How to Make Butter & Buttermilk From Goat's Milk
Freshly made butter cannot compare to the commercial products sold in stores. Butter made from goat's milk tastes sweet and creamy and the buttermilk has a pleasant tang. If you have access to fresh milk from a goat, you can make your own buttermilk. This does not work with homogenized grocery brands of goat milk, so find a local goat farmer in your area or see if someone sells fresh goat milk at a farmer's market. Another plus to making your own butter and buttermilk: you control the amount of salt and additives in the final product.
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Things You'll Need
- 4 (9 x 13-inch) glass dishes
- 5 to 6 gallons of fresh goat milk
- Wide spoon or paddle
- Resealable 2 pt. jar
- Food thermometer
- Stand mixer with balloon whisk attachment and mixing bowl
- Measuring cup
- Resealable container
- 1 c. ice water
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
- Salt (optional)
Instructions
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1
Divide 2 gallons of milk into the four 9 x 13-inch dishes.
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2
Place the dishes in the refrigerator for 24 hours without disturbing.
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3
Spoon the cream that rose in the dishes off the top of the milk, and transfer it to the jar.
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4
Discard the remaining milk in the pans or use it as skim milk for drinking and baking.
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5
Repeat the settling and skimming process with the remaining 4 gallons of goat milk over the next two days, placing the accumulated cream into the jar. Store the jar of cream in the refrigerator before it is ready to use.
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6
Set the jar on the counter with a food thermometer in it. Pour the cream into the mixing bowl when the temperature warms to 52 degrees F.
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7
Whip the cream on high speed until the goat butter solids separate from the buttermilk, about 5 to 10 minutes. Alternatively, shake the jar with the cream until the butter separates, about 15 to 30 minutes.
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8
Pour the excess liquid (buttermilk) off of the solid butter into a measuring cup. Save this goat buttermilk for up to one week refrigerated in a sealed container for use in recipes or drinking.
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9
Transfer the butter to a mixing bowl from the jar, or leave in the mixer's bowl and add one cup of ice water to rinse the tangy buttermilk away from the goat butter.
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10
Knead the butter with a wooden spoon to push extra buttermilk out of the butter. Pour the extra liquid worked out of the butter off and discard.
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11
Repeat rinsing the butter by kneading in and pouring off ice water by one cup at a time until the liquid poured off looks clear.
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12
Fold 1 to 2 tbsp. of salt into the butter at this point for salted butter if desired.
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13
Pat the butter into a round cake shape and place in a resealable container. Store in the refrigerator and use within one week as a cow's milk butter substitute.
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