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Wednesday, May 10, 2017

I Didn't Find a Butter Deal This Spring, So Now I'm Rationing the Butter

ham fat from the freezer -- not too pretty

We are down to our last couple of pounds of butter. I didn't find any stellar deals, so I am rationing what is left. I use oil wherever I can, and saved fat from meat, like this ham fat, that I keep in the freezer.


I am cutting the butter into one teaspoon portions, to "help" everyone take a smaller amount. Mostly, it just serves as a reminder to not take too much, as there is nothing stopping someone from taking 3 cubes of butter for a slice of toast. But it does seem to be working.


I'll get back to making soft butter, by blending oil and butter, later this week, I think. In the meantime, this is probably good for my own dietary fat intake.

16 comments:

  1. Three cubes of butter for one slice of toast seemed like a lot. But then I remembered how good buttered toast tastes. Yum.

    Since I know you keep track of these things, when will butter traditionally go on sale again? Sometime before the holiday baking season?

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    1. Hi live and learn,
      the only time I know for relatively certain on butter sales, for my area is one chain's anniversary sale in late September, I believe. They usually have butter and cheddar cheese at a low price. Butter could also go on sale mid-summer, once. In the meantime, I'll be buying butter in 1-lb bricks from Cash & Carry, I think.

      Yes, three cubes of butter for one slice of toast would be a lot! I've been using 1, and hoping every one else will do the same. Butter does taste good. I just have to remind myself that there will be more butter again, and rationing is temporary.
      Have a great day, live and learn!

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  2. Sadly, the closest thing we get to real butter is:
    A) one 1 lb. package at Christmas
    B) I can't believe it's not butter

    Hubby like his butter but not the price so we just don't buy it.

    On another note, I told hubby about the show Victorian Slum House and so we watched it last night and he said he really likes it! I think we'll be watching the rest of the series (if we don't forget!).

    Alice

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    1. Hi Alice,
      Oh goodness! Well, all families have different priorities. You know, there was a time when I preferred the taste of margarine to butter. It tasted "cleaner" to me, if that makes sense. I always disliked the hydrogenated fat thing, though. I'm inconsistent, however, as I prefer pie pastry made with Crisco. Does "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" taste good? When I've bought margarine I've just bought whatever was least expensive, and not tried any of the better brands.

      Oh good. I'm glad you two liked Victorian Slum House. I think it's really good to be reminded of how much easier modern life is/can be, such as not having to choose between eating or having a roof over our heads.
      Have a great day, Alice!

      Delete
  3. If you watched the second episode of Victorian slum house you can use milk to stretch that butter. The grocer said it took him two hours though so maybe just limit the butter. When you do watch it, let us know what you think. Cheryl

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    1. Hi Cheryl,
      I'll be watching it later today or tomorrow, online. Hmm, I could try adding soy milk. I knew that butter had a "water content." But I never thought of adding a non-oil liquid. I'll definitely post my thoughts on the next episode.
      I hope your day is off to a great start, Cheryle!

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  4. I have resisted watching the Victorian slum house show because I don't want to be more depressed. Life is hard for everyone I know. Although we have more conveniences, earning enough money to keep the standard of living we have is not a piece of cake. I worry what the future will bring, as each succeeding generation seems to be having more financial stresses than the previous generation. My children are working two jobs each just to afford the basics. We never worked more than one job each, and my parents needed only one income for the entire household.

    Health care costs for example may soon rival shelter as the largest expense in our budget. I don't believe competition will drive down health care costs, only using fewer medical services will. With advances in medical science, there will be ever more treatments available, and with an aging population, there is an increased need for more of those medical services. Our neighbor in their late 80s visit their doctors several times a month for various ailments, we, in our 60s, thankfully see our doctors only at most twice a year for screenings. I know one day in the future we'll need more medical intervention too, that is almost inevitable.

    So in short, a higher standard of living means higher cost of living. That is why people may be choosing to forgo the conveniences of modern life as a means to lower their expenses, and become more self reliant like the good old days. We may have more choices today in how we live, but the economics of affordability are still there.

    Have a nice day!!

    YHF



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    Replies
    1. Hi YHF,
      Yes, health care costs have dramatically risen. But I don't think this is the only area that folks are spending more money. Modern expectations of what the basics are (cell phones for everyone, video games for our kids, disposable diapers instead of cloth, 2 cars or more for the family) are excessive for many families. I was able to stay home with my kids because we chose to live by 1960s standards, of cooking from scratch, 1 car, 1 phone, no cable, keeping a garden, cloth diapers, frugal entertainment, etc. There are many non-necessary areas of the budget which families could reduce, to allow more of their resources to go toward the rising insurance costs. My point is that we are not helpless in our situations. There is always something that we can do to help ourselves.
      Anyway, I hope your day is off to a great start, YHF!

