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
Michelle says
Thanks for putting pictures with the directions. I tried it the first time, and mine did not look like your pictures. I was using a blender. I tried my stand mixer like yours, and voila! Thank you so much for teaching this city girl to make butter! It was delicious!!
Daniella says
Thanks for the detailed directions. I made it by hand since I once heard that that was the only way to truly make good butter. I got to shaking and put a movie on. My cats seemed annoyed but it was definitely simple! I did find that I had to keep my butter extra cold so it wouldn’t melt as I extracted the buttermilk, but it turned out perfectly. I was able to immediately use the butter in a bread recipe and then I was able to used the cooled and formed butter on the fresh-baked bread. Heaven! You have me hooked, I went to a local creamery just to get some fresh cream to make more butter. I may have to experiment with added herbs or cinnamon/honey to my butters next. So yummy and versatile. People were very impressed and called me “pioneering,” I had to let them know how easy it is! Also, yummy tip, I used my buttermilk by-product to make a decadent peaches and cream custard.
Tori Avey says
That peaches and cream custard sounds delightful!
HELLEN YEGO. says
Thank you very much, I am making my homemade butter right now, can’t wait to finish and have it with toasted bread.
Marine Clementine Gaudin says
Thanks for the recipe. I’m from Brittany in France and we like our seasalted butter. Living in Australia, I miss the nice butter. Anyway, tried for the first time, I used thickened cream. Made one with salt and an herby garlic small batch.. ?????
Rosemary says
I have made butter at home for the last 44 years! I am so blessed! We used to have Guernsey cows, their butter is the yellowest and the best. We now have Jerseys and the butter is just about as good. Thank for posting this.
Michele says
Is this stored just like store-bought butter?
I use it daily, so I leave a stick on the counter for about 5 days in a butter server.
Does this store in the fridge? For how long?
Would it be okay on the counter for a few days?
Thanks1
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Michele, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. This all depends on how well you extract the buttermilk. If a good amount remains, then it will only last about a week, otherwise it can be kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks, or on the counter at room temperature for 3-5 days.
Judith says
This sounds great except I would have to keep it away from my husband as he eats half a stick of butter with his toast!
Astrid says
I tried making butter myself for the second time the first time no success as I used single cream. Horay I succeed in making butter the second time using dubble cream. The only thing I find it hard to spread out any tips on that?
Tom Hughes says
Where can I find whipping cream with 32% fat content?
Adina says
Amazing! Thank you so much. This recipe saved me from when there was a butter shortage. and it came out amazing.
Adina says
Is the buttermilk that is left sufficient for making Mesophilic culture (which made from buttermilk)?
Thanks!
Nick Surowiecki says
Made it !!
Salt free high blood pressure.
Also add some garlic!!
Yum!
Paula says
Just made butter, first time ever. I love it, my son is diabetic so I am learning to bake healthy, this is amazing and I have buttermilk for my cake. The pictures helped a great deal.
Tori Avey says
So happy to hear it’s helpful Paula!
Karen Edwards says
My grandmother had a Holstein that she milked twice a day. I can remember churning butter and putting the butter in molds. I didn’t know what store milk was to I went to school. It was bad when the cow would eat bitterweeds and that what the milk tasted like. I loved living on the farm and milking the cow. That cow had fourteen calves and all of them were bulls so we stopped milking her after 10 years. She kept the calf by her side and made enough milk to raise her calf and we got a couple of gallons twice a day. You have made me remember my childhood on the farm.
Kay says
Hey! Thanks for this! I’m certainly going to give it a try! I use a lot of butter while baking pies, and am looking for some fun alternatives- how much butter would you say that you yield from a pint?
Lee B. says
For you bakers out there, I just made butter from a pint of heavy cream (yum!) and weighed it to find out just how much butter it would yield. Here’s what I got:
Homemade = 200 grams; store bought = 110 grams per stick
Homemade = 7.25 ounces; store bought = 4 ounces per stick
So, my yield was just a tiny bit short of two sticks of butter.
Tori Avey says
This is super helpful, thanks Lee!
Maureen Puren says
Fantastic
Jalaram Khaman House says
Just made an awesome and delicious home made butter. Thanks for sharing the butter recipe. Fuuly effective and made it look easy to make by my own at home.
Rose says
Made this. Tastes like the old fashioned way we used to churn butter. Tastes great. Thank you .
Betty says
Do you add anything else to the butter if you want to make honey butter
Tori Avey says
Umm… honey! 🙂 I think that’s about it.
V Chakradeo says
Wonderfully explained!
Judy says
I have made butter the old fashioned way once when I was a kid. I just turned 64 two days ago, made this today, it is wonderful. Easy and very tasty. I will be making this often as baking season is not far off. thank you for sharing.
Stephanie says
This is great!
This took about 30 minutes with stand mixer on 2-4 level setting. Be patient!
Jane says
I also referred to a stand mixer butter recipe and it advised to you high speed. They also recommended covering the mixer with a towel as it is messy on high speed when the water finally separates. It worked just fine on high speed except for the mess. I assume both methods are ok, if you are OK with the messy splatters when the water separates.