Today I made my own butter for the first time! Next time I’ll add some herb mixtures for flavor!
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That’s awesome Bee. Butter making is an interesting thing to do and can be done very simply. I’ve made it before by just putting the cream in a canning jar with the lid and shaking for a few minutes. Only fill the jar about half to two thirds full. The cream needs to be around 70 degrees before shaking if I remember correctly. Then drain the buttermilk off and rinse the clump of butter. Mix with a pinch of salt in if you want salted butter. It’s fun to learn lessons from the past that everyone used to know how to do but we have mostly forgotten in modern times.
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I agree. Although I cheated by using a stand mixer haha
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You can just pour part of the cream out of the bottle or use it and shake the bottle it came in.
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You might look into making ghee next, if you haven’t done so already. It’s quite easy and is a good way to take advantage of those rare occasions when good butter can be bought (or made) cheaply in large quantities.
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@Bee Nothing wrong with taking a shortcut. Did you have a lot of cream to start with? Seems that you would need a fair amount in order to use the stand mixer.
@ladeana using the bottle is a great idea too…as long as the neck of the bottle is big enough to dig a chunk of butter out. LOL That’s why I like a wide mouth canning jar. But I’m sure you could still get it out of the bottle the cream came in, even if you had to soften it more.
@supercritical isn’t ghee just clarified butter…melted and then separate the solids from the clear part? I’m not totally sure about it but I’ve always thought that was the way it was done.
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As a child my Dad made a bet with my Mom that she couldn’t make butter out of our goats milk. I’ve been hooked every since. It has a more pungent taste. My favorite way to have it is on toasted French Bread with orange marmalade. Now to find some goats milk and make some.
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Kate has goats.
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I’ve heard it’s possible to make butter from goat’s milk but it’s a little more difficult. Apparently the fat gobules in the cream of goat’s milk is much smaller than that of cow’s milk and that makes it harder to get it to clump into butter. I have no experience with that but it’s just something I’ve been told. It would be interesting to taste goat milk butter.
Ghee requires a bit more time and effort than clarified butter. The milk solids are removed at the very end: they gradually solidify, fall to the bottom, and caramelize. This gives ghee its distinctive flavor and aroma.
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Ok, so it’s that caramelization that makes the difference.
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I use to buy it at Whole foods in Austin. I did go a couple times and buy it here but we rarely get to that part of town.
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I did get the largest container available at dillons which was one quart
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I guess I haven’t noticed it at Whole Foods. I seldom shop there anymore after they were bought by Amazon. I’ll look next time I’m in there to see if they have it.
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How much butter did you end up with using a quart of cream?
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I didnt measure exactly but if i had to guess, somewhere between a 1/2 to 3/4lb. The ball in the pic is about baseball sized.
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That’s great you got that much butter out of a quart of cream. Makes me want to try making it again. When I’ve made it, I save the liquid after the butter is made. It actually tastes good enough to drink, or use for something when you cook.
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Yes buttermilk is great for baking or if youre not into that, you can mix it in with your bathwater and soak in it for soft skin if you need a home spa night! I was going to save it but unfortunately most of it ended up on the floor/counter since I didn’t realize how messy itd be to use a stand mixer, but I’ll be more prepared for next time!
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LOL I’m sure that was a fun mess to clean up. Do you have one of those top shields for your stand mixer bowl? That would help a little bit in keeping the stuff in the bowl.
Yes and I used it, but it splashed A LOT still.
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