Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Home-Made Butter

home-made butterOne of the advantages of knowing how to make butter is that when you take your eye off the whipped cream for too long and ruin it, you don't have to pour it down the sink.

To make butter deliberately (or by accident), beat cream in a food processor until it whips, then keep beating until it collapses again. If you stop the beaters at this point you'll see a curdled-looking mess of yellow buttery lumps and white buttermilk. Keep beating until the yellow lumps come together. It'll probably be soft and the beaters will smear it out, rather than a hard lump that goes "thud thud", but stop anyway.

Pour or scrape it all out into a sieve over a dish. The thin buttermilk will pour into the dish - keep it to make scones or soda bread. The butter will stay in the sieve, but it still contains buttermilk in little holes like a sponge. Squeeze the butter in your clean hands to get the buttermilk out, and rinse it in clean water. Keep squeezing and rinsing it - if you leave the buttermilk behind you butter will go rancid.

Once you have pure butter, put it in a dish and use it. It's delicious - cleaner and fresher-tasting than shop-bought butter. And so much better than pouring your ruined whipped cream down the sink.

18 comments:

Unknown said...

I've shown this post to Annon who tried to make butter by shaking cream in a tub. It reminded me to send her to the fridge to remove her science experiment! Thank you. She'll try again sometime with my food mixer ~ can you use a food mixer rather than a food processor?

Anonymous said...

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Unknown said...

Update ~ her experiment did lead to a small quantity of butter. She's 1 very happy 12 year old. (We'll forget the rancid cream left in the fridge door & now removed). Now I know what to do with her for her Summer holidays :)

just Gai said...

A few weeks ago I helped make some butter using cream, a screwtop plastic beaker and a marble. It took some shaking but, much to our amazement it worked - and tasted delicious.

Blicky Kitty said...

Another reason to love Bean Sprouts. I can't wait to try it. My only question would be is it more economical than store bought butter? I'm sure it will be yummier.

Sol said...

Whilst at school, many moons ago, like Gareth Rae, we used a jam jar and shook it like crazy. I think I remember making the smallest blob of butter on the planet. More of a scrap.

Knowing me, I took it home and was very proud of it! LOL

Nik said...

Ha, how funny, we made butter today as well. I suspect I didn't squeeze it enough though to ensure it stopping going rancid, so used it all up in my dinner since my soup recipe calls for a reasonable quantity of butter. Since we don't bake much here, I mixed it up with mash for the chickens.

Nik said...

Oh, it was the buttermilk I gave to the chickens lol.

Anonymous said...

I have being making butter for ywars - with double cream - and I totally agree - nothing tastes nicer.

If you add a little bit of salt the butter lasts longer.

Anonymous said...

Killi - you can use an ordinary food mixer, a hand whisk - or a marble in a glass jar - and play pass the parcel for everyone to have a shake. I find it easier whichever way you do it, is to poor off the buttermilk as soon as it has separated - makes it easier to make the butter - and I find it does go into a lump quicker

Unknown said...

How much salt to add & how? I got some /cheap cartons of cream yesterday, hoping to keep 1 for porridge & coffee & what does daughter do? Uses the whole lot & makes a bowl of butter! She gave the buttermilk to the dogs & they were happy canines.

Robj98168 said...

LOL CRUNCHY CHICKEN HAD A BUTTER MAKING POST ON HER CHICKEN COOKS BLOG USING A JAR. I tried that and have tried the mixer. The mixer wins hands down.

Robj98168 said...

By the way Ms. Melanie- I nominated you for an award!

Marri said...

Another use for the buttermilk is to use it to marinate your chicken in. Leave the chicken in it overnight in the fridge, shake off the excess and coat the chicken with seasoned flour, or breadcrumbs, or crushed seasoned cornflakes. Bake and enjoy.
Another use is in cakes - it makes the most tender of cakes!

Ashraf Al Shafaki said...

Here in Egypt wives of farmers create butter from Water Buffalo milk. Unlike cow butter, butter made out of Buffalo milk is white in color not yellow! And I mean really white, same color as snow. And it is very tasty. Yummy!

The traditional method in which those farm women make the butter is by putting the milk inside some container made of animal skin, think of it as a large water bottle. The container is tied to something stable from one side and the woman holds it from the other side and keeps pushing it to and fro. With the rhythmic hits of the woman, cream particles start colliding with one another and joining forces. At the end of the process, white butter is formed and separated from "shersh" (شرش) or milk water that remains. The butter tastes amazing.

Melanie Rimmer said...

How fasinating, Ashraf! Thanks for telling us all this.

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