Does any know where to get inexpensive powdered butter and sour cream?

[T. Modesto,PhD]

I was wondering if anyone has good resources for purchasing powdered butter, margarine and sour cream? The places I have found so far out out of the roof expensive.
Thanks
TEAR Center

[kr105]

Hi Tear,

For powdered butter I'm using MollyMcButter from Walmart (in baking aisle). Canned butter is going to be stocked within the next month at the Internet grocer and has a shelf life of years.

I have also canned butter at home. It's inexpensive and very good (not hard to do at all.) If you need directions, just let me know.

K.

[sharon sanders]

Thanks Kr105 for this and the other post about the cavity.

[prepdeb]

Tear,

I have canned butter too and it really is easy to do. We've tried some of it and it tends to be saltier than fresh butter so some people have suggested using unsalted butter or a combination when canning it. I had already purchased many pounds of butter that went into the freezer for canning so they were used and our canned butter is just a little salty.

We picked up a few jars of ghee as well. I found an online supplier the other day who accepts paypal and had reasonable shipping charges.

For powdered butter and sour cream, I ordered those online but not much of either. Just wanted a little on hand in case we run out of canned butter and ghee. Someone on another forum listed lots of food substitutions and a recipe for sour cream was among them.

SOUR CREAM
Add one tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice to one cup (8 fluid ounces) of undiluted evaporated milk and allow it to stand for five minutes.

A couple of sources for the powdered versions that don't rob you on shipping charges are beprepared.com and myfoodstorage.com. The myfoodstorage source ships free, but the delivery is slow. You can get a 1# mylar bag of butter powder for only $5.95 there and they also have the #2.5 cans and the #10 cans.

I haven't tried the evaporated milk idea yet, so I can't say how close it is to real sour cream in flavor or texture.

[ruthbeme]

If you have a Amish store close by, this is a great place to purchase powdered butter and powdered sour cream. They also have many other dried goods to choose from. Their prices are reasonable also. The closes one to me is about 45 minutes away but has been worth my time.

The tip on canning butter sounds great! I didn't realize you could can butter thanks everyone! I would love to know how!

[LMonty]

if you havent yet purchased the canned butter from internet grocer- be aware it doesnt taste like the butter we are used to from the grocery store.

its richer, and has a funny (to me) taste thats almost "fishy". I'm not quite sure I like it. It might be really good mixed half and half with cheap store butter.

margarine is one of the worst things you can put into your body! like other trans fats, it screws up the cellular walls and affects many receptors and cell processes. even the so-called "transfat free" contain oils that arent good for people!http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/skinny.html

"stick" with butter- its much healthier and safer!

[prepdeb]

Here's the directions I used for canning butter. Some people have expressed concern that it may not be safe, but the jars seal and remain sealed consistently. If you use all salted butter when making it, it seems to concentrate the saltiness. If you're not fond of salty butter, you might want to substitute unsalted or go half and half when canning it. I used half pint jars and found that roughly four and a half pounds of butter fills 12 of them.

BASIC BUTTER CANNING DIRECTIONS
reprinted from
http://www.endtimesreport.com/canning_butter.html

1. Use any butter that is on sale. Lesser quality butter requires more shaking (see #5 below), but the results are the same as with the expensive brands.

2. Heat pint jars in a 250 degree oven for 20 minutes, without rings or seals. One pound of butter slightly more than fills one pint jar, so if you melt 11 pounds of butter, heat 12 pint jars. A roasting pan works well for holding the pint jars while in the oven.

3. While the jars are heating, melt butter slowly until it comes to a slow boil. Using a large spatula, stir the bottom of the pot often to keep the butter from scorching. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes at least: a good simmer time will lessen the amount of shaking required (see #5 below). Place the lids in a small pot and bring to a boil, leaving the lids in simmering water until needed.

4. Stirring the melted butter from the bottom to the top with a soup ladle or small pot with a handle, pour the melted butter carefully into heated jars through a canning jar funnel. Leave 3/4" of head space in the jar, which allows room for the shaking process.

