In this post my friend Sharon Biggs Waller, a historical novelist, shares her recipe and method for making homemade butter. Rich, delicious butter can be made using heavy cream and a few simple kitchen items. No churn is required. Read on for the method, or watch the video for a tutorial!
Whenever I tell people I make my own butter they tend to look at me in wonder. “Making butter? Sounds like alchemy,” one person said. Invariably I’m asked if I use a butter churn. Although the idea of sitting on my porch using an old-fashioned churn appeals to my inner Little House on the Prairie, I don’t collect enough cream from my dairy goat to use such a device, nor do I possess the funds to buy one. The truth is, butter is a simple thing to make with ordinary kitchen tools, and you don’t even need to own a goat or a cow. You can make butter with store-bought whipping cream. But before we get into the details, let’s talk a bit about the history of butter.
People have been making butter for centuries throughout Europe and Asia. Humans initially used butter as a way of preserving the fat in milk. Butter rose to prominence as a spread and cooking fat in northern Europe during the Middle Ages, when it was eaten by peasants. The upper classes also ate it periodically, because it was the only animal fat allowed by Rome on days when meat was forbidden. In the 16th century it was allowed during Lent. In the early days, it took a little while to get enough cream to churn, and so it was collected over various days. Because the milk in these small old-timey dairies was not refrigerated, the lactic acid bacteria inherent in dairy would ferment slightly. This cultured butter has a very tangy and rich flavor, and is my personal favorite. Spread cultured butter on sourdough bread or a crusty baguette and you’ll know what heaven tastes like. Most butters made in Europe still taste this way, although they are made from pasteurized cream inoculated with lactic acid.
Uncultured butter made from straight-up pasteurized cream is called sweet cream butter, and is what we’re used to in the United States. Pasteurization of the cream kills the lactic acid bacteria, however butter made from such cream lasts longer. True cultured butter, made from raw cream, turns rancid after ten days. If you want your butter to taste cultured, Ricki Carroll, author of the book Home Cheese Making, advises using unpasteurized cream and letting it ripen at room temp (72 degrees) for several hours. Or use pasteurized cream, let it sit for 12 to 24 hours, add mesophilic starter and let the cream set out overnight before churning. If you’d like to taste European-style butter without making your own, try the brand Plugrá. Although technically not a cultured butter, Plugrá uses natural flavors from cultured milk.
At its very essence, making butter requires nothing more than agitation. What you’re doing is separating the fat from the milk. You can use a blender, a stand mixer or hand mixer, or just shake by hand (if your child has a lot of energy, enlist their help; kid-power goes a long way!). I usually use my stand mixer with the whip attachment for making butter. I’ve also used a blender in the past and it worked just as well. If you use a stand mixer, be sure to place a kitchen towel over the mixer and the bowl to stop the buttermilk from flinging all over your kitchen, which will happen when the butter globules form.
You’ll notice in the pictures below that some of the butter is white, not yellow. That’s because I have a herd of goats, so I usually use the cream we collect to make my homemade butter. Goat’s milk is white because it doesn’t have the beta carotene that causes the yellowish blush in cow milk. A goat turns the carotene present in her fodder into vitamin A, which is colorless.
Here is the process for making homemade butter, step-by-step!
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How to Make Homemade Butter
Ingredients
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- Large bowl of ice water
- Salt to taste (optional)
- Stand mixer, hand mixer or blender, or a jar with a tight fitting lid
Instructions
- Pour a pint of heavy cream or whipping cream into your device or into a jar with a tight-fitting lid. If using a machine, turn on low speed, then raise to medium speed. If you're using a jar, start shaking (you'll need some serious elbow grease if doing it by hand). First, the cream will turn into whipped cream with soft, then stiff peaks. Keep going until the cream breaks. If you’re shaking the cream by hand, you’ll hear a sloshing, then you’ll begin to feel something more solid hit the sides of the jar. If you’re using a stand mixer, you’ll see the butter clinging to the beater. This usually takes anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes -- by hand may take longer. In this process, you are separating the butterfat from the liquid.
- Once the butter has solidified, pour off the buttermilk and save it for baking (or drink it!). Scoop the butter into a bowl. Rinse the butter by pouring ice water over it and pressing the remaining buttermilk out with a small spatula or a spoon. Pour off the water and repeat the process. Keep rinsing and squishing the butter with the ice water until the water runs clear. Then add some salt if you like and work that through the butter.
- There you have it-- old-fashioned butter, no churn required! Spread on toast, corn on the cob, a baked potato, or whatever you like and enjoy!
