I made some butter yesterday out of a quart of heavy cream and took pictures along the way so I could share in case anyone here want to try it. It is easy and fun to do but is a bit messy with some cleanup but worth it to me.
I make cultured butter because I like the flavor. To do that you pour the cream into a quart jar, add 3 Tablespoons of cultured buttermilk from the store and leave it out on your countertop overnight for up to 24 hours. It should thicken up. Put it in the refrigerator to chill for several hours. I set mine out mid-morning, put it in the fridge the next day and make it into butter after lunch. It only takes about 15 minutes to turn the cream into butter.
If you don’t like the flavor of cultured butter or don’t want to take the time, you can skip this step and start will chilled heavy cream right out of the fridge.
Step 1: Pour your cream into your mixing bowl with a whisk attachment start mixing on med-high speed, scraping the sides.
Keep whipping the cream and it will start to turn light yellow.
Once it starts to look a bit “grainy”, slow down your mixer speed to med-low (reduces splatter when the buttermilk separates from the butterfat). You can see some of the buttermilk bubbling at the edges.
Stop mixing when it looks like this - you have made butter! But you aren’t done yet as you need to wash the buttermilk out of the butterfat.
Step 2: Wash the butter by draining the buttermilk through a sieve (I use a pot sieve on the edge of the bowl) and adding very cold water. Using a large spoon (or your clean hands) mash the butterfat to expel the buttermilk.
Repeat this until the water is clear. It is hard to see the clear water in a glass bowl in this pic but if you look closely at the bottom of the bowl about halfway between the butter and the rim of the bowl you can see the edge of the water. At this stage I was using my hands and it has formed into a nice ball and feels like Play-Doh (yes, I am dating myself LOL)
Step 3: Salt your buttter (optional). Using Kosher or canning salt, lightly sprinkle on both sides and work into the butter by squeezing and mashing. It doesn’t take much salt so start light, taste and add more if needed. And here is the final product!
It makes about 10-12 oz of butter. My husband bought me a butter press for Christmas that is a small square wooden box with a plunger to mash the butter into a rectangle. When I cut it in half, it is about the size of a stick of butter only a bit taller.
I hope this inspires someone to make their own butter!
