Making butter. It sounds like a time consuming and laborious project when we think of Grandma turning the butter churn, doesn’t it? Thanks to today’s modern conveniences, it’s now a process that can be done in the matter of a few short minutes. All you need is one ingredient...cream. We use cream skimmed from the top of our gallons of raw milk but cream or whipping cream purchased at the grocery store works, too...it’s just not as flavorful and healthy as the cream that comes from those local grass fed dairy cows. Allow the cream to come to room temperature then pour it into the bowl of a food processor or ‘Ninja’ type blender. Use the dough blade and start whirling away. Take a peek every few seconds. First the cream will begin to thicken, soon it will become whipped cream then suddenly the butter will separate from the buttermilk! Drain the buttermilk and place the butter into a bowl. Use a spoon to stir the butter, draining away any additional buttermilk. Add cold water to rinse the butter, continuing to stir and drain the moisture away. Repeat the process until the liquid is clear and no more can be stirred out of the butter. Add salt if desired. You just made butter in less than 10 minutes! Reserve the buttermilk for another use.
It’s fun to get the kiddos involved in making butter. Let them make their own by filling a small jar halfway with cream. Secure a lid on the jar and let them start shaking away. Their butter won’t be ready as quickly as yours but they will be amazed to watch the process and they’ll use up some energy while they do it!