5. Carefully wipe off the top of the jars, then get a hot lid from the simmering water, add the lid and ring and tighten securely. Lids will seal as they cool. Once a few lids "ping," shake while the jars are still warm, but cool enough to handle easily, because the butter will separate and become foamy on top and white on the bottom. In a few minutes, shake again, and repeat until the butter retains the same consistency throughout the jar.

6. At this point, while still slightly warm, put the jars into a refrigerator. While cooling and hardening, shake again, and the melted butter will then look like butter and become firm. This final shaking is very important! Check every 5 minutes and give the jars a little shake until they are hardened in the jar!

Leave in the refrigerator for an hour.

[Shannon]

We just purchased one case of butter from the internet grocer website. Looking forward to trying some. If, by the way you find it too salty, then feel free to mash the butter flat and rinse it under cold running water. Mash and rinse, repeat, until the salt is gone. Butter does keep far longer however, if it is salted, the more salt the longer it keeps.

You can make your own buttermilk, yogurt, and sour cream. You will need to purchase all of these items in your market now. You need to look for those products that are labeled 'live cultures'. You can also order starters on-line at some cheese supply businesses. Once you get home, then pour the contents into ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, remove from trays and drop the cubes into a zip type freezer bag. When you want to serve one of these items you will have to plan a day in advance. Take out one of the cubes and drop it into reconstituted dry milk or evaporated milk thinned with water 50/50. Stir the contents until the cube has thawed and been well mixed with the milk. Cover with a tea towel and set the bowl aside in a warm (not hot) place for 24 hours. The longer you leave the mixture in a warm place the tangier the product will be. Therefore, taste the milk mix and when it has reached the desired strength, put it in the refrigerator or another cool place.

Your starter cubes should be either used or replaced about every three months. You may replace some of the freezer cubes with your own home grown yogurt, sour cream or buttermilk. It would probably be a good idea to split up your starters into a couple of different freezer bags in case one of your starters started to pick up a peculiar taste. That way you would have another starter batch to choose from and you could discard the starter that didn't taste good.

[gjs47]

You can get great prices and products from Macey's grocery outlets or Blue Chip foods (http://www.bluechipgroup.net/FAQ.html) in Salt Lake City, Utah. I have the powdered eggs and margarine. I bought the eggs for $10 per can with a 1 to 1 ratio of egg and water. Most are 2 to 1.

[T. Modesto,PhD]

Thank you that is great. Have you tasted the product yet? I know that my old university use to use a liquid egg product for the scrambled eggs and it was very good, can hardly believe that I am saying that about mass produced cafeteria food but it was nice and moist and tasty. I would think that the liquid needs to be kept refrigerated.

Did you get the eggs for Blue Chip or Macey's

Thanks again!
TM

Originally Posted by gjs47

You can get great prices and products from Macey's grocery outlets or Blue Chip foods (http://www.bluechipgroup.net/FAQ.html) in Salt Lake City, Utah. I have the powdered eggs and margarine. I bought the eggs for $10 per can with a 1 to 1 ratio of egg and water. Most are 2 to 1.

[gjs47]

I got the eggs from Macey's. Another great resource is Kitchen Kneads.

There is concern about lack of refrigeration and electricity. Vacuum packing may be an option. There is a hand vacuum packer for under $10 that will reseal most any vac sealed glass or plastic container like spaghetti sauce, salad dressing, pickles, etc. It will also work on resealable plastic bags. It's amazing. They say the vac packed butter will last 3 years on the shelf!

[T. Modesto,PhD]

wow this si great information. thank you so much. I'll be looking this up right away. sounds very good! Your information is very helpful. Thanks bunches!
TM

[Lynda]

*Nestle Media Crema/Table Cream. Substitute for cream or sour cream. Available at ethnic groceries. I got it at WMart grocery in Texas, mex food aisle. Very good, and many uses. I made a good Fettucini Alfredo with it.