      Delete
    2. To be fair, technology has made other modes of living possible, like off grid, tiny house or cheap 3D printed structures, and nomadic lifestyles. Our neighbor on the other side, who are in their late 40s and want to retire early, recently bought 3 acres of land on the Big Island and plan to live in a "container" tiny house off grid, which couldn't be possible a generation ago. So definitely more choices, which helps insulate our economy from a recession, or worse. I think we're going to need to make critical lifestyle adjustments such as living in unconventional structures and locations to cope with the coming artificial intelligence revolution.

      As a butter substitute, we use coconut oil. It tastes great on toast, pancakes and waffles. Coconut "oil pulling" also helps my husband remove caffeine stains between his teeth, and will hopefully prevent gum disease and cavities as well.

      YHF

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  5. It's funny how sales trend differently in different areas. We had a couple of weeks of butter sales before Easter--maybe $2.69/pound? I don't remember exactly, but I stocked up. It's not the best price I've seen in the past year, but it's pretty good. I tend to use oil a lot for cooking and baking; eating real butter on bread or potatoes is a treat.

    I see that you and Alice are discussing I Can't Believe it's not Butter. I'm not so keen on their solid butter substitute, but I do like their spray butter. I've wondered before if you could make your own spray butter, as it seems to be a mix of oil, water, and buttermilk.

    We only caught the end of Victorian Slum House last night due to my son's band concert--he was the one who was most disappointed about missing it! Looks like we'll be watching it online, too, this week.

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    1. Hi Kris,
      I was thinking of you, with regards to using oil in baking. You have mentioned that before. Oh, interesting on the ICBINB product. I am trying to just use butter for on bread, etc. And using oil, reserved animal fat in other areas of cooking. If there were any sales leading up to Easter, I just completely missed them. I was busy that week. I'm glad you were able to stock up some.

      Well, another area that we are very fortunate, to be able to watch a show online, if we can't be home when it's airing on TV. I hope oyu have time to catch what you missed!
      Have a great day, Kris!

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    2. I can't believe it's not butter is the aldi brand. I use so little of it that I'm not bothered about the taste. I do like the taste of real butter but I haven't had it since Christmas.

      About the slum show--I fell into my own bed last night thankful that I had a nice warm bed in my own home! We have always live frugally so our kids know that growing up (yes, there were complaints about how "tight" things were. I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm sad at today's family's that only know takeout and how incomprehensible it is for them to put together a meal made from scratch. We're in real trouble for our future is this continues. Our meal last night was taco salad that was quickly made up of ground beef, taco seasoning, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, tortillas, homemade french dressing and it was wonderful.

      Alice

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  6. Lili, While I did stash a few sale lbs of butter, we are now down to our last 2. I usually buy mine at Aldi's. I also use ham/bacon/poultry fat to save on butter use, and before turning to cheaply purchased, vegetable oil (which escalated in price a few years ago). One trick, if you use any type of nut butter, is to "butter" your toast with that in lieu of butter. Protein and a buttery toast; it's a win-win! I got Dd hooked on Victorian Slum house, we watched it together last night (episode 2)

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    1. Hi Carol,
      I like PB on toast for lunch, sometimes. You're right, that is a double winner, for protein and less expensive option to butter on toast. Oh how fun, that you and DD are enjoying Slum House together! I'm the only one in my family watching it.
      Have a great day!

      Delete
  7. Here once a year in November, butter comes on sale. Usually it is about $2.99/ pound. Wal Mart is the only store with no limit to the purchase. It went up last year on sale to about $3.25/lb.Regular best price used to be about $3.59/lb now it is $3.97/lb.
    On Monday I began to bake banana breads to freeze, gift and eat. Instead of margarine /shortening I directly substituted applesauce I had made last summer from my daughters crab/small apple tree.
    I have plenty more jars. Can't tell the difference, or actually it seems to stay moister longer.

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    1. Hi Teresa,
      Oh goodness, now I feel badly about complaining of our high $2.38/lb price of butter. Kris mentioned using applesauce in a brownie recipe that I like, with success. I'm going to try that. And that's good to know about making moister loaves of banana bread, too!
      Have a great day, Teresa!

      Delete

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