I had a litre of heavy cream in the fridge that was at risk of souring before I would manage to use it.
It was the perfect reason to make butter!
According to Weston A. Price, butter made from the cream of grass feed cows grazing on rapidly growing spring grass had what he called ' activator X '.
It seemed a shame to waste it, so I went about making butter.
I took the cream out of the fridge in the morning, with the intention of making butter in the evening. Cream breaks into butter and buttermilk quicker when it is at room temperature.
I poured the cream into a bowl and used a handheld electric whisk. It only took a few minutes when I heard the noise of the butter coming. It sounds like a wet splash when the cream collapses in and splits.
I emptied the contents of the bowl into a large sieve, sitting over a small bowl to collect the buttermilk and put them back into the fridge. It is easier to wash the butter when it is chilled and has had the night to drain. So I headed to bed!
In the morning, I put the butter into a pot of painfully cold water. I used my hand to press out the buttermilk. I repeatedly replaced the cold water as it became cloudy. When the water remained clear, the butter was ready to be salted and pressed into ramekins.
This involves mixing in good quality sea salt to taste and them pressing into moulds or containers ready to be used or in this case, stored in the freezer.
This litre of cream produced 400g of butter.
The buttermilk can be used in cooking, it is especially good in brown soda bread or pancakes.
I really should be making this amount of butter twice a day, but I never have the time!
And the pigs love the cream ;-)
Nice to see some one else making butter, when ever I see double cream reduced I get it and make butter.
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be a growing interest in making butter. It is great to see old skills in everyday use
DeleteYou make your butter the same way I do, except that I do not let the butter drain overnight. I then roll the butter into middle sized balls and put them into the freezer. But, like you, I do not take advantage of all our milk to make butter, most of it goes to the dogs and pigs. Nice to know that someone else is making butter though.
ReplyDeleteYes, sometimes I feel guilty about not making more butter but the pigs are massive, maybe too fatty ! We do buy butter in the store which is a shame. I would like to be more organised and fill the freezer.
DeleteI've never made butter or cheese but it's something I want to try one day. Yours looks good. can't have milk or cream but everything else doesn't seem to upset me.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog by the way.
Thanks Kev.
ReplyDeleteI have similar problems with dairy but I can tolerant raw milk, it must be to do with the enzymes