Butter

Discussion in 'Food & Drinks' started by Beth Gallagher, Jan 10, 2021.

  1. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    If I don't use the entire kilo of Amish butter for making ghee and the clarified stuff, I cut it into sticks and freeze them to put in the butter dish as needed.

    Reminds me of my mother buying gallons of milK when it went on sale and freezing it.
     
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  2. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    I tried freezing some milk back during the pandemic craziness, and some eggs, too. Neither turned out well. :confused:
     
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  3. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    Butter seems to freeze fine, but milk not so well. I haven't tried eggs myself, but people have told me that you can freeze scrambled eggs, either raw or after they have been cooked. Maybe someone else has tried this.
     
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  4. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I've never tried to (or heard of) freezing eggs.

    I know my mother used to freeze gallons of whole milk all the time (I think whole milk was the only choice back then) without issue. My brother would drink it without complaint (I never liked milk.)

    From U.S. Dairy.com:

    I suspect the reason you divide it into small containers is to facilitate the thawing process.
     
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  5. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    I have some really small tupperware things that I cracked one egg into and slightly beat them before freezing. The result was less than stellar but I might have just kept them too long.

    I froze a half-gallon of milk in the plastic jug it came in, but I had poured off a bit of it to allow for expansion. Seems like it remained watery or something after thawed, no matter how much I shook it up.
     
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  6. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I am trying to think of a reason why anyone would want to freeze milk, eggs, or butter.
     
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  7. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    You must have forgotten the "food shortages" about this time last year. Eggs and milk were as scarce as toilet paper and lysol. So I decided to experiment with freezing some eggs and some milk; neither turned out well.

    I've been freezing butter for years. I like to have some squirreled away, and I usually buy a few when it's on sale.
     
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  8. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Oh, okay. We didn't have food shortages here - just toilet paper, paper towels, and cleaning supplies. Maybe I'll freeze some toilet paper.
     
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  9. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    I don't think we had real shortages here, either. Just a bunch of hoarding going on. It was impossible to buy flour, rice, etc. for a time.
     
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  10. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    We had a family of 8. Sometimes when milk went on sale, my mother would load up. I guess it must have been one heck of a sale. Just one gallon must take up a lot of space (we had an upright freezer in the laundry room.) I specifically recall her doing it with milk from a place called "High's Dairy (and convenience) Stores." They had great ice cream (and they're still around in MD and PA.) Perhaps their sales and/or milk were special enough to mess with freezing. Being single and not a milk drinker, I've never done this.

    I've frozen Amish butter because they sell it in a 2# log and I don't go through it that fast. I cut up what I don't immediately use into sticks and freeze it. It's never had an appearance issue. I guess one might freeze butter if it went on sale and they baked a lot. Maybe I've done it a couple of times in my life when butter has gone on a real good sale.

    Eggs last so long at room temp, and even longer refrigerated, I can't imagine freezing them. Perhaps someone with chickens and a surplus might want to. I've never tried it, nor have I known anyone who's tried it. I know that the whites freeze remarkably well, and I have thrown away some number of them (with the attendant guilt trip) when just using the yolks, but I don't make meringue. What would I do with them? An "egg white omelet" sounds like "hot water soup" to me. So I don't bother.
     
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  11. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    When we had dairy goats, we tried to freeze milk, but it never worked out well. We ended up making soft cheeses and freezing those. They preserved fine. The only real reason to freeze eggs is if you are relying on your own production. For those of us in the north, egg production slows or stops in the winter, even with lights on. Eggs keep most of the winter just in the fridge, but some people think the quality is better if frozen. You can also dry your own eggs to preserve them. We freeze butter mostly because the price here fluctuates so much. We try to stock up when the price is down so we don't have to buy when it is high.
     
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  12. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    How can you safely dry eggs?

    I'm thinking 2 things:
    -Pasteurization is a function of Time x Temp, but can you pasteurize (dry) at a temp that won't cook them?
    -Exactly what type of container do you dehydrate liquids in? (I've got an Excalibur.)

    Regarding milk...of all the coincidences, I'm using buttermilk and had to buy 1/2 gallon to get the 2 cups I need. I'll portion out the rest and freeze it...I have done this before with buttermilk.
     
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  13. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    I haven't dried eggs myself, but those I have spoken with about it say you just scramble them and place them on the "jerky" sheet to dry. I assume they would be cooked during use, so pasteurization wouldn't be an issue. I don't think anyone would use them raw or in nog without cooking them.
     
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  14. Joe Smith

    Joe Smith Very Well-Known Member
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    Butter definitely! Milk & eggs a no-no!
     
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  15. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    My groceries needed a police escort today; I ordered 2 pounds of butter. I disguised it with a Velveeta box in case we are robbed.
     
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