Butter
is like bacon, it can make just about anything better. Most of the time we just
pick up a box of butter from the dairy section of the grocery store without
more thought than what brand we like best. Well, back in November while I was
prepping food for the biggest eating day in America I realized that I didn’t have
enough butter for everything that I needed it for. I did, however, have a
carton of heavy cream that I was going to use to make whipped cream and for the
green bean casserole. So I pulled up Google and found out how to make my own
butter – maybe not as easy as going to the store, but I didn’t have to spend
any more money.
Making
butter is a fairly easy and quick process – it takes a total of 10-15 minutes
to make it. It is also cheaper to make your own butter than to buy it. You read
that right, buying the cream and making your own butter is cheaper than picking
up a box of the yellow stuff in the grocery store.
The
most cost effective way to go about this, if you’re really committed, is to buy
a half gallon of cream, make butter from it (it will make 8 sticks), and put
what you’re not going to use in the next few weeks in the freezer. Another
advantage of making your own butter is that you end up with fresh butter milk,
too!
I
want to point out that many of you might think that they add something to
butter to make it yellow, after all, cream is white. As you beat the cream you
will see the color change from white to yellow, it is actually pretty cool.
Now
onto the butter!
What
You’ll Need… (Makes 1 Stick)
1
Cup Heavy Cream
Salt
(Optional)
2
½ Cups Water
Tools:
Mixing
bowls
Hand
mixer
Strainer
Paper
Towels
Rubber
spatula
Add
one cup of heavy cream to a mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer on high whip the
cream until it becomes butter. It will go from cream to whipped cream with nice
soft peaks, to over-whipped cream, to butter. As it turns the color will
change.
The
last stage of becoming butter can get messy because of the butter milk. Once
liquid starts to appear in the bowl continue to whip for one more minute. This
process should take 5-8 minutes.
Once
you have butter and butter milk you must separate the two. Place a mesh strainer
over a second mixing bowl and line with paper towels. Pour the butter and
buttermilk into the strainer. Carefully gather the edges of the paper towel and
using your hands squeeze the remaining buttermilk out of the butter.
Remove
the butter from the towel and place it in a third bowl. Add ½ cup of water to
the bowl and using the spatula spread, knead, and move the butter around to
remove the buttermilk. Pour out the water and repeat the process until the
water is clear. It normally takes 5 times to remove all of the butter milk.
I
personally do not salt my butter, but near the end of this stage is when you
should add your salt if you choose to.
Once
all of the buttermilk has been removed place the butter in plastic wrap or
parchment paper and shape it to your desired shape. Wrap the butter up and
store in the refrigerator.
I
have never had a problem with any of my homemade butter, but problems could
arise when baking because of different than commercial levels of butterfat.
You
could also do this using a bottle and shaking, however the whipping process
could take as long as 20 or more minutes. Be sure to get everyone involved if
you’re going to do it this way. Straining and washing will still need to take
place after the whipping process.
Enjoy!