*Walton Farms canned sour cream powder: Good.

*For powdered butter, Molly McButter seems as good as any. I have it frozen. It's even OK on potatoes when mixed with a neutral tasting fat source.

*I have stick butter frozen in vac bags. I also have the jars to can it. I doubt I will actually can it unless TSHTF, but if you have freezer room for butter, go ahead and buy the jars. (I also have jars purchased to be able to can other stuff in my freezer, if it comes to that)

Honeyville dry egg powder is not bad. I'm not much of an egg lover, but I made Migas (eggs, cheese, salsa, tortillas) with them and they were good.

Nestle Nido dry full-fat milk is decent. Like non-fat dry milk, it needs to be cold, well mixed, and allowed to sit several hours before drinking. The usual dry mild tricks apply here, like a drop of vanilla, etc.

Shannon, I never thought of freezing starters. That's a great idea.

[gjs47]

There was an offer of a 20% discount from a FluWikie friend on an earlier post.

Also, someone mentioned earlier about buying microfiber cloths and items. I can't find that post. I have been looking for these products and haven't found any. Does anyone know where microfiber items can be purchased, online or other? Do you know of any fabric stores that carry the actual material?

Thx,

G

[DRJJ]

Back in the dark ages (1960s), I used to buy cheap bacon, canned from Poland. It was wonderful, much better than supermarket bacon. Does anyone have sources for canned bacon? imported canned bacon?? cheap imported canned bacon???

Also, canned chicken is Costco is very tasty and easy to use with canned soups to make casseroles.

[gjs47]

I have to be REALLY honest here..... I don't think I'm going to be able to eat poultry if there is a pandemic.

[Lynda]

Be careful where you get storage foods. Some of then taste like caca, and some have fillers, or too much moisture. If one item has a 20% water content, and another has a 3% water content, you can't compare weight.

[T. Modesto,PhD]

Yes and I was able to get REAL cheap 1 pound canned hams for very little. They lasted a long time. The hams were from Denmark if I recall correctly. Wonder if they are still made. The small hams would be excellent since they could be consumed quickly.
Thanks or reminding me.
Terrie

Originally Posted by DRJJ

Back in the dark ages (1960s), I used to buy cheap bacon, canned from Poland. It was wonderful, much better than supermarket bacon. Does anyone have sources for canned bacon? imported canned bacon?? cheap imported canned bacon???

Also, canned chicken is Costco is very tasty and easy to use with canned soups to make casseroles.

[T. Modesto,PhD]

Just looked this up on canned bacon. I realize that this is a very old post but hey it might still be useful.
If any one is near Elizabeth NJ then can you let us know about this Celebrity company and if we can make orders?
Thanks
TM
Does anyone remember canned bacon? Has anyone seen this product lately? I have seen a new bacon product on the grocery shelf. It does not require refrigeration. It is pretty pricey $2.59 to $2.99. But the good ole fashion bacon in the can is what I am looking for.

-- Lyn Truss , March 04, 1999

Answers

I did a full search among the distributors of canned hams and bacon. None of them are bringing bacon into the lower 48. It is still being sold in Alaska. A friend came down from Fairbanks for the winter and she brought us two cases. Will do the same this year. The brand going into Alaska is CELEBRITY of Celebrity Foods, Elizabeth, NJ 07206. They have no email that I could find, information doesn't list a telephone and they don't answer letters. They do bring into the lower 48 small canned hams and a Spam like product which is far superior to Spam. I have gotten it at Eckard Drugs on occassion. The ham is the best too, I believe. If anyone lives in the area of Elizabeth, NJ maybe you could run this company down for the rest of us and find out where we can order. The meat products are from Hungary.

[T. Modesto,PhD]

Found the location for the hams and possibly for the bacon. It shows bacon but I am not sure if that is dehydrated or vac packed or just regular bacon. Hope this helps. My family used Plumrose hams a great deal and were very happy with them.

