Hope this isn’t too off topic but is anyone out there making their own butter? I’ve been at it for a month or so and have been pleased with the results. I’ve done plain ol’ butter and cultured butter. The cultured butter definitely has a better overall flavor but both are great…..

I used to as a kid when I lived in england, would skoop of the cream from the milk bottles, was jummy

Iowa Cheese Maker:

Butter is something I’ve been wanting to try.  Can you help me as far as what you need to get started?

Putting cream into a jar and start shaking it and u will eventually get butter, thats what i did when I was a kid, basically u want to over whip it, thats the simplest form.

I have a detailed recipe I can post. I use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, it’s easier on the arms! I can post the regular butter recipe and the cultured butter recipe when I get home this evening….

Thanks!  I would appreciate the help.

This recipe is pretty wordy, and makes this process seem difficult but that’s not the case. Once you do it, it’s very easy. To make plain butter, skip the culturing step and the rest is pretty much the same. The churning process will take a bit longer with uncultured cream.

Cultured Butter

4 cups (1ltr) heavy or double cream
1/3 cup (80ml) plain whole-milk yogurt, crème fraîche or buttermilk (check the ingredients to make sure these do not conatin any gums or stabilizers)
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)

Begin by culturing your cream (this is an overnight process, so plan accordingly). In a clean glass or ceramic container (bowl, jar, etc) combine the cream and yogurt, crème fraîche or buttermilk. Cover loosely and place it in a warmish part of the house - the ideal temperature is around 75F (23C), but anywhere in the range from 70-80F (20-26C) is okay.

After 12-18 hours, the cream should be noticeably thicker and should taste slightly tangy, i.e. like crème fraîche. If it’s bubbling and gassy, some unwanted bacteria have gotten in there so discard your cream and start again (note that this has never happened to me). If it hasn’t thickened yet, leave it alone for another few hours and eventually it will. When your cream has thickened, if you are not ready to make your butter right away, transfer the container to the fridge where you can leave it for up to another 24 hours.

In order to churn properly, the cream needs to be at about 60F (15C).  If you’re taking it out of the fridge just let it warm up until it reaches this temperature; if you’re making it from room temperature you’ll need to place the bowl in a bath of cool water for a few minutes to cool it down.

You can use any method you want to beat the cream; handheld electric beater, stand mixer, etc - even whisking by hand if you’re trying to pre-emptively burn off a few calories. If using a kitchen Aid stand mixer, put the cream into the mixing bowl. Cover as much of the bowl as you can with plastic wrap to keep from getting buttermilk all over yourself. You’ll want to equip the whisk attachment. Turn the mixer to a speed of about 6 or 7 and watch the cream carefully. The cream will start to change to a yellow color and consistency will change. You’ll know when the butterfat has separated from the buttermilk when you start to see a lot of buttermilk spattering on the plastic wrap and globules of yellow butterfat will be swimming in a sea of buttermilk. Stop beating and carefully tilt the bowl over a cup, holding back the butter clumps as best you can, and drain away as much buttermilk as possible. You can use this just like commercial buttermilk. 

Now you have to wash the butter to get rid of all the residual buttermilk, which would cause it to spoil prematurely. Using a fork, your hands(my preferred implement) or a stiff rubber spatula, pour some of your reserved icewater over the butter, kneading and stirring it around vigorously. The water will turn whitish and the butter will firm up, making it cohere and knead more easily. Pour out the liquid and repeat as many times as needed until the water sloshing around in your bowl is completely clear. After you’ve poured off the last of the liquid, continue kneading for a few more minutes to get as much water as possible out of the butter. If you want salted butter, add your favorite salt now, to taste.

I recommend using a Butter Bell to store your butter. Here’s a link….http://www.butterbell.com

Thanks for the information Iowa CM, i am looking a buying a cream seperator and would love to make butter. My goal is to be able to reduce fat content of milk to make good parmesan cheese. I am also planning on getting a 250 litre tank made to make bigger batches of the hard cheeses. I would love to make bigger batches of cheddar and parma less often. SO your info on butter will be useful if I get a batch of cream to use. Has anyone here used the NOVO cream separator as this is the model I am thinking of getting.

Wow!  Thanks.  Finally, an excuse to buy a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.  One question:  About how long in the mixer before you start seeing butter?  Would it be feasible to use a hand-held mixer the first time or two, or would it be too labor intensive?

Great! thanks!

If I remember correctly, it takes about 7 minutes for the butterfat to separate when making plain butter and about 4 minutes for cultured butter. I’m not sure why but when making cultured butter, I never see the “whipped cream” stage. It seems like it goes straight to butter. I’m sure there’s an explanation for it. I think a person could use a hand mixer for either one, I just happen to use my stand mixer.

One more question:  Do you use fresh cream or store-bought?  Even though I’m in Oklahoma where there’s more cows than people, I don’t have access to fresh cream/milk.  Thanks for the help.  Butter is something I’ve wanted to try for a while but haven’t taken the time to explore.

I use store bought.

I was curious if anyone had given this a try. If so, what were your results?

ICM:

I haven’t tried it yet, but do plan to.  Work has definitely gotten in the way of play/hobbies lately.

I will try also. I am waiting for a cream seperator I bought off ebay to arive. I want to make parmesan and pecarino cheese SO I will pull some cream off the milk I use.