Canning butter
I canned some butter over this weekend following the directions in your canning book. You say to simmer the butter to evaporate the buttermilk, left over buttermilk will make it taste bad. You didn’t say how long to simmer the butter before canning it. How do I know that all of the buttermilk is gone?
Christine (Scott) Tanguay
Orland, Maine
You don’t have to over-do it with the simmering. Just simmer it a little while to drive off excess moisture. A little bit won’t hurt a thing. — Jackie
Growing basil
I am growing basil for the first time this year. It is indoors, in a very large pot. Everything is going well so far. The plants are about four inches high and have 2 and 3 sets of real leaves. Do I need to pinch out the top leaves in order to make them branch out into bushy plants? Or would that ruin them for nice future growth?
Deborah McEnulty
Priest River, Idaho
If your basil is common sweet basil, I’d pinch out the center two leaves when it gets 4 sets of leaves. You’re right; it’ll get bushier instead of tall and lanky. Do this a couple of times and you’ll develop nice bushy basil plants. Some basils are shrubby by nature and you don’t have to do this. Be sure they get enough light, even if you take them outdoors a little at a time, as if you were hardening them off, for some time in the protected sun. — Jackie
