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How to Make Your Own Butter
Karen Solomon, author of Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It, shakes her way into some deliciously fresh homemade butter using heavy whipping cream, a tightly lidded jar, and her own muscles.
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I just read a great article on how to make butter & associated buttermilk that goes one step further on removing extra water and using the wire whisk on an electric mixer for 10 min. It also has some history in the article. I don't have the ability to shake a jar like that, so I am sharing this for anyone who wants to do it with a wire whisk on their electric mixer instead. It's at...+READ
I just read a great article on how to make butter & associated buttermilk that goes one step further on removing extra water and using the wire whisk on an electric mixer for 10 min. It also has some history in the article. I don't have the ability to shake a jar like that, so I am sharing this for anyone who wants to do it with a wire whisk on their electric mixer instead. It's at http://www.europeancuisines.com/How-to-make-butter-and-buttermilk-from-scratch-COLLAPSE
this was too easy that I was sure I did something wrong. I used two different varieties of organic heavy whipping cream and both worked great. I will NEVER buy butter again. I added mashed garlic to one batch and it's fantastic.
The shaking might be good for your arms... my shoulders are bad... pour the cream in a blender and watch it change itself to whipped cream, and then miraculously ... to butter! Fun for the whole family....albeit a bit noisy . Saves about 20 mins as well.
Sorry, I meant to say SOME whipping cream. I realize the names are based on the fat content. I prefer to use heavy cream.
For those of you who did not have luck, what kind of cream did you use? whipping cream has stabilizers that will keep the liquid from separating.
Comment from Violet (age 4): Let's do the butter one! We like the butter one, it's really cool, and why are you saying really funny things like "It's from your own kitchen?" so I wanted to tell you we're going to make it and we're going to watch Project Runway.
(she means we liked your video)
I've done this, but not enough to be an expert.
I've only done it on purpose a couple times. Otherwise I was trying to whip cream and got distracted. It occurs to me, though, that cookbooks are full of instructions about how to whip cream, and that those may be of use here since whipped cream is one of the way stations en route to butter. One of the principle warnings is usually to avoid...+READ
I've done this, but not enough to be an expert.
I've only done it on purpose a couple times. Otherwise I was trying to whip cream and got distracted. It occurs to me, though, that cookbooks are full of instructions about how to whip cream, and that those may be of use here since whipped cream is one of the way stations en route to butter. One of the principle warnings is usually to avoid protein--no leftover egg from an earlier part of the recipe, for example. Could that be what's going on, that there was some kind of egg or oil or something "contaminating" the butter-to-be?-COLLAPSE
Adventures In Butter Part Deux
I made this butter for the second time last night with a gathering of friends. This time, I shook it up in the exact same bottle, but I shook it for the full thirty minutes, well past the point the fat and buttermilk separated.
When I opened the container to pour out the buttermilk, I realized all of the buttermilk was gone. And my butter was a little yellower...+READ
Adventures In Butter Part Deux
I made this butter for the second time last night with a gathering of friends. This time, I shook it up in the exact same bottle, but I shook it for the full thirty minutes, well past the point the fat and buttermilk separated.
When I opened the container to pour out the buttermilk, I realized all of the buttermilk was gone. And my butter was a little yellower and had a fuller, buttery flavor. I'm going to try this method again (shake until the liquid is gone) and see if it works twice.
One thing I know, I'm not buying butter anymore!-COLLAPSE
Actually, the opening on a growler is larger than a standard bottle. It came out real easy. Here's a photo of a similar growler...
http://www.lostcoast.com/oscommerce/images/Growler_LCB.jpg
Are you saying that all of the thick butter came out of that little tiny hole without leaving a significant amount stuck to the inside of the bottle? Perhaps I'm just not experienced enough with the physics of butter to understand how that is possible. I can understand how the buttermilk would pour out fine, but then you'd be stuck with a clump of butter clogging up the mouthpiece. I don't...+READ
Are you saying that all of the thick butter came out of that little tiny hole without leaving a significant amount stuck to the inside of the bottle? Perhaps I'm just not experienced enough with the physics of butter to understand how that is possible. I can understand how the buttermilk would pour out fine, but then you'd be stuck with a clump of butter clogging up the mouthpiece. I don't understand how that can be easily removed without a lit of hard work with long, skinny spoons and/or chopsticks.
