*RED FEATHER brand Canned Butter*
By: gvi
22 March 2006

Those unfortunate few who’ve tried my homemade spare-ribs know that there are some things best left to the experts. The fact that no one required hospitalization (couldn’t force enough of the ribs down, I suspect) is testimony that God watches over not only fools, but also their culinary victims. I shall never attempt homemade spare-ribs again. Other things I’ll try and try until I get it right. I’m still attempting-and throwing out-yeast-based breads. Some few, though, I’ll try, but make sure I’ve got a fail-safe Plan B that relies upon the expertise of the aforementioned experts.

Some days ago on the main board I let on that I’d attempted canning butter once, and failed miserably. It’s still my aim to succeed at it, but in the meantime I’ve found an alternative that I know I can fall back on: RED FEATHER brand Canned Butter.

It’s canned in New Zealand, and sold mainly to Australians. Aussies and Kiwis seem to have a fondness for certain unexpected canned foods-I discovered Australian canned cheddar cheese (canned under the Kraft brand) in a small shop in Iraq (with Arabic labeling certifying it to be hilal, or appropriate for observant Muslims). It is quite good; a sort of Velveeta with a bit less plasticity and a creamier color than the "atomic orange" of Velveeta.

But I digress. The butter is imported by The Internet Grocer, Inc. of Quinlan, Texas. http://www.internet-grocer.net/butter.htm Their page for the article posts, along with more than you ever wanted to know about New Zealand canned butter manufacture, the following attractive photograph:

As you can see, it is sold in 12oz cans, which turns out to be about the same size as the canned roast beef you can get at Aldi. At $4.00 a can, it’s really expensive. But I bought a dozen cans because, as I said, it’s also a Plan B if I’m a complete dunce at butter canning. One went to the Christian food pantry, and one went for testing.

But how’s the stuff look, spread and taste? To find out, I used the help of my lovely and talented assistant:

Said lovely and talented assistant "spokesmodeling" the experimental can of butter.

Unlike many cans, these are easy for small hands to open. Printing on the can suggests opening both sides and pushing the product out; but since I used a can that was dented, we opted to use it as an ersatz butter dish as well. This can was at room temperature, and some of the butter oozed out the sides, coating the can opener. Make sure you clean yours afterward (you should clean the can opener often, as they can get nasty through neglect).

My lovely and talented (and brave) assistant about to spread some of the canned butter on toast. It spreads easily, not quite like whipped butter, but by no means liquid or runny.

.

The Moment of Truth!

And…

The above testimonial was completely unsolicited! The piece of toast pictured was dispatched with unusual haste.

In fact it tastes just like butter ought to. I say this because the store-brand butter we normally buy, while good, does not have quite the rich taste of this brand. I think it tastes better than normal store-bought butter, but I don’t live in a small town with its own dairy. The website heretofore mentioned has an abundance of additional information.

Would we buy it again? Yes, we would, if further experiments with home butter canning return similarly disappointing results as before.
gvi

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