Making and Freezing Herb Butters

One thing that I have found that comes out so wonderful is a good Herb Butter. As a go to and to have on hand for so many recipes as well as a party platter. (charcuterie fancy pant's definition) 

This recipe can be used for any butter to be mixed with any herb. It is simple, freezes well and great to have on hand.

Ingredients

• 2 cubes unsalted butter
• One Bushel of fresh dill
• Parchment paper

The process is easy. You will start by taking some unsalted butter and bring it to room temperature. I will use 2 cubes this makes one cup of butter. We are going to finally chop approximately one cup of fresh dill. Fresh is best for this recipe because the dry will become soft and mushy which can change the color and texture of your butter.

Whip this mixture together in a small bowl with a mixer or by hand. I say mixer because we all have so many different types of them. I have a old school hand mixer. My Kitchen Aid is a tool I use for big jobs and baking.

For this I will do it by hand with a spatula.

* I do not add garlic or salt to this or any of my herb butters 

Once you have your mixture completely mixed you will want to have you parchment paper ready. Lay your parchment paper flat on the surface/counter. You can secure the corners with anything to hold it in place. The first pictures shows my mixture being placed on the parchment paper.

This second shot shows the butter mixture rolled up ready to go. Give your self enough parchment paper to roll it twice to prevent and freezer burn.

And finally the ends are closed I just use a rubber band. Anything will do cooking twine, rubber band, tie wrap.

Now you can put it in the freezer for up to 3 or more months. When you are ready to use it remove it from the freezer and slice it. I use it for so many things. 

I have put some tips below this post. 

This buttery post is so wonderful for so many things in the kitchen you will do as a creator of deliciousness. For all of you who I do know have a herb garden or impulse buy of basil at TJ's. During the summer season we do grow so many herb for preventative reason in the garden as well as for cooking and medicinal reasons. 

Those fresh herb can be turned into flavorful butters to use through out the year. Anything from Party Trays . After you freeze your butters they can be cut into slices return to the freezer for an easy way to add to cooking for soups, fish, chicken or fresh Bread. The ideas are endless as you will find with so many of my recipes and DIY idea's. Enjoy!

What is a Chutney, Jam, Conserve, Marmalade, Jelly ?

What exactly is a preserve. Let us start from the beginning but not get to goofy. Fruit Preserves are the preparation of fruits or vegetables. Most often they are canned adding sugar and pectin. Back in the day prior to 1939 they never used pectin and thus many preservers are not using it today. The ingredients you use and how you prepare your preserves determines what type it is.

There are a few types. There are sweet preserves which will use sugar, honey or a sweetening agent. There are savory preserves using vegetables. and there are savory. Let us get started and it will be in alphabetical order. 


What is a Chutney?

A chutney can be made from with a fruit or a vegetable. It is a pungent type of relish. Chutneys always have a variation of spices added. It is noted that American and European chutneys have vinegar and sugar added and are cooked until thick. Chutney is of Indian origin.

What is a Confit ?

A confit of which I have yet to do is food that have been cooked in oil or sugar water. Sealed and stored in a cool, dark place. This is known to be the oldest way to preserve food. The term is also used for preserved meats, it is also used for fruits and vegetables seasoned with and cooked with honey and or sugar until jam-like. 

What is a Conserve?

This is whole fruit jam. The fruit is "stewed" in sugar. Conserves are known to be thicker than you standard jam and may also include nuts and or dried fruit.

What is Fruit Butter?

This is delicious and one of my favorites. This process is  when you take whole fruit and run it through a food mill, sieve or blend it after it has been processed by heat. It is cooked to the point of making it paste like.

What is Fruit Curd ?

This is a spread or dessert topping that has been made with lemon, lime, orange.

What is a Fruit Spread ?

Fruit spread is a jam/preserve with no sugar added.

What is a Jam ?

Jam is chopped fruit or vegetables that is cooked crushed into bite size pieces and heated in sugar and pectin to gel. Jam has a velvet consistency without large chunks of fruit, good color, and great fruit flavor.

What is Jelly?

Jelly is a fruit spread made from sweetened fruit/vegetable juice that is set by using it's ( U.S. Jelly) naturally occurring pectin.  Natural pectin is extracted from the cooked fruit thus creating a clear sparkling jelly.

What is Marmalade? 

This is one of my favorite ! I make a great tangy snappy lemon marmalade! Marmalade is a preserve made from juice and peels of citrus fruits boiled in sugar.

Disclaimer: This is not  all inclusive information/definitions for preserving. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. Please consult your local Center for Home Preservation for additional information and available classes.

Excerpts for information was from Chutney , Confit , Conserve , Fruit Butter , Fruit Curd , Jam , Jelly , Marmalade

Apricot Butter

Apricot Butter it is delicious like any type of fruit butter. Smooth in texture clean taste. It is different than regular jam in my humble opinion.

All butters are easy to make they just are a little more time consuming in the cooking process. Like a good soup they take a bit more time. So let us get started.