Mr Taster-COLLAPSE
You make a good observation! The growler was perfect for shaking and the butter came out just fine when I was removing the buttermilk. However, I had to do the "wash" phase in a big Tupperware container with a wide mouth.
SaltCod, a growler??
Wikipedia comes up with this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_bottle#Growler
How do you remove the butter from a glass bottle?
Mr Taster
Ok, I just did this and it was a HUGE success! I read everyone's comments and I think I know what went wrong with Mr. Taster's experience. I shook my cream up in a clean 64 oz glass bottle (a growler) and about 15 minutes into the shaking, it just turned into a solid mass of cream. Not to be deterred, I just kept shaking it (no marbles) even though it didn't feel like anything was moving in the...+READ
Ok, I just did this and it was a HUGE success! I read everyone's comments and I think I know what went wrong with Mr. Taster's experience. I shook my cream up in a clean 64 oz glass bottle (a growler) and about 15 minutes into the shaking, it just turned into a solid mass of cream. Not to be deterred, I just kept shaking it (no marbles) even though it didn't feel like anything was moving in the bottle. Not 4 or 5 minutes later, the cream mass quickly turned back into a chunky blob and I was back in business.
The only part of this process I thought was annoying was, after the water rinse, getting all the water out of the butter. That took multiple strainings and even some time on several paper towels.
However, the butter is DELICIOUS. I added a little sea salt, about a third of what you would taste in salted butter, and this stuff is fantastic.
Finally those muscles I developed around the time of puberty came in handy for something else! Thanks, Karen!-COLLAPSE
I used to make butter that way at my grandmother's house as a child. She milked the cows. Now I use my Kitchen Aid mixer--a quart of heavy cream, medium speed, 20-25 minutes, then put in strainer to separate out the buttermilk (use it for cornbread or pancakes, fantastic!).
I have to say that I will likely never try this. Way too much work!
I almost always buy cultured butter (widely available here in Canada, for some reason). Has anyone tried culturing the cream before making the butter? I love the cheesy flavour...
Karen, I had the same result as Mr Taster. I followed your instructions, shook the jar for about 45 minutes and it never got past the whipped cream stage.
Hi Karen-- thanks for checking in. There's a place in Los Angeles called the Apple Pan which makes this outrageously dense, luxurious whipped cream to top their pies. I always wondered how they got their whipped cream to behave that way. Now it appears I've discovered the method by making my failed butter.
As for my results, it has been hot in Los Angeles, but I didn't think it was overly so....+READ
Hi Karen-- thanks for checking in. There's a place in Los Angeles called the Apple Pan which makes this outrageously dense, luxurious whipped cream to top their pies. I always wondered how they got their whipped cream to behave that way. Now it appears I've discovered the method by making my failed butter.
As for my results, it has been hot in Los Angeles, but I didn't think it was overly so. Having said that, the cream never dropped below 84 degrees (yes, I measured it). Maybe that was the real problem? Do you know what the ideal temperature for shaking butter is? Also, what sized container do you find is the most effective?
Mr Taster-COLLAPSE
HI All! Karen here. Thanks so much for your kind words on the videos (these were super fun to do) and, above all, for your patience.
A few comments that I hope will address the questions above:
- Totally agree with you that for whipping cream, everything should be cold (the cream, the bowl, even your beaters) as this yields a higher, fluffier cream. But making butter is a different process;...+READ
HI All! Karen here. Thanks so much for your kind words on the videos (these were super fun to do) and, above all, for your patience.
A few comments that I hope will address the questions above:
- Totally agree with you that for whipping cream, everything should be cold (the cream, the bowl, even your beaters) as this yields a higher, fluffier cream. But making butter is a different process; it's separating the fat into a dense ball, leaving behind the buttermilk. The room temp cream simply takes less time to "churn" than starting with cold cream. I've tried it both ways, and I just like the speed of the warmer cream. Oh, and I"ve never tried the marbles or using any kind of agitator. Thanks for the tip! I'll give it a go.
- Why your butter may not work: I've made butter oh, i dunno, a hundred times? But just recently, on a very hot day in a very hot room, a bunch of people were passing around the jar and it never, ever went to butter; it just sort of petered out at the thick and creamy stage (which, Mr. T, as you point out is tasty, but it ain't butter). I'm curious: Was it especially hot out the day that you made your failed butter? I used the same jars and the same room temp cream that I always do, yet it just would not churn. Other thoughts: was it shaken super vigorously?
