In Our Kitchen: How to Make Your Own Butter

People who used to churn their own butter, I'm sure were glad to see the blocks of butter, or should I say tubs of butter, when they became available at the grocery stores. Butter churns became the stuff for museums. Lately though, be it due to nostalgia or because of the movement to live more naturally, people have been going back to doing things the way they used to be done including making butter.

This article that I read this morning on The Green Dish, is an amusing recount of the author's love affair with butter and also provides instructions on how to make your own butter.

I am reminded of the time my daughter went too far making whipped cream and ended up with what I guess was butter. From the article by Melissa Breyer, here is how you make your own butter:

Make Butter:

Bring heavy cream to around 50F degrees, this took about 30 minutes out at room temperature for me.

Pour cream into the bowl of a stand mixer, cover top with shield, plastic or a dish towel. Really, do this or you will be wiping buttermilk spray from your kitchen ceiling. Whip with whisk attachment on medium-high for about five minutes, beyond the stiff peaks of whipped cream, until you can see that the fat has separated from the liquid. Alternatively, you can use a food processor or hand mixer.

Pour over a strainer into a bowl, and knead the butter to release more liquid. (This will make your hands very soft and give them a deep buttery flavor until you shower, which is kind of lovely, but can get a little gross after a while.)

When butter stops releasing liquid and feels so creamy—voila!

Save the liquid “buttermilk!” and drink or use for cooking.

Salt if you like (guilty non-local eco-sin confession: I added Himalayan pink salt).