Plumrose USA Headquarters
7 Lexington Avenue
P.O. Box 1066
East Brunswick, NJ, 08816
Tel: 732-257-6600 ext. 315
Toll-free: 1-800-526-4909 ext. 315
Fax: (732) 257-6644
http://www.plumroseusa.com/main.html

[T. Modesto,PhD]

Here is a place that sells canned meats at a mroe reasonable price I thnk. Anyone knows of a cheaper place? Once company is selling this brand for about $30-40 more a case OUCH same brand



Brinckman's
http://brinkmanfarms.com
Product Case of 12 cans Case price per can Less than case price per can Qty. # Cans Total Cost
*TURKEY $73.00 $6.09 $6.50

____
_______ __________
*CHICKEN $73.00 $6.09 $6.50 ____ _______ __________
*BEEF $83.50 $6.95 $7.35 ____ _______ __________
PORK $73.00 $6.09 $6.50 ____ _______ __________
GROUND BEEF $58.00 $4.84 $5.25 ____ _______ __________
TURKEY WHITE $80.00 $6.67 $7.25 ____ _______ __________
HAM & BEANS $41.25 $3.44 $3.85 ____ _______ __________
BEEF VEG SOUP $55.00 $4.59 $5.20 ____ _______ __________
*TURKEY BROTH $24.00 $2.00 $2.25 ____ _______ __________
*CHICKEN BROTH $24.00 $2.00 $2.25 ____ _______ __________
BEEF BROTH $24.00 $2.00 $2.25 ____ _______ __________
BEEF & NOODLE $41.25 $3.44 $3.85 ____ _______ __________
CHICKEN &NOODLE $41.25 $3.44 $3.85

[Lynda]

The Plumrose hams have a lot more fat and yuk than they used to. They are OK cut into cubes for bean seasoning, though. I doubt I will buy more.

[prepdeb]

Since my earlier post of the recipe for making sour cream from evaporated milk, I would like to update that information.

I tried it and it was horrible! I've since purchased powdered sour cream from Barry farms. There may be cheaper resources out there, but they accept PayPal so I don't have to use a credit card and their service is wonderful.

http://www.barryfarm.com/our_store.htm

[T. Modesto,PhD]

Just saw in the grocery store Oscar myers has shelf safe bacon strips for about $2.75 per 15 in a box. For me that is expensive but as a comfort treat food that would not be bad if you if you are a real bacon lover.
TM

[kr105]

Hi,

Here are some of the places I've purchased from:

1) Canned Hams -- Sam's club has a 3 pack of the DAK imported, canned hams $7.06 for three 1 lb cans. Also check your local Walgreen's drug store since they periodically put them on sale for $2 to $3 each.

2) Bacon - Costco has Tyson's Bacon (shelf stable) 44 slices for $8.89 and Sam’s Club has the Hormel (shelf stable) bacon 70 slices for $7.88. Also look into the Hormel crumbled bacon (great for omelets and salads) in Sam’s Club. For a true New Yorker – nothing is as good as Taylor Pork Roll and several NY/NJ meat companies are mail ordering it. Check out Pork Roll Express at http://www.porkrollxpress.com/newstore/

3) Cheese and Butter: Hats off to the gals at FluWickie who arranged a deep discount at MREDEPOT on this one. Enter the discount code fluwickie on checkout to get between 20 – 25% off your order of canned butter (New Zealand) and canned cheddar cheese (Kraft). For those more home-ec savvy, you can “can” butter and the directions are at: http://homecooking.about.com/library...e/blmisc34.htm

4) Canned Meats (other than Ham)

Ground Beef – Grabill Country Meats (by the case only) 866-333-MEAT (Internet Grocer has their meat avail by the can)

Beef – Costco has canned beef chunks (not bad, but needs a gravy) at $10 for 6 12-oz cans; Some Walmarts have canned beef chunks too.