Thanks again for all your input, and let me know if i can assist with anything else. Best of luck getting crafty in the kitchen...
Karen Solomon-COLLAPSE
debbie33, what sized shaker jar did you use?
Mr Taster
Wow! Your butter looks great! The pic made me want to slather some on a thick piece of zucchini bread! I'm glad it turned out well for you. The marbles are not necessary as you've proved, they just add a little help to the process.
cookieluvntasha, I tried it your way, cold cream no marbles and here are the results
http://www.jamieoliver.com/bloggers/viewtopic.php?id=49836
Thanks very much, mudaba
I'm very curious to know the specific reasons why she recommends room temperature cream. Also, I'm very interested to know how she feels about adding the marble agitators, and if she has a reason for not recommending this method.
Also, this is not butter specific, but I'm quite puzzled as to how I got such an incredibly dense whipped cream by shaking room temperature...+READ
Thanks very much, mudaba
I'm very curious to know the specific reasons why she recommends room temperature cream. Also, I'm very interested to know how she feels about adding the marble agitators, and if she has a reason for not recommending this method.
Also, this is not butter specific, but I'm quite puzzled as to how I got such an incredibly dense whipped cream by shaking room temperature cream. All the conventional wisdom says to whip your cream with a very cold bowl, very cold beaters, and very cold cream-- however the room temperature cream whipped up to such a thick consistency that you could stand a metal spoon up in it.
Mr Taster-COLLAPSE
Hi Mr Taster,
Thanks for your questions. I'm going to forward this thread to Karen and get her to respond to your queries. In terms of that buttermilk shot--it wasn't used in any way in the tip. The only reason it was there was that I pulled a bunch of stuff out of the fridge for out shoot, and it happened to be on the counter. Please disregard it--it had nothing to do with the tip. I watched...+READ
Hi Mr Taster,
Thanks for your questions. I'm going to forward this thread to Karen and get her to respond to your queries. In terms of that buttermilk shot--it wasn't used in any way in the tip. The only reason it was there was that I pulled a bunch of stuff out of the fridge for out shoot, and it happened to be on the counter. Please disregard it--it had nothing to do with the tip. I watched her make this butter by pouring an entire container of heavy whipping cream into the jar and shaking for 20 minutes--it takes a really long time--then cleaning off the butter with water and some more shaking. But perhaps she can help tell what happened for you. I'll ask her!
Meredith of CHOW-COLLAPSE
Wow cookieluvntasha... THANK YOU for such a detailed explanation of your method with the marbles. Adding an agitator (marbles) makes total sense. Also, I can see how using using a larger jar would make a big difference.
By the way, I'm not entirely sure what happened with mine by doing Karen's method (see my experience above). Somehow I got this bizarre proto-butter. The butter never "broke"...+READ
Wow cookieluvntasha... THANK YOU for such a detailed explanation of your method with the marbles. Adding an agitator (marbles) makes total sense. Also, I can see how using using a larger jar would make a big difference.
By the way, I'm not entirely sure what happened with mine by doing Karen's method (see my experience above). Somehow I got this bizarre proto-butter. The butter never "broke" properly, and the buttermilk never drained out, though I did hang it in cheesecloth over a bowl. The cheesecloth absorbed a little, but most of the buttermilk is still locked in the cream.
What I wound up with is essentially solid white cream, which tastes remarkably good when spread on fresh baked bread (do a google search for the "no-knead bread" recipe... in particular the Cooks Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen modification which uses beer to boost the yeasty flavor of the bread.
Mr Taster-COLLAPSE
When I make butter, buttermilk is never added...its a product of my work. This is what I do to make butter. I take a large plastic jar (like a pretzel jar) and put it as well as a couple marbles in the freezer for 10 minutes. Once they are cold I take a quart of heavy cream out of the fridge (not room temp) and pour it in the jar with the marbles. Then I shake, shake, shake! At first the cream...+READ
When I make butter, buttermilk is never added...its a product of my work. This is what I do to make butter. I take a large plastic jar (like a pretzel jar) and put it as well as a couple marbles in the freezer for 10 minutes. Once they are cold I take a quart of heavy cream out of the fridge (not room temp) and pour it in the jar with the marbles. Then I shake, shake, shake! At first the cream will whip up and start sticking to the sides and will be the consistency of whipped cream. Thats bc it IS whipped cream. Now I keep shaking and eventually I will stop hearing the marbles in the jar. This means I'm halfway done. I shake some more and once I hear the marbles hit the walls of the jar again I have butter and buttermilk! I continue to shake for about 5 minutes after I hear the marbles for the second time. I pour out the buttermilk into a glass jar and put it in the fridge and then put the blob of butter in a plastic bowl. Then I WASH the butter. This is an important step for me because I leave my butter out and it would become rancid. I take a wooded spoon and run cold water over the butter and press it with the spoon so that the remaining buttermilk comes out of the butter and rinses off. I do this for about 2-3 minutes, turning the butter over in the bowl with my spoon and continuing to press out the buttermilk. Whats left is wonderful butter and sometimes I will season it or just let it alone, because IT IS WONDERFUL!!!!! Let me know how you make out if you try it my way.-COLLAPSE
Good point. Well I guess we'll have to wait and hope Karen will answer your question. I'd like to try this, but not if it's going to end up as yours did.
