Make Butter, Part 2

This is a continuation of Make Butter, Part 1.
 

After making several batches of butter I ran out of little bowls to put the butter in and needed a new method. This is what I came up with. It worked beautifully. The next time I do this I will skip the bowls and go right to making cubes. See what you think.

 I made the butter into something that looked much like a cake. To do this I spread the butter into a cookie sheet as I finished each batch and piled it up on itself. 

As it got higher I used my hands, a spoon and a spatula to mold the butter into what really did look like a big cake at that point. This took awhile and I was able to fit many batches of butter on the cookie sheet. 

When it was all molded as I desired I cut it into cubes. Fortunately, it was cold outside so I let it sit in the van overnight so it would freeze without being bothered. The obvious alternative to this is to stick it in the freezer.

The next morning I was able to pop each cube out of the cookie sheet easily. I wrapped each cube in freezer paper (wax paper would also work) and stored them in a freezer bag so they won't come upwrapped. This will also help them to be protected in the freezer and last for a long time.

One more thing. 

 Buttermilk!

It is not the same as cultured buttermilk, but is sweet when you first strain it off the butter. We did several things with the buttermilk. First we tried making hot chocolate with it. It was delicious. However, it soured quickly, since the whipping cream was close to date (which is why it was so inexpensive in the first place). The other thing we have been using the buttermilk for is pancakes. The were awesome and it doesn't really matter whether the milk has gone sour when you are making pancakes or baking with it. 

So I stored the buttermilk in quart freezer bags and put it in the freezer. The only caution about this is to let it freeze before you pile another bag on top of it. Otherwise you may be surprised to find a mess in your freezer because the bag didn't stay sealed. Happy baking!

Make Butter, Part 1

We can't all live on a farm. But that doesn't mean we can't make butter. Here is my experience with doing exactly that.

At my local grocery store I discovered they have marked their half pints of whipping cream down to 10 for a dollar. I've sometimes seen them do this after the holidays if they have overstocked on cream or other products. After doing some math I estimated that if I purchased the whipping cream and made butter with it I would stock my freezer with butter for an approximate cost of 40 cents per pound. Right next to the whipping cream I priced the butter at $2.57 and decided that was a huge savings to go with the huge mess I would make.

Here are the steps for making butter.

Pour the cream into a bowl and use your mixer to whip the cream. When the cream is whipped keep mixing. It will get thicker and thicker and finally separate so you have chucks of butter that have separated from the milk.

Drain as much milk as you can off. 

Then you have to squeeze the butter somehow. I'm sure there are tools for this, but I just press it with a spoon to push the milk out of all the little pockets in the butter. 

At some point we tried a new way of squeezing the milk out. We washed our hands really well and then used our hands to squeeze the milk out. It gets your hands a little messy, but worked much more efficiently than the spoon method.

Once you have squeezed as much milk from the butter as you can it is nice to add a bit of salt to taste if that is your preference. 

 Mix it in well and put the butter into a container for storage. This butter freezes well so if you are ambitious you can make enough to stock up for awhile and be eating butter for months.

Happy butter making! Watch for those after holiday deals and have a great and self-sufficient New Year.