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Research Sources
Belanger, Jerry (2001). Storey’s Guide to Raising Dairy Goats. Storey Publishing, North Adams, MA
Carroll, Ricki (2002). Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Homemade Cheeses. Storey Publishing, North Adams, MA
McGee, Harold (2004). On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. Scribner, New York, NY
Deborah Sigel says
It started when I taught Kindergarten and we read The Little Red Hen. We made bread (in a breadmaker) and our own butter, which the students took turns shaking in the jar. Then it became a yearly activity even when I taught other grades.
Carla P. says
I was an educator at our state’s former Ag. Museum. We would do a program on wheat, from making test tube necklaces with wheat seeds, thrashing, winnowing and grinding. The kids on our tours got to do every step by hand. The final stage would be whole wheat pancakes. While I made the pancakes, the kids would make the butter. We took small jars with a wooden ice cream spoon, added heavy cream and handed the jars to the kids and let them shake. Even the parents were delighted to try fresh made butter, and the kids were amazed to see what they had made. Thanks for the post, it made me smile to remember.
Barbara says
Brings back fond memories of our life on the farm. I miss those days.
James Allen says
No, but I have over whipped cream. Thanks for the link!
Hester Chang says
This is so awesome 🙂
Nancy Henderson says
Try adding powdered sugar and cinnamon and you have a wonderful cinnamon butter spread. Great on raisin toast!
Rose Anna says
Thank you! Going to try tomorrow!
Marcia says
I learned how to do this when I was making whipped cream and got distracted by a cow that got loose. When I got back from sending the dog to get her back in, the whipped cream was this fine butter. Also had some buttermilk for making pancakes too.
Renee Dupraw says
I just did this yesterday with my kids. They loved it.
MaryAlice Koop says
Love making my own, when I do….made the best batch of butter biscuits, using the butter and the “buttermilk”…now I just need to remember how I made them…they were a heart-attack waiting to happen, but OH SO YUMMY!!! My husband loved them! <3
Cherie´ R. Stern Pickett says
Thanks for sharing this
Vera Weddle says
I use a gallon jar . My grandsons are sooo impressed I´d make it even if they didn´t like it ! Everyone loves it ! I don´t use salt .
Eileen says
When I was teaching kindergarten, we always did a unit on nutrition. One activity was to make homemade butter and it was always so much fun! I poured some heavy cream into a clean jar (like from baby food) and had each child in the group shake, shake, shake the jar and pass it around the circle. We usually had 4 or 5 groups shaking at once…lots of fun and we had homemade butter within 5-10 minutes. We served it on crackers and shared with the neighboring classes and office staff…always relating how we made it step by step!
Rose Anna says
Question – if I want to make a garlic butter, at which stage should I work in the crushed garlic? Thanks!
Sharon Biggs Waller says
Hi Rose Anna. Go ahead and put any seasoning in at the very end, before you spoon it into the container.
Cynthia Amburgey Jeffery says
Years ago when I was little I asked my mom how to make butter and she set me up to churn some! It was actually fun and a wonderful memory! It is so yummy when you make it yourself!
lisa bosarge says
how did you “churn” it? what exactly did she set you up with? i home school my little girl and we are reading the LIttle House books. We just finished reading the chapter where Laura helps Ma churn the butter and we want to try it too!
Laura Thompson-Reichartz says
Lisa Bosarge go tohttp://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00VSLGHOI/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr0_1?qid=1458300680&sr=8-1-fkmr0&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=milk+churner
it’s a milk churner, the old ones were wooden or metal buckets with a stick with paddles at the bottom like a boat propeller. It gets moved up and down spun any way you can to keep the cream moving.
NeenAnn says
you can do this in a food processor, too! it’s amazing in 5 minutes you have some butter. I remember my grandma putting carrots in her milk to color it yellow a bit before making it
Colleen Kearin Reynolds says
Was in charges of this for colonial day at school……so good….the kids make it then eat it with their bread at lunch!
Tori Avey says
I love getting the kids involved and learning about history hands-on. Bravo to you for teaching them!
Gilly Martin says
I am so doing this tomorrow! I love making things homemade so I know exactly what is going into them. Thank you for the idea!
Cathe Jones-Brunner says
Ah yeah, I learned this in 1st grade… and it is good. I learned it by screwing up whipped cream… that´s how we got buttercream frosting… lol!
Tori Avey says
Happy mistake!
Kat Jackson Asman says
learned about this when i took a challah making class. Added honey to it – fresh honey butter on challah out of the oven = Y.U.M!!!!!!!!!!!
Tori Avey says
My fave!
billy says
when do you ad honey to butter and does it make it spreadable . billy x.