These chow videos are hacked up and edited to death to make several different installments. I wouldn't be surprised if during their interview with Karen she described the differences between cultured buttermilk and did a side by side comparison of the two. Keep an eye out for a buttermilk-specific installment.
Mr. T - Interesting, but that doesn't really address my point. Why is there a carton of buttermilk in the video but it is never added to the jar? I don't hear any discussion of buttermilk in the video at all, do you?
Buttermilk sold in cartons today is not real buttermilk. It is skim milk with cultures added.
As Karen showed in the video, real buttermilk is the liquid that separates out from the fat solids. Left out at room temperature, it acquires a sour flavor, which is what our ancestors used to add that tang to biscuits and such.
In fact, real buttermilk has all sorts of emulsifying properties that the...+READ
Buttermilk sold in cartons today is not real buttermilk. It is skim milk with cultures added.
As Karen showed in the video, real buttermilk is the liquid that separates out from the fat solids. Left out at room temperature, it acquires a sour flavor, which is what our ancestors used to add that tang to biscuits and such.
In fact, real buttermilk has all sorts of emulsifying properties that the fake modern buttermilk doesn't have.
Read my post on the Home Cooking board and follow the links for clarification on this.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/578336#4923991
Mr Taster-COLLAPSE
Mr. Taster, I noticed that the video shows a container of buttermilk next to the cream, but the buttermilk is never added to the cream. I'm guessing that was cut from the video, and it explains your experience. Karen???
OK, I tried doing this tonight. It didn't work in the slightest.
I poured a pint of room temperature organic horizons heavy cream into a standard sized mason jar and I shook it, I shook it, I shook it.
After about 13 minutes, I noticed something funny. The milk was no longer sloshing around. The cream had whipped up into such a thick consistency that it no longer moved freely inside the jar....+READ
OK, I tried doing this tonight. It didn't work in the slightest.
I poured a pint of room temperature organic horizons heavy cream into a standard sized mason jar and I shook it, I shook it, I shook it.
After about 13 minutes, I noticed something funny. The milk was no longer sloshing around. The cream had whipped up into such a thick consistency that it no longer moved freely inside the jar. (When I banged the jar on the counter to collapse the air, about 1/2 of the capacity of the mason jar was still empty)
So I tried to shake it, but no progress.
I decided this was time to take out some power tools, so I got my hand mixer and decided to whip the cream into buttery submission. I beat the cream for about 10 minutes on medium low setting.
Well, the air in the cream collapsed and significantly reduced in volume, and it became slightly wetter. However, when I tried to strain it, not a single drop of buttermilk came through the sieve.
I thought perhaps now that the volume had decreased, I could attempt to shake it up some more in the mason jar. No go... it was still as thick and immobile as it was before.
So Karen, what gives?
Mr Taster-COLLAPSE
I have been making my own butter for years. I taught at a school and this was one of the projects I did with the children around Thanksgiving time. I make big batches for family gatherings and for my friend with cancer (she can't have salted butter and the unsalted that you buy from the grocer is really only good for baking, not to the direct palate) and make special flavors by adding in...+READ
I have been making my own butter for years. I taught at a school and this was one of the projects I did with the children around Thanksgiving time. I make big batches for family gatherings and for my friend with cancer (she can't have salted butter and the unsalted that you buy from the grocer is really only good for baking, not to the direct palate) and make special flavors by adding in ingredients like garllic and chives, or cinnamon.-COLLAPSE
I love Karen. She makes everything look like a roller coaster's worth of fun. This video alone makes me want to try my hand at this.