After writing my blog How might butter treat your ailments?, I got inspired to try making my own.
Little did I know how fun, easy and fulfilling it would be.
So much so, I wanted to share this joy with you by equipping you with the knowhow and confidence to make your own.
Butter is EXTREMELY NUTRIENT DENSE.
It’s rich in vitamins, minerals and other nutrients needed to protect against heart disease, cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, and asthma.
And it’s needed to support good endocrine health, good digestion, fertility and proper growth and development.
There are a number of ways to make butter. You can use a blender, a standup mixer, a food processor, or a butter churn.
But I prefer keeping it simple by using the “shaker” method. For me, it’s the easiest, surest way to have success and the least messy. There’s no equipment to clean at the end.
I value having less equipment to clean.
You’ll need just six items:
- 1 Wide Mouth mason jar (either quart or pint size) with a 2 piece lid (the two piece lid is important to prevent leakage)
- Heavy cream. For a pint size jar, you’ll need cup of cream; for the quart sized jar, you’ll need 2 cups.
- 1 – 2 liters of cold water. It can be ice water.
- Medium size mixing bowl
- Glass container to store your butter
- Butter muslin[1], a clean dish towel, or a paper towel
Optional ingredients for flavored butter: pinch of salt, fresh or dry herbs, honey, dried fruit
[How to Make Homemade Butter. Quick .pdf version.]
The cream can be pasteurized or non-pasteurized. But NOT ultra pasteurized cream. NO additives whatsoever. Just pure cream.
If you’re buying it at the store, be sure to check the fat content. You want the highest fat content, at least 38% fat.
If you’re buying raw milk cream, the taste and color will be different during different times of the year because of what the cows are eating. Winter hay versus spring grass.
Of course, the non-pasteurized from your local farmer will be the best and will give you the best quality butter.
But don’t let less than optimal preclude you’re having fun.
The first thing you want to do is take your cream out the refrigerator a couple of hours before starting this short process. The ideal temperature is 60-65°F (15.56-18.33°C).
Anything above 65°F (18.33°C ) is probably too warm and you may have trouble getting your butter to separate from the buttermilk or it may be too soft to rinse.
If this happens during the process descried below, simply put the jar back in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Then take it out and restart the process.
If it’s colder, it will just take longer.
Take your cream and fill your jar half-way, but no more.
Screw the lid on tight. And begin shaking.
You want to shake every which way so that it slams against the sides, top and bottom of the jar.
After a few minutes, you’ll have whipped cream. Smile. You’re on your way to butter.
Keep shaking. This will separate the butter milk from the butter itself. You’ll soon see and hear the liquid sloshing around.
Keep going until you get one solid lump of butter (and buttermilk).
You’ll have to do a lot of shaking but that’s part of the fun and the reason for making homemade butter using this method.
In this case you’re able to get a little exercise while watching a video or doing something of the like.
Or while you’re just hanging out with the family. You can pass the jar around so everyone has a turn.
It’s a great activity for the kids or grandkids. Just be sure to use a pint size jar. It will be easier for their little hands to grasp.
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The time it takes to get one solid lump of butter (and buttermilk) can vary depending on the temperature of your cream and the cream itself. But likely it will be within 10 minutes.
Carefully pour off as much of the buttermilk as possible and use it for baking – buttermilk biscuits, chocolate cake, be creative.
Alternatively, you can drink it or water it down and give it to your plants.
I add it to my goat milk which I in turn use to make kefir.
Scrape the butter into the mixing bowl. Cover with cold water. Squeeze and knead your butter to release any remaining buttermilk.
Pour off the liquid and repeat this rinsing procedure until the rinse liquid is clear. It could take 5-7 times.
Getting as much buttermilk out as possible will help your butter keep longer. And, in my opinion, make it taste better.
In order to not waste the rinse water, I pour it in a quart size jar as I am rinsing and then use that water to water my plants.
I have watched videos of people making butter in which they hold their butter under the faucet for this rinse procedure. I don’t like using tap water because of all the contaminates. So I use my drinking water and just make sure it’s chilled.
At this point, I suggest adding a pinch of salt. If you started with 1 cup of cream, add 1/16 teaspoon salt. For 2 cups of cream, add 1/8 teaspoon salt. This will help draw out any remaining water, without flavoring the butter.
Let it sit for a few minutes and then pour off any additional water that accumulated.
Pat your butter dry using clean butter muslin, a clean dish towel, or a paper towel.
If you want to flavor your butter, do so at this point.
For a savory butter, add a little more salt, garlic, fresh or dry herbs, or sundried tomatoes.
For a sweet butter, add honey or dried fruit.
Now simply put you butter in a glass container and pop it in the refrigerator for proper storage. Or put it in a bowl and place it on the table for your next meal.
If you made a larger quantity and don’t think you’ll use it within 2 weeks, I suggest freezing what you won’t use.
If you’re not quite ready to start making butter on a regular basis, you at least need to do so as a special treat or for a special celebration.
Or simply invite family or friends over and show them how much you love them by making homemade butter.
Or better yet, you could make making butter a pre-Thanksgiving meal activity. You could have one or more jars going and you could pass them around to all the guests who want to participate and have fun shaking. Then you can serve the butter with the Thanksgiving meal.
[I am writing this a few weeks before Thanksgiving which is why I mention Thanksgiving, but you could do this before any meal as a group activity.]
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Now a few more words about the cream you use.
When you’re first starting out, I suggest using sweet cream. That’s the straight whipping cream you buy at the store or from your local farmer.
If you want cultured butter, you first need to culture your cream.
For fresh RAW milk cream (and only RAW milk cream), you can use one of the following two methods:
- Let your jar of cream sit out on the counter at room temperature for 24-36 hours.
- Pour your cream into a bowl. Add either kefir or yogurt (½ cup kefir or yogurt per quart of cream). Mix, cover, and let sit out on the counter for 24-26 hours.
If using pasteurized cream, you will need to heat the cream to 180°F (82.22°DC) and let cool to 110°F (43.33°C). Then add your kefir or yogurt and let sit on the counter for 24-26 hours.
Culturing your cream makes it easier to digest. And it adds live probiotic organisms (i.e. organisms that aid in digestion and in restoring the gut lining).
Sweet cream and cultured will have a different flavor. So, after gaining success and confidence making sweet cream butter, try making cultured butter. And see which you prefer.
Enjoy making and eating butter. And let me know how it goes.
Peace and grace,
Karen
[How to Make Homemade Butter. Quick .pdf version.]
[1] Butter muslin is a cotton cloth and it has a much finer weave (more threads per square inch) compared to standard cheesecloth. Its main purpose is to catch the curds and allow the whey to drain through. https://urbanoveralls.net/2014/03/26/cheesemakers-butter-muslin-or-cheesecloth/
