How to Make Butter
There's nothing like the fresh taste of homemade butter on hot biscuits. You need to begin with either raw milk (straight from a cow or goat; non-homogenized) or cream to make butter. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- salt
- raw milk
- cheesecloth
- thermometers
- quart jars
- heavy creams
- butter paddles
- Cheesecloth
- Heavy Creams
- Raw Milk
- Salt
- Thermometers
- Butter Paddles
- Quart Jars
- Quart jars
Instructions
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1
If you're using raw milk, separate cream from milk by letting the milk sit for 12 to 24 hours in the refrigerator until the cream comes to the top of the milk. Use a large spoon or dipper to take the cream from the top of the milk.
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2
Let cream sit at room temperature until it is 60 degrees F.
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3
Pour cream into a quart jar and cover with a lid.
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4
Shake jar until globules of butter appear and most of the liquid has turned to a soft solid.
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5
Drain buttermilk from butter.
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6
Add cool water to jar and shake gently.
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7
Place cheesecloth over top of jar and drain.
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8
Rinse butter until liquid poured off is clear. If buttermilk is left in butter, it will give it a sour taste and cause the butter to spoil more quickly.
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9
Dump butter onto a cool surface, such as a marble or wood cutting board.
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10
Squeeze liquid from butter using wooden paddles or spoons to smash butter and pour off liquid.
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11
Add 1/4 tsp. to 1/2 tsp. of salt as you are mixing butter.
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12
Shape butter or place in bowls with a lid and store in refrigerator. Store excess in freezer.
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1
Tips & Warnings
If you are making large quantities of butter, you may want to invest in a paddle churn.
Sometimes it will take a while - perhaps 20 minutes - for the cream to turn to butter, so be patient and keep shaking that jar at a steady pace.
Resources
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Comments
View all 18 Comments-
I have been making butter from our jersey cows. Sometimes it takes a really long time to finally get to the butter stage. Am I getting too much milk with the cream? I have also been pasteurizing the cream. Do you have to wait a certain amount of time to make the butter after pasteurization?
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I just had freshly made butter and crakers OMG so good, I'll be making more :>).
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Ok cream. Heavy cream? Light cream?
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Wanted to share my 2 cents. I was always told to have the cream as cold as possible as it makes the process quicker and keeps it from overheating while whipping. I noticed it helps with the separation for me. Also, I use a turkey baster to siphon off the cream from the top, but a friend chills the milk in a jar with a spigot, like a sun tea jar, and then draws the "skimmed" milk out the bottom, leaving the cream. I love that you tell to rinse and why. It is important if you want your butter to stay fresh for any lenght of time. You can also wrap and freeze finished butter for longer storage!
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Wanted to share my 2 cents. I was always told to have the cream as cold as possible as it makes the process quicker and keeps it from overheating while whipping. I noticed it helps with the separation for me. Also, I use a turkey baster to siphon off the cream from the top, but a friend chills the milk in a jar with a spigot, like a sun tea jar, and then draws the "skimmed" milk out the bottom, leaving the cream.
