Homemade butter is an easy treat worth trying at least once. It's lighter and fresher, free of the preservatives and artificial coloring present in much commercial butter. It's also easier to flavor with just enough salt. We like to add a bit of sour cream; this gives it a pleasant tang similar to cultured butters.
Making butter now involves quite a bit less work than it did in olden days; a few minutes in the food processor replace hours of churning. But if you would like a workout (or an afternoon of activity for small and enthusiastic children) put the cream in a tightly sealed Mason jar and shake away.
D.I.Y. Butter
about 1/2 cup
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)
Whir the cream and sour cream in a food processor for about five minutes. (Alternately: shake energetically in a Mason jar for about 15-30 minutes.) After the cream becomes thick and clotted like whipped cream it will suddenly start spattering against the top again as it clumps into yellow butter. Whip until the butter has formed a solid yet grainy mass.
Put a small mesh strainer over a bowl and pour everything into it. Refrigerate the liquid; this is buttermilk and it will last for several days. Use it for pancakes, or Pecan Cake, or Meatballs with Buttermilk Gravy.
Put the butter in a small bowl and rinse under very cold water until the water runs clear. You want every bit of the buttermilk removed; any left clinging to the butter will cause it to get sour and bad overnight.
When the water runs completely clear squeeze the butter inside a clean paper towel or cheesecloth until dry, then turn out into a crock or small bowl. Mash in the salt, if using. Refrigerate and use within a week.
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How fun! I remember making butter in kindergarten in a mason jar.
Oh this is going to be FUN!!!
Faith, this sounds both interesting and easy. I think, tho, that photos/video would make this one soo much better. (Place the butter in a bowl and run water under cold water? I envision disaster!). Any chance of you guys adding slide shows similar to the city pages on the site?
That step stopped me too, Marty. I'm guessing you remove the mesh strainer, with the collected butter, from the bowl o' buttermilk. Then, you put that strainer under the tap to rinse out the remaining buttermilk.
Hmm. OK, so web links are doing strange things too.
Made herbed cheese butter this weekend using an electric mixer.
1 cup whipping cream
grated cheese rinds (from whole foods, very cheap), grated using smallest size
gradually folded grated cheese into whipping cream as it was becoming firm.
Added dried basil, dill, salt, garlic, etc.
Turned out very good
this might be a stupid question -- but how would you make "whipped butter"? after you mash in the salt, put it back in the processor for some extra time and air?
Careful! You are confusing cultured buttermilk and natural or "churn" buttermilk. These are definitely NOT the same product and the buttermilk here cannot be used in the recipes you note because it is not acidic.
I made this last night and don't see why I should buy butter when this tastes so much better and costs a fraction of the store bought. Rinsing off the buttermilk was more like kneading dough under running water and wasn't a problem. Thanks for both the recipe and the link to Cooking for Engineers and I urge everyone to try this at home!
Andy M., the addition of sour cream makes me think that this is indeed a recipe for cultured butter/true buttermilk.
Here is a great recipe with detailed pictures for making cultured butter and real buttermilk. The author uses yogurt which is not too unlike sour cream.
http://blog.cooklikeyourgrandmother.com/2008/06/how-to-make-cultured-butter-and.html
I made this butter, but instead of sour cream, I used yogurt. I think the yogurt made it lighter than sour cream, because when I poured cold water on the butter it sort of ruined it. It tasted so good before I poured the water on it though! I'm hoping the water and oil separate and I can pour it out so it tastes good again.
what does the sour cream add? i made this recipe and it was delicious, just wondering what the difference is between plain cream vs. cream and sour cream.
Andrennabird -- After you rinse it, you have to knead it until all the water is out. There are special butter paddles for this, but you can use your hands too. You'll know it's done when it starts to "sweat" and the texture becomes smooth.
My mother used to work at a "historic village museum" where she had to make butter in the old fashioned method of the 1850s- hard work.
bkk - in williamsburg, va?
I had good luck using an old french press.
I basically took the goop out of my stand mixer bowl and put it in the french press. The "first press" I kept as a nice rich skim milk (only a few tablespoons, though). After that I filled it 3/4 or so full of water and stirred it, and then pressed out the water. I did that a couple more times until the water was clear. We'll see how long it keeps.