Homemade Butter

"Butter makes the world go 'round!" Me

Hiya my loyal followers!
As promised, I am back this week with an adventure that could rival any of our culinary adventures thus far. Homemade butter! Yum! I absolutely adore butter and I'm so happy that my sweetie Kevin does as well. As a special treat last spring, I decided to make butter for Kev and see if he could taste any difference between mine and store bought. I got down to business and did a bit of research. I remembered making butter in grade 2 as a class project, but hadn't made it since then and to tell you the truth, my memory isn't that great. Well, it turned out to be so simple and so, so tasty, that every now and then, I make us some! Butter is made by agitating cream enough that it separates. Basically, the fatty bit is the butter and the liquid is the butter milk. I can understand how butter must have been discovered all those thousands of years ago... A person would fill a vessel with goat or sheep's milk and go for a long walk or horseback ride. By the time their travelling was done, the milk would have been shaken around enough to separate and the butter would be ready. Eaten by the poorest of farmers, the ancient Greeks saw butter as food fit for barbarians. Not until northern Europeans began making butter with cow's milk, did it become accepted and enjoyed across Europe. And, may I say, I am so happy it caught on! Today I will do something a bit different with my blog and show the step by step method for making butter. All I am using is a jar with a good fitting lid, but don't worry, I will also have instructions for an electric mixer!

Simple and Tasty Recipe:

Homemade Butter
(makes about 1/3 cup)

1 cup 35% cream (I prefer organic...), at room temperature
1/8 to 1/4 tsp sea salt (optional)

.pour the cream into a jar with a good, tight fitting lid
.shake for about 5 to 7 mins until there is a lot of sloshing going on, this means the butter has separated from the butter milk (or place the cream into a bowl and use you electric mixer for about 5 mins)
.dump the butter and butter milk into a fine mesh sieve sitting over a bowl, put the strained butter milk aside in a container to drink or keep for cooking
.rinse the lump of butter under very cold water in a bowl, break it up with your hands or a spoon until the butter milk is all out and the water is clear
.place the butter onto a bowl and squish any excess water out with a spoon (I dab any water droplets with a paper towel), stir in the salt
.place the butter into a container with a lid or a small bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate, it will stay fresh for about a week, enjoy!

 

You will be surprised by how easy it is to make butter! It gets a bit tough to shake the cream through the whipped stage and into the separated product, but it is well worth it. Homemade butter has a lighter and sweeter flavour than store bought. As usual, I hope you try out my recipe and let me know how it goes. Next week I will be back with a festive recipe, since the holidays are right around the corner. Hint: it's made with butter! Ha! Bye for now...