just like gold

March 5, 2013 by simplelittlespaces 1 Comment

Who doesn’t love butter?

I often find little fingerprints in the butter dish.  I’m sure my mother did too.
When I was a child, one of my favorite things about Chicken Soup night was the saltine crackers smothered in butter and dipped in soup.

I have a friend whose sister challenged her to eat a whole stick of butter, like a banana.  I never had that kind of enthusiasm for it, but that sweet, salty yellow gold is still a favorite in our house.

While not economical at all, homemade butter is phenomenal.  It is worth the time it takes, though to be honest, it is not that time consuming.  And, it is a great lesson for children in how products are made.
You also don’t have to find a farmer who sells raw milk products – which is illegal here in Jersey.

The most important aspect of this is the choice of heavy cream you make.  Cream from organic, grass-fed cows is the most healthy and will taste the best. You can get this at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and even local grocery stores have organic heavy cream.  But, the most important aspect of this – organic or not – is to make sure that you purchase cream that is not ultra-pasteurized.  Your butter will not separate if this is the case.

To make your butter, place the heavy cream in either a large bowl or your stand mixer. (If you want to make your butter salted, add a bit of salt.)  I suggest that your heavy cream and your bowl be very cold.

 Mix with blender or stand mixer.

 Your heavy cream will turn from liquid to whipping cream.  Keep mixing.

 Eventually, the cream will separate into solid and liquid, butter and buttermilk.

Drain as much of the buttermilk out into a jar.  Keep this!  Buttermilk is full of nutrients and makes the perfect pancakes! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post.

 Run your hands under cold water and squeeze the butter together to form a ball.  As you squeeze, more buttermilk will come out (add it to your jar).  Keep squeezing, periodically rinsing the ball of butter under cold water.  Squeeze until the liquid coming out of the ball is no longer milky, but runs clear.

Important Note: If you do not squeeze out all the buttermilk, it will turn rancid within a day.  Keep squeezing!

You have just made butter!  You can store the butter at room temp, in the fridge or freeze it.

This may be the best tasting butter you have ever had.  I encourage you to find the best heavy cream for both taste and price to make your butter.  You will find that some are better than others, but any will have much more taste than the butter you buy at the store.