Beef, Turkey, Pork: Grabill sells it, as does Werling and Sons http://www.werlingandsons.com/
(Internet grocer http://web2.airmail.net/foodstr2/ sells as small quantities)

Chicken – Costco canned chicken is good (6) cans 12-oz each for $10. Sweet Sue (div of Castleberry) has a WHOLE canned chicken (3lb 2oz) in chicken broth at Lowe’s supermarkets and some Walmart for about $5.50 / can. It’s fully cooked, just heat and serve

Pork – Werling, Grabill both sell pork chunks, but most folks rave about the Castleberry brand – check your local grocer. Amazon has 12 (10oz) cans for $33

I hope it all helps,
KR105

[T. Modesto,PhD]

Wow those are great ideas, Thank you so much!!

I was at Sam's Club tonight and they have the canned turkey 3 - 12 oz cans for $8.95
Butter si so expensive and I was in Sam's Club and got a 1 gal jug of buttery flavored oil that I can use in the mac & cheese occassions. It was $6.79 ACT III which has a good flavor. I figured it out that one jug is about 8 pounds equivalent of butter flavor. Which is much cheaper. I also picked up a small jug of the buttery salt flavoring as well for under $3.

still trying to figure out which is the best way to go on laundry soap.. is powered cheaper than the liquid? I figure that liquid would dl be easier to use if having to wash stuff by hand and the powered may not dissolve or rise as easy. Thoughts anyone? Powered is better if it is spilled then you can always sweep it up and salvage a good portion of it hopefully, liquid is not the case.

For those who live in the city or have less space for possible trash removal / storage then a mini trash compressor might be helpful. They have the hand trash compressors that I understand is pretty good. I'm frankly cheap and use the old fashion method of foot n trash bin, press hard!

Thanks again everyone for these exceptional ideas.
Please keep them coming we can all certainly use them.
TM

[kr105]

correction

Grabill no longer has a toll free number. The store phone is (260) 627-3691.

[Sally Furniss]

Originally Posted by T. Modesto,PhD

still trying to figure out which is the best way to go on laundry soap.. is powered cheaper than the liquid? I figure that liquid would dl be easier to use if having to wash stuff by hand and the powered may not dissolve or rise as easy. Thoughts anyone? Powered is better if it is spilled then you can always sweep it up and salvage a good portion of it hopefully, liquid is not the case.

Concentrate does not take up so much space.

[tygerkittn]

It was so expensive I came up with a different solution.
I'm using the powdered sour cream and powdered cheese in cooking, correct? Hamburger Helper and Mac and cheese come with just the right amount of seasoning, HH includes cheese and sour cream in most flavors, mac and cheese has a packet of powdered cheese and is incredibly cheap, it's cheaper to just go ahead and stock up on HH and M & C. It's easier to plan meals, I can add tuna or TVP for protein etc, and Amazon has cases of 12 hamburger helpers for $15 right now. Sam's has Mac and Cheese in mega packs, cheap.
To see how long it lasts, I used a hamburger helper a couple of weeks ago that had expired in 2000. It was fine, it tasted normal. Since the expiration is a year or two in the future that gives you at LEAST 8 or 9 years shelf life. If the nutrients have diminished you can supplement a vitamin, that's no different than using enriched foods to begin with.
Does anyone see anything wrong with this? (I hope not, I bought 208 boxes of hamburger helper, and 160 of mac and cheese!)

[deadandalive]

[.
To see how long it lasts, I used a hamburger helper a couple of weeks ago that had expired in 2000. It was fine, it tasted normal. Since the expiration is a year or two in the future that gives you at LEAST 8 or 9 years shelf life. If the nutrients have diminished you can supplement a vitamin, that's no different than using enriched foods to begin with.
Does anyone see anything wrong with this? (I hope not, I bought 208 boxes of hamburger helper, and 160 of mac and cheese!)[/quote] seems like a good idea to me seems like a good back up measure beats eating worms
i saw a man on tv eat a can of corn beef 30+years old it was still ok.(this is not a recomendation though)