Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Homemade butter

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Homemade butter

    Yum! I finally made really good butter. We'd done the 'cultured' type from slightly sour goat cream and it was unbearably goaty. But now that we get raw cow milk on a regular basis, we set some aside for a butter experiment...and it turned out great!

    I poured half a gallon of raw, non-homogenized milk into a wide mouth jar and let it sit for about 24 hours (in the fridge). I probably could have gone longer, but I was a bit impatient. I don't really know how cow milk behaves, so I wasn't sure how long I needed to wait, but once I saw the cream line, I dove in. It's right about in the middle of the word "Ball". (yes, I have to label what is cow and what is goat milk...even though my husband "hates" goat milk, he can't tell the difference even after he drinks it! )



    I used a small ladle and just skimmed the surface of the milk until I could no longer see the cream line - it was starting to get mixed with the milk. I got just over a cup.



    I'd planned on doing this in a jar and just shaking it since I don't have a butter churn or blender. But I saw online someone doing it with their upright mixer with whisk attachment so I gave that a shot. I definitely needed more cream to use such a big bowl and will keep that in mind next time. This took a really long time because of the small amount.

    After 10 or 15 minutes on medium speed, I finally had formed whipped cream. The instructions I read said this would happen and also included the comment "Don't get distracted, it's butter we are after." I didn't really get the comment until I saw the whipped cream...thought about the strawberries in the fridge...and drooled over how good that would be with my breakfast. But I resisted and let it keep going!



    Another 15 or so minutes and it was decidedly more yellow in color and kinda 'gross' looking. I could tell the butter was separating out but it seemed like it was whipping it back in at the same time. I worried it would never make proper butter and wondered if I should strain it through cheese cloth.



    I resisted the urge and sat down for breakfast (I had planned on using the butter to cook with, thinking it would only take 10 minutes, but couldn't wait). By the time I was done, it FINALLY separated out properly! Probably another 20 minutes.



    I strained it (need to get a finer mesh strainer!) and then kneaded it in ice cold water to get the last of the buttermilk out (any left in there can cause a sour flavor...but I doubt our butter will last long enough for it to sour!).



    Finally it was done and we had some toast and butter for breakfast dessert. Delicious!

    The Pagan Porch - a Pagan Homesteading forum

    Sand Holler Farm Blog - aren't you just dying to know what I do all day?

    #2
    Re: Homemade butter

    That looks so good! I want to try that.

    We actually have a butter churn, but I've never tried it out (antique status - it's on a shelf).

    Can I start with buttermilk from the store?
    Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Homemade butter

      Corbin--You have to start with heavy cream or whipping cream, buttermilk is the leftovers...but you can do store bought and make your own. The kids and I have done it as an experiment a few times.


      Madness--I don't recommend the shaking method...we did it at camp a few times (I worked at a Girl Scout camp years ago), and its fine if you have 30 girls taking turns...its not great if its just you.
      Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
      sigpic

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Homemade butter

        There are two types of 'buttermilk' - the stuff you buy at the store is officially Cultured Buttermilk. It has a bacteria added to it just like yogurt. We make that too, it's as easy as yogurt. Then there's Old Fashioned Buttermilk. That's the "milk" that's left over after you've made butter. It's kinda more like whey than anything else.

        About store bought cream - thalassa, did you use just any ol' cream? I've heard you can't (or at least it's hard) do it with ultra-pasteurized cream. Ever since I read that, I've been on the look out for regular pasteurized cream and I've never seen it except the local stuff that's sold at the co-op.

        We did the shake method at the cheese making class I took and we did pass it around. It's also the way I did it for the goat butter...thought my arm was going to fall off! But I didn't think I had any other way until I saw I could use the mixer!
        The Pagan Porch - a Pagan Homesteading forum

        Sand Holler Farm Blog - aren't you just dying to know what I do all day?

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Homemade butter

          Yup, we just use any old stuff from the grocery store...it doesn't make a hard butter though, more like a whipped butter (somewhere between whipped cream and butter consistency...almost like a buttercream icing)
          Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
          sigpic

          Comment

          Working...
          X