The ingredients could not be simpler. I took my recipe from the Ball Blue Book. The book calls out that it makes 3 pints I make my jams in half pints because it seem to be just enough to not get bored with the flavor and just enough to finish and move on to the next jar of jam.





Ingredients = 5 to 6 half pints

2 pounds of apricots (24 pieces of fruit)
3 cups of sugar
2 tablespoons of lemon








I do not peel my apricot but like most of my jams I keep as much of the fruit as possible.









The reason is two fold

• It is a pain in the ass to peel most fruit

• There are essential vitamin I want from those skins in my jams

• Natural Pectin is in a lot of those peel's

So I chop up my apricots and simmer then in a large pot with a half cup of water. Simmer them until they are soft.  I then run mine through a food mill.











This is a funny step because if you put it through the Food Mill then it does become a bit more liquefied. So keeping it on a more firm/thickish side is not an easy task.  I have found the longer I preserve food  the more I learn and I find ways to avoid runny jams. It really is a hit and miss with this skill. Time is our best teacher.

Moving on the you will need a cup and a half to two cups of apricot pulp.Now put your apricot pulp and sugar back into the pot and simmer until it thickens. This is a slow and you must be patient. As you mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of your pot. Add your lemon juice and ladle hot butter into you warm, sterilized jars.

Leave a 1/4" head space. Wipe down the rim of the jars and adjust and place you two piece caps.

Process them in a HOT Water bath for 10 minutes.

 Remove you jar.s and let them cool overnight.

Once cool remove the twist cap and wipe jars completely so they are squeaky clean and store in a cool spot. Do label them with the jam and date canned.

 Disclaimer: This is not an all inclusive recipe for making jam. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. Please consult your local Agricultural Extension Service for additional information and available classes.

Grandma's Apple Butter

Ok when I started to can I only wanted to do it for the Apple Butter Jam. The memories I have of my Grandma Lois and her canning extravaganza's are glorious memories.


Yet in the last few years I never made it. Well today that is over. I woke up saw my husbands big giant apples in the frig and said this is the day. I called my dad to get his Mom's recipe I can still taste it.




I also got some tips from friends checked the Internet out and there are as many recipes as there are apples. So I stuck with Grama Lois original and got to jammin'. All I wanted was to taste my Grama Lois's Apple Butter . Time will tell.

You know I tweak so many recipes. Not this one

Grama Lois Apple Butter 

4 lbs. of apples I did use Granny Smith and a variety of some I picked locally
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
3 cups of brown sugar and 1 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 cup of molasses
Grate half of a nutmeg nut...sounds funny but fresh is good it comes to about ne teaspoon of nutmeg. If you use dry use 1/2 teaspoon
1 tablespoon of cinnamon.
6 whole all spice balls
Grated rind 1 small lemon and the juice of one whole lemon
Ok I use the whole apple skin-seeds-all of it.

Why you ask because the pectin is in the skins, seeds and stuff and it will dissipate. And Think Food Mill my friends!
Also I love nutmeg it gives everything that holiday smell and taste it is a personal choice for you to add or not. And also add four whole cinnamon sticks when the process is smashed and the simmer begins. 

Cut the apples into quarters put them in a pot add 1 cup of apple cider vinegar and 2 cups of water.

Let this cook on low for well I did mine so far for 2 hours stirring it every 20 minutes or so to keep it circulating and to shift the apples location in the pot.

After the first hour I added 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon and all spice I also added grated fresh nutmeg about 1 teaspoon. Yes those are whole cinnamon sticks.

I added the spices while it is cooking to infuse the flavor in the first stage. The cloves are whole and in a spice bag to remove when I run it threw the mill. 

Alright you have cooked the apples, run them thru a food mill. Once it has been run thru the mill return the ingredients to the pot.  Now we are going to add the remaining ingredients.

• Alright add 3 cups of brown sugar
• 1 cup of granulated sugar 
• 1/4 cup of molasses

I will know run it thru the food mill one more time to make it smooth as can be.





 For the last few hours of cooking I put it into a crock pot on low

 for at least 4 to 5 hours. Stir it ever hour or so and taste to

 make sure there is nothing you may want to add.












I will usually get my jars ready in the water bath and do work on the computer when I'm doing this project. Once it has the consistency and taste you are ready to get them ready for their bath.

I left some of the Apple Butter in a small pot to show you the difference prior to adding the additional ingredients. See how much deeper the color is with the additional ingredients.

 Time to jar up for Bath Time!

 Have your warm jars ready and fill them until they are about 

 1/2" from the rim of the jar. Wipe the rims clean and cap taunt.

 Water bath them for 12 minutes. Once done remove from the

 bath and let them cool over night or for at least 8 hours.

Once cooled remove the twist portion of the top. Make sure they have sealed wash the jars. Label with content and date and store up opened for up to one year. Once opened refrigerate ! Yummm



Disclaimer: This is not an all inclusive recipe for making jam. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. Please consult your local Center for Home Preservation for additional information and available classes.