Making butter definitely goes on the easy list. If you've got the ingredients and an extra 20-30 minutes, you've got delicious, wholesome butter.
Now, I know that a few months back we were trying to cut the butter out of our diet because of high cholesterol issues. So you may be asking me why now all of sudden I am singing it's praises. The more I began to think about things, the more I realized I didn't understand nutrition at all. I went with the flow, and just assummed that the labels on products, the scientists behind those products, and the food companies knew and spoke nutrition. Unfortunately, it couldn't be further from the truth. Butter is not processed; it contains all natural, un-fabricated ingredients. Did you know that the actual color of margarine is grey and it is then bleached and colored to look like butter? Um, gross! Now is not the time for a big butter vs. margarine debate, but if it is something that you are interested in, I urge you to read this article, as well as this one about the processes that margarine goes through.
Back to making butter.
You can do this with store bought heavy cream, as long as it isn't ultra pasteurized. However, I have only ever used raw cream that I have skimmed off of my raw milk.
Take your cream and pour into a food processor, and process.
I process mine on a 1 or a 2, but it moves pretty fast. It usually takes about 15-25 minutes and the butter starts to form.
Now is the time to turn it off and pour off the buttermilk--but keep it. While it isn't cultured, it is still good to use in some recipes.
After you have the buttermilk poured off of the butter, add some ice cold water and process for about 5 more seconds. Drain off the water, and repeat. When the water is no longer cloudy, you can finish repeating this step. You are trying to remove the rest of the buttermilk from the butter which will help the butter keep a bit longer.
If you want to, now is the time to season your butter. I prefer not to add salt to mine, but if you desire to, add in a dash of sea salt.
*Different Variations*
- Add about a tablespoon of raw honey to your butter and mix up, perfect on dinner rolls or warm biscuits.
- A teaspoon of basil and a dash of grated Parmesan Cheese for a nice Italian Herb Butter.
- A dash or two of cayenne pepper; depending on how brave you are.
After you've seasoned it, or not, form it and refrigerate.
One thing to note, homemade butter, since it is lacking all preservatives, doesn't last as long as store bought butter. In addition, it takes a lot of cream to make a fair amount of butter. Because of this, I won't make all of our needed butter, but we do like it as an added treat with our homemade bread. There is just something gratifying about making butter. Not to mention the flavor is better! Using and making butter works for me!
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13 comments:
I'm not a fan of real butter. I would die without my shred spread. xD
Hmmm... I'm intrigued. Just a couple questions for you though: 1) About how much cream (roughly) would you say is required for a pound of butter? 2) You say it doesn't last long, but do you know roughly how long? A week? A month?
I think I might just test this out. Thanks!
I think you and I are learning the same things at nearly the same time. Margarine = SCARY. Definitely NOT FOOD.
I think you and I are learning the same things at nearly the same time. Margarine = SCARY. Definitely NOT FOOD.
Trina-
One quart of cream will make about a ½ pound of butter and 2 cups of buttermilk. I would say that the butter lasts probably about a week, maybe more--but I wouldn't push it. The one thing I forgot to mention in my post is, that you can freeze it, just as you would store bought butter.
Also, if you do not have a food processor, you can also use your mixer. I'm going to try using my Kitchenaid with my next batch.
I'm dying to try this. How much water?
Hi, probably better served for a different post but how did you find your raw milk supplier? Any recommendations on how to go about doing that?
I'm glad you're enjoying your butter. I did this with the raw milk we get and was very happy with the results. I actually did it in the jar and it only took about 5 minutes. I've done it before with store bought heavy cream and had to shake it forever but with the real stuff it went very fast. If you let the cream warm to room temperature it seems to speed things up and add a little more flavor too. Yum!
hi! i found you through works for me. and i love the idea of making my own butter. i read somewhere that margarine is one molecule away from being plastic. yummy! anyway, where do you get your raw milk? is it legal in your state to get it? someone else made a comment about raw milk, would you please do a post on how you get it, how you store it, everything about raw milk. thanks!
Jenifer--I've emailed you with an answer to your question.
Leslie and Anna--My raw milk supplier kind of came to me. We attend the same churcha and she knew that I was interested in trying it, and she had some extra that she couldn't get rid of. Now I buy from her weekly.
Yes it is legal in my state to GET it, but not to sell it in a retail outlet. As far as finding a supplier, you can always check at your Farmer's Market, or you can go here and search by state.
As far as how you store it, you store it just as you would store bought milk. When I obtain my milk from the farmer, I have it in half-gallon ball canning jars. We just leave it in there, unless I'm making butter and need to skim the cream (then I put it in a sun tea pitcher with the spout on the bottom). I've done a skim over on the benefits of raw milk in this post.
Phoebe, this is just so cool! I love that you're making your own butter. There's something just so "old fashioned" about it, and maybe that's why I like it, lol.
I don't know if you've read my post today but I made my own tortillas and it was actually fun.
I think I'll tackle bagles and/or yogurt next and maybe one day I'll do butter too. Still want to try making my own laundry detergent too.
All that little money all adds up into big savings!
Sounds delicious! We switched to all butter (except for my dd who is allergic to dairy) a couple of years ago and it just feels more real.
Oh, yum! :D I haven't tried to make butter in the food processor. We all made some up in a jar one time. Talk about a lot of shaking going on for that. LOL!
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