Along with bread and milk, butter has long been a staple in the Kiwi supermarket shop. However, with 500 grams now costing much as $7.50, is butter becoming a luxury item?
For Northland farmer and writer Lyn Webster, it's been a luxury for years. She gave up buying butter years ago when the price went over $3 per 500 grams.
"I made a pact with myself when I was trying to spend less than a hundred dollars a week on groceries that if butter wasn't under $3 I wasn't going to buy it."
Photo: Public domain
If you happen to own cows - as Lyn does - butter is quite easy to make but the prices of raw ingredients have escalated so much it may not be more cost-effective than buying it, she says.
When Lyn is "really dying for butter", though, she makes her own.
"Butter is a luxury for me… when you have to make it yourself it's a good test of whether you really want it or not because you can't be bothered half the time.
"If I want butter, I've got to milk a cow and get it in the test bucket then get it safely from the shed to home without it getting split or dirty. Then you've got to put the milk in a safe place and leave it for 24 hours for the cream to rise, take the cream off and then process the living hell out of it for ten minutes. Then suddenly - crash! - it turns into a solid lump of butter. You take the buttermilk off then you just wash it under cold water. You put a bit of salt on it and then you've made butter."
Farmer Lyn Webster Photo: Supplied
"[In the past] we were so lucky to get butter for less than $3 and those big blocks of cheese for $7.99. Everyone is having a fit now cause they're like $16.99 but you look at what goes into the process and how you've got to keep the raw product at a perfect temperature rig throughout the process… it's probably still not that bad."
Lyn gave up on all supermarket shopping years ago and as a result, says she's eating a lot healthier.
"[The supermarket] is just a blimming nightmare, it's so expensive. So tempting with all the rubbish products you can get in there. I've just weaned myself off all that stuff."
- Listen / Read - Tips for saving and making do from Lyn Webster (Nine to Noon)
Lyn Webster's top 10 tips to slashing that supermarket bill in half:
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Work out how much you are spending and set a budget.
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Make your own bread.
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Using Baking soda for all cleaning jobs and instead of shampoo and soap.
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Buy fresh produce from the markets.
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Buy in bulk.
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Freeze your food instead of throwing it away.
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Google is your friend, use it to create recipes with food that you have in your cupboard.
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Avoid buying food at service stations and dairies, they are a trap.
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If you are serious about saving then avoid unnecessary items and don't get sucked in.
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If you fall off the bandwagon, minus it off your budget and carry on.
