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Though it is possible to find canned butter in places such as New Zealand, we
had no luck at all in South America. So instead I put up my own using an old farm
recipe. I had never used this idea before in tropical waters so was not sure if
it would work. But after keeping butter fresh and flavorful from Chile to here,
over 4 months in fact, through waters that were often 87 degrees (30 C) and more,
I am impressed. I simply boiled a kettle of water for three minutes, then used
half of it to thoroughly rinse two high quality plastic containers. The rest I
let cool. I cut fresh butter into quarter pound chunks using a knife I had also
sterilized and packed the chunks loosely into the containers, added two tablespoons
of salt to two cups of the sterilized boiled water and filled the containers until
they were overflowing. Then I closed the tops tightly. I stored the two containers
in the bilge.
When I wanted butter, I cleaned a spoon carefully and lifted out a cube. When
the butter became quite soft in the tropics, I just scooped as much as I wanted
into a smaller butter container. Here in Hilo I still have about half the butter
left and its flavor is fine.
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