Adventures in Butter Making

Willis and I rarely have dairy butter in the house.  We normally use Earth Balance, and a lot of it.  But we ran out, so I made butter.  Since I didn't make the cheese or the kefir, I figured it was the least I could do.  I did, however, use "local" cream.

Last time we were visiting my parents in Germany, Jamie Oliver was on the television, making butter with a food processor.  Willis and I both looked at each other and agreed that we had to try to make butter.  So yesterday, I did.  Since I had made yogurt before, I wanted to do something else with dairy, and butter seemed liked a good idea.

Homemade butter is definitely not cost effective.  I mean, look how tiny that thing is!  That's from 16 oz. of cream.  But if you like making things, with modern day miracles, like food processors, it's definitely a lot easier than it was when I was a kid and we just shook jars of milk forever.  And the buttermilk is a nice bonus.

Butter

1. Pour cream into food processor or electric mixer.

2. Start to mix the cream and you can watch it go through different stages.  From cream, to whipped cream, to butter.  It will eventually "break" and become a butter yellow color.  The buttermilk will start to seperate out.

 3.  Strain out the buttermilk (I put mine in a mason jar to be used for biscuits, muffins, and pancakes).

Buttermilk Biscuit Ingredients:  WOW! That's a lot of white.

4.  Knead the butter in your hands to squeeze out all the buttermilk.  It helps to "wash" the butter as well.  Rinse the ball in cold water and squeeze again until most if not all the buttermilk is out.  You can also add some salt at this time, if you wish.

5. Pack tightly in a mason jar and pour some water on top (this helps it from spoiling too quickly or gathering odors from your fridge).  When you want to use the butter, simply pour of the water and add more when re-storing.  You can also make compound butters and freeze them for later use!


Currently Listening to:
Alela Diane - White as Diamonds