancestors used them for fuel)
Water
Methodology:
Place the container for easy access.

Fill container with water. Fill your panty hose with several dried cow pies and put it in the water. It is just like tea, when the water turns brown it’s ready to use. It does not burn, nutrient is about 1-1-1. As the water level lowers add more water. As the color of tea lightens add more cow pies.

If you decide to refresh your cow tea and remove your panty hose to start again, hang your hose up to dry and then cut open and top off potted plants or trophy plants in the garden. To start over just fill more hose with some pies put in tub or barrel and fill with more water. Potted ferns submerged in this liquid overnight grow bigger and have to be watered less. If you are curious about the panty hose, It’s like this, your pie will melt in the water and make a big fat mess and who wants to fish around in melted cow poop?

Now, as I said we’ve are building a 13’x16’ composting area. We did the same thing with it that we did with our raised bed gardens as far as making it more eye, appealing. We’ve gone around the area with PVC lattice fencing. For our raised bed gardens we used the 2’ high lattice, but for our compost area we used 3’ high lattice.

All are in our backyard, and I didn’t want “the boss lady” jacking with me, so we enclosed everything in, again, for appearance sake, and my continuing to be able to sleep in the house sake as well! I know you men know exactly where I’m coming from in this regard! Right fellows?

Anyway, I’m hoping to have a few pictures for you by the time this article posts, if not, I’ll put them in Saturday’s.

We really appreciate each and everyone one of you, and thanks again for dropping in to see us! You guys have a great day, and enjoy this sunshine, it’s a beautiful time of the year!

Keep your eyes open, and your nose in the wind! Especially during this time of the year, in regards to your nose in the wind. A lot of people are firing off those barbeque grills, and you can smell it when they do. If it’s a neighbor you haven’t met before, once I smell their grill cooking, I figure that’s about as good a time as any to go make their acquaintance! How about you?

God Bless you all!

Dub and Deb…out!

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12 Responses to Help Us Out…Canning Butter & Pickled Okra

  1. Kunoichi says:

    I used to have instructions for canning butter, but now I’m not sure which of my cookbooks it’s in anymore! *L* From what I remember, though, it was pretty much the same as you describe above, but it’s not something I’ve ever tried. It’s supposed to keep for up to 3 years.

    As for freezing butter, my parents used to do it every time they took payment for our cream in butter, since we’d be coming home with 20+ pounds of it. I don’t recall it ever tasting any different for being frozen.

    re: canning margarine… why would anyone even buy margarine in the first place? ;-) Someone’s given it a try, though. http://www.alpharubicon.com/kids/canningmargmama.htm No word on how it actually tasted in the end. This, however, might be useful for you. http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0727669 It seems canned margarine is more likely to go rancid.

    You might want to consider making ghee. http://www.ayurbalance.com/explore_howtosghee.htm The processing allows for higher cooking temperatures, where ordinary butter will burn. Cooking the butter until the milk solids actually brown changes the flavour quite a bit, too. Very nice. :-)

    • admin says:

      Hello Kunoichi, how have you been? Thank you one more time for your input, we really appreciate it! You’re right about the margarine, I really shoudn’t have asked about canning it, but was curious! If there’s a chance of the margarine to more likely go rancid I feel it’s a poor choice for sure! Making ghee?? What is ghee? I’ll look into it, but don’t think I’ve ever heard of it. Brian at the CFP says my login name should be imadumee, but what does he know, I thought?? THEN you suggest I start considering making ghee, and I have no idea what it is! Are you and Brian conspiring together?? LOL!!
      Thanks again for your comments, solid input once again, and thanks for reading!! You’re outstanding!! Come back anytime, we love hearing from you!
      D&D

  2. Sandy Grant says:

    I agree with the pickeled Okra. I love it but I have tried several times with different recipes and have not found anything satisfactory. The same with dill pickle recipes. I have only tried them twice and they were a failure both times. Very soggy. I like mine crunchy……

    • admin says:

      Hey Sandy! 10-4 on the pickled okra recipes I’ve tried. But, I got one yesterday from an Aunt of mine, who is a great cook! Also Cuzin Danny’s Momma! I told her I was glad she e-mailed it to me instead of tyin it around his neck and tellin me to get it…if I can! I’ll put this up in the next couple days. Now, I haven’t tried it, but if Aunt Ann says it’s good, then I gotta believe it is exactly that, she loves pickled okra as well. Says to let it sit 8 weeks….I said 8 weeks, there’s nothing in MY PANTRY could sit hardly 8 hours, if I LIKE IT!! She told me they’d only let it sit a week or so at a time too, but it would probably be even better if allowed to sit longer!
      D&D

  3. Sandra says:

    Sandy Grant, finding myself out of the gardening business several years ago and having a flush of grands fly in from Colorodo and expecting to live the good life for the summer, I found myself with out pickles.
    Go to market look on shelf for a gallon jar of whole Kosher pickles. Not kosher dills. Take them home, take the pickles out of the jar. Drain pickle juice into measuring container. Boil 1 cup water, 1/4 cup vinegar, add 1 tablespoon kosher salt and maybe a tablespoon sugar. Add reserved juice to water. Quarter the pickles and repack the jar one layer at a time. As you layer sprinkle in some dill seeds, whole peeled garlic pods. Keep layering and sprinkling. For you spicey people out there which we are shove in some whole dried pepper pods (three for the gallon). If you have a bay leaf put that in there too. Heat your juice and brine to a simmer and let cool slightly. Pour over pickles and clean jar top and lid then seal. Put in pantry for couple of days , take it and sit on counter. They won’t last long if you have any traffic in your kitchen.
    Kids love these things. Doing this for 20 years and never had a failure. The kosher process makes the best crispy pickle made from fresh cucumbers with the least amount of work. I will try to find my recipe if you like.

