Homemade Butter

[CWFirstLady]

I surely miss that homemade taste of the butter my grandmother used to make. Anyone got direction on how I can make my own butter? Thanks!

[yoanbob]

do you have a churn?

[HappyMouffe]

An expensive way of doing it on a very small scale (unless you have a lot of cream left over after a party) is to use cream as your base. You can quickly make it by whipping the cream with an electric whisk until it starts to 'break' - buttermilk and butter grains start to develop.

Keep beating & pouring off the buttermilk (you can keep it for baking with). When the butter makes a biggish lump, stop whisking and chill it for a while - it should be around 10degC (ish). You can then 'work' it by patting it (use 2 spatulas if you don't have butter patters) - this gets more buttermilk out.

Add salt to taste, or leave the salt out. Store in fridge but because it's still quite moist, it will not last more than a few days. You'll get a yield of about 50% from double cream (i.e. half the weight of cream you started with).

You can make it with milk, but the yield will be much lower and you'll have to beat it for a lot longer.

I've shown quite a few people how to do it this way - it's good fun. If you've got a child you want to keep quiet for half an hour or so, get a clean jam jar, fill it one third full with cream, and get them to shake it until butter forms. Get them to pour out the buttermilk & proceed as above.

[shirlthegirl43]

My bread machine has a special setting for churning butter from double cream. Know exactly what you mean about the taste. It is pricey but I usually do a batch if I see cream at reduced price.

[Nicos]

Shirl- what make is your breadmaker??
I would love to make my own butter.....but don't have a churner!
If I were to buy one- what would you suggest???

[shirlthegirl43]

My machine is by Mellerware. Can't remember where I bought it as I have had it for years. It has settings for cakes and jam as well as just making dough or butter or complete loaves. It makes a funny 'square' loaf which is my only complaint. To be honest, I use it more for butter, jam and dough (for doughnuts or pancakes) than for making bread - I prefer to make that by hand.

[CWFirstLady]

no churn, unfortunately

[HappyMouffe]

CWFirstLady - only need an electric whisk for the method outlined above (or a hand whisk and lots of elbow grease!)

[mazel-bee]

Similar to Happy Mouffes method, but a little quicker and great fun for children is to put some double cream in an old jam jar and shake up and down for about ten mins. It forms butter with a little bit of butter milk at the end. It is not very productive and only lasts for a few days but it is well worth doing once in your life!!

[raine]

I remember doing this at school and I'm in mt 40's!

[madmax]

My machine is by Mellerware. Can't remember where I bought it as I have had it for years. It has settings for cakes and jam as well as just making dough or butter or complete loaves. It makes a funny 'square' loaf which is my only complaint. To be honest, I use it more for butter, jam and dough (for doughnuts or pancakes) than for making bread - I prefer to make that by hand.

'Liberate' Mum's Kenwood chef... She never uses it and will never know it is missing, along with the butter making doofer. And the 3 million other things that bolt onto it that have never seen the light of day since they were made!

[Tyto Alba]

So you can make butter by shaking up double cream in a jar?!!!?!?!?!


I'm going to do it tomorrow. Why didn't anybody tell me this before?