Dehydration of butter or the use of butter powder is a great way to have rich-tasting foods when you’re accessing your long-term storage. If you’ve got a bunch of dry goods in your storage and you’re bunkered down, weathering out a storm or disaster, having some nice oils and fats to brighten up your dishes is going to be appreciated by everyone around you.
How to Dehydrate Butter and “Other” Butter
It’s easy!
Vacuum sealing, dehydration applications, and other methods of long-term storage are abundant! There are even freeze-dried options for great meals where rehydrating is a cinch. It would work with boiling water, a long overnight soak, or even a microwave if you want.
Dried soup powder, taco sauce, and other great dried sources of flavors exist when you consider long-term storage AND the removal of water.
Remember, storing your food at less than 10% moisture content reduces your risk of food poisoning through botulism.
The Utter Butter Process
Get Your Butter
- Homemade butter by hand or appliance – making butter’s fun! Just churn until “curdly”, but not too much
- *Butter substitutes such as I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter & canola/sunflower seed oil-based spreads
- *Almond butter, peanut butter, cocoa butter, Nutella
- *Cashew butter, coconut butter, shea butter, clarified butter
*store-bought containers generally need to be replaced for long-term food storage. Consider mylar bags and other forms of short to long-term food storage methods.
Remove Moisture by Freeze-Drying
Butter starts with cream and fat. It is then whisked until the water and fat begin to separate. Your goal is to remove the moisture from your butter and then create a nice spread for later.
Think of soup after you’ve cooked a bunch of meat and butter inside in the stew pot. After you’ve enjoyed it, it cools and you cover the lid, then put it into the fridge to enjoy the next day. When you open it up again, you’ll find that a layer of fat has collected atop the soup liquid. That’s your separation of water and fat for butter.
Remember, buying dehydrated butter powder is a much better option if you’re planning to store it for years and years. This is a great way to make a batch to store it to enjoy another day later in the year. Dehydrating butter will leave you with a nice, tasty treat to spread on your stored crackers or freshly baked bread (from your flour stores).
How to Freeze-Dry Food With Dry Ice
Using dry ice is much faster than using the freezer. This is because dry ice evaporates moisture from the food quickly.
Step 1: Pack the butter in freezer-safe bags.
Step 2: Place dry ice in a container with metal tongs. Place your bags of butter above the dry ice.
Step 3: Completely cover your bags and close the lid or tightly cover your dry ice container. Leave for 24 hours.
Step 4: Retrieve your bags and store in your freezer.
Note: the usage of freezer bags other than mylar bags significantly reduces the shelf-life of your stored food.
How to Freeze-Dry Your Butter and Other Spreads
There are so many advantages to having a freeze-dryer set-up in your home. Even if you buy certain products at times when food is well-priced, someday, inflation will cause it to rise again. So, even in times of full access to stores, something you’ve stored will be just as good even when the “fresh” version of it is more expensive in stores.
Before you begin
Make you’re not planning to dehydrate butter on a hot day or in a hot place. The colder the area, the easier your job will be. Even with your freeze-dryer, if the butter melts before it goes in, or is really runny, your end result is going to be mixed to say the least.
Close the door, turn on freeze dryer, and press start. Do this 30 minutes prior to loading to make sure the unit is cool before loading your butter in the freeze dryer.
If you’ve made your own butter or are removing a spread from a store-bought container, lay your spread out in rectangles across baking sheets atop your freeze-drying tray.
Step 1: Place your foods in the trays — The height of your “slabs” should normally not be higher than the sides of the freeze dryer trays.
Step 2: Place the trays in the dryer and close the doors.
Step 3: Once the food is in the freeze dryer, securely latch the door. Freeze food at -40 to -50 degrees.
Step 4: Let the freeze dryer do its job. The process is automatic! Typically, a batch will take 24 to 50 hours, depending on what is being freeze dried and the model of your freeze-dryer.
Step 5: Retrieve your food and store in mylar bags, place in your oxygen absorber, and seal.
How to Seal My Containers? | How to Seal Mylar Bags
How to Store My Butter?
The best containers are jars, cans and Mylar bags. However, a canning system addition to your freeze-dryer set up maybe extravagant. Mylar bags are great because the are the gold standard in long-term storage for items not have a distinct or granular shape.
- Mylar bags
- #10 cans
- Mason jars
- Glass jars
See our article on Long-Term Storage: A Complete Guide
How Long Does Dehydrated Butter Last?
Mechanically separated butter powder is the butter product that is going to last 25-30 years. If you want to dehydrate your butter and store it for the long term, the best practice would be to plan to use it that year, or within five years unless your storing capabilities are at their max.
- Don’t forget to rotate and check your stores regularly, with a date and label on every item.
Poorly stored food is a disgusting, rotting mess, and an incredible waste of time, energy, effort, food, and money.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed this article on butter and spread dehydration. In building your long-term food options, we at American Patriot Survivalist are here for pantry ideas.
- Not only butter, but other spreads are great for storage
- Food storage and food preparation go hand in hand.
The mindset of buying our way into food security and preparedness is only half the battle. Knowing how to survive in your organization and planning, that’s the victory.
Each project is a milestone in your self-reliance whether it’s chopping onions or making sure you’re good to go on food for 20+ years in the event of a nuclear winter. Each passing year, the Internet gives us access to tools and technology to improve our setups, recycling and storing materials and items with intrinsic value.
Don’t shy from dehydrating or storing anything; test your system.
“Always Be Ready” Max