You don’t have to own a cow and dig your great-grandma’s butter churn out of the attic to make homemade butter. With the right ingredients, found in most local communities, you can have melt-in-your-mouth, savory, creamy butter – just like the kind served in fancy restaurants.
Start by buying raw milk from a local dairy. You can locate the nearest dairy on the internet. Be sure to check state laws concerning the purchase of raw milk for human consumption. Let the raw milk sit in your refrigerator for three days. The cream will separate and rise to the top.
Skim the cream off the top or poke a hole in the container and drain the skim milk from the bottom. After the cream and milk are separated, let the cream sit out until it reaches a temperature of 58 degrees. This is very important. Use a digital thermometer to check the temperature.
Pour the cream into a stand mixer and mix using the whisk attachment. Beware of splashing. Mix on high for several minutes. You will observe the cream change to whipped cream and then to heavy whipped cream. Quite suddenly, butter will begin to separate from the liquid. At that moment stop the mixer, and switch to the kneading attachment, because butter is hard to mix with a whisk. Mix for a few more minutes until the mixture looks like watery butter. There will still be a lot of liquid.
Stop mixing. Place a colander in a bowl. Pour the mixture into the colander. The butter will remain in the colander, and the liquid that drains into the bowl will be non-cultured buttermilk. Place the buttermilk in a pitcher and save for use in other foods.
Take the butter out of the colander and place it in the bowl. Now it is time to “wash” the butter. Fill a pitcher with ice water. Pour some of the ice water in the bowl and knead the butter. The water will get cloudy. Pour the cloudy water out and repeat the process until the water comes out clear and not cloudy.
At this point, you can add salt, honey, garlic, sage or any other herb depending on your taste. Knead the butter and honey or herbs until thoroughly mixed together. Pack the butter in a mold or small bowl and serve. Enjoy on homemade biscuits made from the non-cultured buttermilk that you separated from the butter earlier. There is nothing like homemade butter!
Start by buying raw milk from a local dairy. You can locate the nearest dairy on the internet. Be sure to check state laws concerning the purchase of raw milk for human consumption. Let the raw milk sit in your refrigerator for three days. The cream will separate and rise to the top.
Skim the cream off the top or poke a hole in the container and drain the skim milk from the bottom. After the cream and milk are separated, let the cream sit out until it reaches a temperature of 58 degrees. This is very important. Use a digital thermometer to check the temperature.
Pour the cream into a stand mixer and mix using the whisk attachment. Beware of splashing. Mix on high for several minutes. You will observe the cream change to whipped cream and then to heavy whipped cream. Quite suddenly, butter will begin to separate from the liquid. At that moment stop the mixer, and switch to the kneading attachment, because butter is hard to mix with a whisk. Mix for a few more minutes until the mixture looks like watery butter. There will still be a lot of liquid.
Stop mixing. Place a colander in a bowl. Pour the mixture into the colander. The butter will remain in the colander, and the liquid that drains into the bowl will be non-cultured buttermilk. Place the buttermilk in a pitcher and save for use in other foods.
Take the butter out of the colander and place it in the bowl. Now it is time to “wash” the butter. Fill a pitcher with ice water. Pour some of the ice water in the bowl and knead the butter. The water will get cloudy. Pour the cloudy water out and repeat the process until the water comes out clear and not cloudy.
At this point, you can add salt, honey, garlic, sage or any other herb depending on your taste. Knead the butter and honey or herbs until thoroughly mixed together. Pack the butter in a mold or small bowl and serve. Enjoy on homemade biscuits made from the non-cultured buttermilk that you separated from the butter earlier. There is nothing like homemade butter!
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