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.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Cheesecloth
• Heavy Creams
• Raw Milk
• Salt
• Thermometers
• Butter Paddles
• Quart Jars

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.
2. Let cream sit at room temperature until it is 60 degrees F.
3. Pour cream into a quart jar and cover with a lid.
4. Shake jar until globules of butter appear and most of the liquid has turned to a soft solid.
5. Drain buttermilk from butter.
6. Add cool water to jar and shake gently.
7. Place cheesecloth over top of jar and drain.
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.
9. Dump butter onto a cool surface, such as a marble or wood cutting board.
10. Squeeze liquid from butter using wooden paddles or spoons to smash butter and pour off liquid.
11. Add 1/4 tsp. to 1/2 tsp. of salt as you are mixing butter.
12. Shape butter or place in bowls with a lid and store in refrigerator. Store excess in freezer.

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.