    Wipe lip of jar and wash lid. Pour brine over quartered pickles and seal.

    • admin says:

      Sportmodel…Good Morning!
      “Sandy Grant, finding myself out of the gardening business several years ago and having a flush of grands fly in from Colorodo and expecting to live the good life for the summer, I found myself with out pickles.”
      Sandra, you are a prime example of being dealt lemons, and then just turning around and making lemonade. If everyone was as thrifty as you, we’d all be better off today, especially in times like these! Thanks so much for all your contributions…you are a great help to Deb and I, and everyone else! I know all appreciate it!
      Take care, and if you get “busted,” for hoppin fences, and coppin cow pies, just holler! Got a good bailbondsman connection!! LOL!!
      D&D

  4. k taylor says:

    I read that canning margarine is exactly the same process as canning butter. I am kind of wary of canning things that have an expiration date though. Butter would be ok, as ghee (clarified butter) keeps a long, long time, and traditionally in olden times butter just needed to be salted and kept cool in the springhouse, or otherwise prepared to keep, so canning butter would do fine. But margarine, I would be more prone to use a non-milk margarine like Nucoa, if canning, so as not to have to worry about what a milk or whey ingredient would do (since the canned butter is not pressure canned). At the site I went to though, they said that canning margarine (& they did not require a certain brand) did just as well as butter.

    But wouldn’t brushing on popcorn oil give a buttery taste (maybe would have to add salt though) without having to can anything? Or butter flavor Crisco with a sprinkle of salt, perhaps? (I don’t use either of these 2 products, however, due to personal sensitivities & allergies to so many ingredients.)

    • admin says:

      K Taylor, how are you? First off thanks for reading. Secondly, thanks for taking the time to comment! Both are very much appreciated!
      You and Kunoichi are both throwing around the “ghee” word, and as it’s obvious now, I still haven’t read what it is, and you stated it as (clarified butter)…but, “Ghee,”I’m going to! LOL! Almost all of what we’ve frozen is butter, so that’s what we’ll use to can, the margarine was kinda just a thought, so I threw it out there. Again K, thanks for helping us out on this. You, as well as everyone else have been just fantastic in regards to just “jumpin in” to share your own knowledge with us. I tell all you good people, it is very humbling to see the goodness shared through your own thoughts and ideas you guys send to us! Thank you all so much!
      K, please come back and help us out again, we’re glad you did!
      The very best to you and yours!
      Dub and Deb

  5. Sandy Grant says:

    I hate to keep going back to the old “canning of sweet breads” but I don’t think I have ever been so facinated. I had some packets of brownie mix on hand and we wanted something sweet. I dumped the packets in added what was on the packet along with a cup of nuts and a “hefty squirt” of Hersheys Chocolate syrup to keep it moist. Filled those jars 1/2 full and put them in the oven. When the top cracked I decided that the cake was done. Sealed those suckers and YUM>>>>>WONDERFUL.
    I now have wonderful Apple Bread and Brownies on the shelf and Pumpking bread will have to hold off until next week…

    • admin says:

      Sandy Grant…hmmm, that name rings a bell! What’s up, young lady, and tell that lifeguard buddy of yours we say hello!
      Yeah man, we like canning those sweetbreads and cakes…and brownies too. A lot of fun and great snacks…that’s just what I need, another dern snack! You stated earlier, and it opened Debs eyes for sure in regards to this…gifts, they would make great gifts as you said. I believe though, that Deb may have a problem she’d like to ask your advice on…how to get them out of the pantry, put some ribbon on them, put em in a basket or whatever…WITHOUT MY SEEIN HER DO IT! I think her point is…I don’t like to see her giving them away! Imagine her thinking such as this!! The nerve of her!
      Sandy thanks again, and you know already are feeling towards Bill and yourself! I hate to do this, but…ROLL TIDE!!! Don’t ever ask me again!! LOL!!

      D&D

  6. Sandy Grant says:

    Sandra……I would love to have your recipe for the pickles. Surely hope you can find it. Although I have 12 cucumber plants abd need to find something to do with them. 6 of them nearly work me to death so I need a good dill recipe to go with my sweet one. This one sounds great.

  7. Sandy says:

    Sandra, I never found your pickle recipe for the fresh cucumbers. If you have the time, I would love to have it for next year. Tried you recipe stated about with the drained bought pickles and loved them.

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