Iowans and Americans are dealing with hard times right now. The worst shortage to ever happen on American soil is currently happening and experts say it won't get any butter, I mean... better.

Ahead of the holiday season, butter prices are soaring through the roof, and finding it on the shelves is becoming even harder every day. But with a hack, a.k.a. a very simple recipe, your Iowa home will have as much butter in it as it takes to make the butter cow at the Iowa State Fair.

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The 2022 Butter Shortage

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At the end of September 2022, news broke that the country was about to face a butter shortage ahead of the holiday season and that butter prices are through the roof.

According to KWQC, inflation has impacted just about everything but butter has been hit especially hard. Butter's high prices are also happening because of the shortage. The butter shortage has been caused by labor shortages and a decline in milk production.

An article from The Wall Street Journal said that butter prices were up 24.6% year over year in the month of August. Food and Wine Magazine reports that butter in grocery stores is at its lowest levels since 2017, according to the report from KWQC.

Did The Butter Cow Cause the Shortage?

Presidential Candidates Hit The Soapbox At The Iowa State Fair
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The 2022 Iowa State Fair ended on August 21st and every year, people come to see a massive butter statue in the shape of a cow which is also known as the butter cow.

According to the Iowa State Fair,  the life-size butter cow measures about 5-1/2-ft high and 8-ft long, and weighs 600 pounds (that's 400 pounds less than a real dairy cow).

At today's prices, with 1 pound of butter costing $4.99 at Hy-Vee, that butter cow would cost $3,203.58 after taxes. But the Iowa State Fair says that each year much of the butter is recycled and can be reused for up to 10 years.

How To Make Sure You Have Butter All The Time

With Iowa and America facing a butter shortage and butter prices through the roof before the holiday season, how can you guarantee that you'll have butter in your fridge?

Simple: Make homemade butter

I have made homemade butter so many times in the past two years since getting my stand mixer. It's easy to do, it doesn't take long, and it actually gives you something for free.

To make homemade butter the easy way, you'll need two things:

  1. Stand mixer with a whisk attachment
  2. Heavy whipping cream

Simply put your container of heavy whipping cream in the stand mixer bowl, turn the stand mixer to medium speed, and wait for about 10 minutes until you get butter.

Don't believe me? Watch me do it in this video below:

The 1 quart of heavy whipping cream from Hy-Vee cost $5.99. This made about a pound and a half of unsalted sweet cream butter. It also gave me a decent amount of buttermilk to make pancakes, biscuits, and other delicious food.

With this simple hack, you'll never be faced with a shortage of butter again.

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