Making cream

[Nicos]

Has anyone made their own cream??

I've not found 'normal' cream out here- only creme fraiche- which is a bit more sour.
Talking to one of the locals, he said his mum used to (heat up ?????)fresh milk -from their own cows - in a pan until it turned to cream.

Urmm...anyone ever had a go at making their own cream????

I found this bit of info...

http://www.ochef.com/980.htm

[tiachica]

Cream is just the fatty stuff of the milk that floats to the top. So heating it up will do nothing, but just leave to stand and you'll be able to spoon off the cream from the top of a milk bottle (fresh milk, not processed). The fatter the milk, the more cream you get...

[tiachica]

You should be able to find normal cream under Crème double.

Creme Fraiche is normal cream plus milk bacteria which start a light fermentation and hence the sour taste.

[poly]

Only when I used to have a Jersy cow.

If you can get some fresh milk from a local farmer, place it in a large tub or bucket some where cool and leave it for 24hrs the cream will rise to the top and can then be skimmed off.

I think the heating of milk for cream just brings it to the top faster but you end up with a skin. Cream that is heated can produce clotted cream.

I'll have a look and see if I can find some more info

[Nicos]

Ah ha!..he must have got the heating bit mixed up then.
Full fat unpasturised milk from local cows...bet that'll make tasty cream!!!

These are our local cows...

Breeds of Livestock - Normande Cattle

I wonder if their milk is as creamy as Jersey milk????


Oh- I've just remembered my granny used to buy a bottle of Jersey Gold top milk on a Sunday for the custard!!!!! ...the cream on the top of that was wonderfully thick!

[scarey55]

As soon as you've cracked how to do it Nicos, I'll put in an order I haven't seen any thick double cream here and the UHT stuff doesn't whisk.

I actually like crème fraiche but only a spoonful at a time on its own doesn't make a nice pavlova though does it

[Mrs Dobby]

I'd love to make our own cream, butter, yoghurt and cheese, but guess it'll have to wait until we wint the lottery and buy the smallholding!

[poly]

Found this

'Clotted cream was originally a by-product of skimmed milk, which would be used in butter-making. Farmers’ wives or maids were usually responsible for scalding the milk to produce dairy products. The process is fairly simple, and quite possible to replicate at home.


To start with, the fresh, whole, unpasteurised milk would be left overnight in a brass or earthenware crock or pan. Today, you can use an ordinary milk pan. In the morning, the milk should be placed over a very low heat to be ‘scalded’ – warmed without reaching boiling point. The milk should not be stirred. It’s ready when pimples begin to form on the top of the milk. This step takes about one hour. Now the milk should be removed from the heat and set aside to cool, preferably overnight.


The next morning, scoop off the wrinkled, yellow cream from the top of the pan, and put it into a pot for your scones! The milk beneath is suitable for baking with.

[Nicos]

OOO..that sounds yummy!
Doesn't sound too difficult to make does it????

[poly]

I only made clotted cream a couple of times, but from what I remember it was easy enough. But then so is normal cream and once you have done that you can make a start on butter!

[Nicos]

Have you done that too??..something to do with shaking the milk in a jam jar if I recall!!???

[poly]

Mrs D, you can make yoghurt and cheese from milk and butter from cream. Tis the cost of the buing milk/cream so no cheeper but loads of fun. I've started getting into cheese making (from shop bought milk) cream/soft cheese is easy and so yummy, hard cheese is like following a recipy with a bit more waiting time!

[poly]

I bought a butter churn years ago, bit like a large glass jar with a paddle in it attached to the lid with a handle to turn. But its not essential, you can use a jam jar to which you add your cream, and just shake and shake and shake a bit more. Takes a while before the butter granuals form, but good for keeping fit! You can use the butter milk for making your scones with your clotted cream. Might be worth a google cos I'm sure I read you can make it in a mixer.

I'll look for a recipe I'm sure it will explain better than me.

[maytreefrannie]

I remember as a child the way the cream would form on top of the bottle - the 'top of the milk' was prized for your cereal or porridge , and the one who shook the bottle to mix it in fairly often only got moans for their impartiality.

Mrs D, you can make yoghurt and cheese from milk and butter from cream. Tis the cost of the buing milk/cream so no cheeper but loads of fun. I've started getting into cheese making (from shop bought milk) cream/soft cheese is easy and so yummy, hard cheese is like following a recipy with a bit more waiting time!

Do you mean by shop-bought the ordinary pasteurised and homogenised milk we buy? I thought yoghurt and cheese could only be made from whole unprocessed milk - have you any guidelines for someone who'd like to have a go?

[rocketman]

I remember making cream for my mum using a cream maker. We would heat some milk with some butter until it had melted and then poured it into the top of the cream maker. (Then the hard) bit. I would work the handle up and down as fast as I could forcing the mix through a valve and forming cream. I have looked on ebay and there are some for sale although they are old and I dont know if they will work as well as in the day.
Good luck