Make Your Own Butter

By CheeseDiva

Ingredients

• When making butter, you'll get about half as much butter as the amount of cream used, plus residual "butter" milk produced by the process. Translated, that means:
• 1 quart (32 ounces) cream yields 1 pound (16 ounces) butter plus 2 cups buttermilk;
• 1 cup cream yields 1/2 cup butter plus about 1/2 cup buttermilk.

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from rodalesorganiclife.com

Preparation

Step 1

Pour the cream into a bowl, set the electric mixer on medium speed, and blend. For best results, use organic cream with a butterfat content of at least 35 percent. Most organic creams and heavy whipping cream work well.

The cream transforms first into fluffy whipped cream and then stiff peaks. These break down into soft cottage-cheese-like curds as blobs of butterfat separate from the milk. After about 10 minutes, the butter begins to stiffen and clump together and the watery milk pools in the bottom of the bowl.

At this point, stop the mixer. Carefully pour off as much milk as possible and refrigerate it. Although this "buttermilk" is not like the thick, tangy buttermilk you'll find in the market, it can be used for cooking, baking, and drinking.

Use a rubber or stiff metal spatula to press the butter and squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible. Add about a ½ cup ice water to the butter and use the spatula to press the butter and water against the side of the bowl. This step, called washing, is important to keep the butter from spoiling. Pour off the cloudy liquid. Add more ice water and repeat the process two or three times until the water becomes less cloudy.

Pack the butter in containers, wrap tightly, and cover. Or try wrapping butter in parchment paper for a touch of elegance. As a bonus, the butter won't stick to the parchment as it does to plastic wrap. For storing, first wrap in parchment, if desired, then wrap in plastic wrap or foil to make an airtight package.

Turn butter making into a fun family project. Simply pour a ¼ cup of organic cream into a jar, tighten the lid, and shake, shake, shake. After 15 to 30 minutes of nonstop agitation, the butterfat will separate in clumps from the liquid. When that happens, drain the milk and place the butter into a bowl. Continue with the instructions for washing and kneading as described in the basic technique.

Boost the flavor of grilled fish or steak, steamed vegetables, oven-hot biscuits, or fluffy pancakes with compound butters created by stirring herbs, chives, garlic, spices, or even fresh and dried fruits into softened butter. Follow the basic technique, add the desired flavors and place the flavored butter on parchment paper. Roll it into a log, wrap securely, and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use. Then cut off small coins to serve. Fun combos to try with softened, unsalted butter: