MMM...Butter

One of the many benefits of raw milk is being able to skim the fresh cream off of the top and make homemade butter. Real, raw butter is so much healthier than the stuff available at the store. It is also really easy to make. :)

Here is an in-depth look at why butter is so much better, by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig.

There are several ways to make butter. You can use a hand mixer, put the cream into your stand mixer, or for an even faster way (cheater butter!) just throw it in your blender. It takes about 10 minutes or so. All you need is fresh, raw cow milk cream. Here are some pics to show the process. I was having issues with my camera that day, and didn't realize the kids had messed with my settings. So, the pics are not that great, bear with me! ;)

Take your cream and pour it into your blender (or bowl if you're using a mixer). Make sure to leave room at the top, it gets bigger as you mix it. Turn the blender on high and let it mix until it starts to form clumps of butter. If you want whip cream and not butter, mix until the cream is puffy and smooth (looks like whip cream), then add in your sweetener. If not, keep mixing until it forms the clumps. You may need to turn the blender off and scrape down the sides several times before it's all mixed.


after the butter has separated from the buttermilk and formed clumps


Next, pour the contents of the blender into a bowl. Using a rubber scraper or wooden spoon, squish the butter away from the buttermilk, squeezing the butter while you do this. Try to squeeze out as much buttermilk from the butter as you can by smashing it against the side of the bowl.



Pour the buttermilk into a jar. Continue to squeeze the butter to get as much buttermilk out as possible.



Now you are going to fill a bowl with cold water and add a few ice cubes. Take your clump of butter and put it into the ice water. Squeeze the butter ball with your hand several times. This will "wash" out any remaining buttermilk left in the butter.



Remove the butter ball from the ice water, and lay it in a folded paper towel or thin cloth. Gently press the ball to dry it off and soak up extra moisture. Don't press too hard, or you will have bits of paper towel tear off onto the butter.



There you have it! Fresh, homemade raw butter, and fresh buttermilk! Store the butter in a glass dish in the refrigerator, and keep the jar of buttermilk refrigerated. You can use the buttermilk for soaking flours or grains, making biscuits, or in any other baking by subbing it for the liquid. Yum!