I have finally figured out a way to make butter that doesn’t take hours, and is actually enjoyable to make!
When we got our first milk cow I was so excited to make our own butter. What I didn’t know was how long it can take. I figured oh, just throw some cream in a butter churn, churn it for a few minutes, and done. That however, was not the case. I took the cream from a couple gallons of raw milk, put it into a butter churn my father in law found at an antique store. Then I started churning, and churning, and churning. It took a total of TWO whole hours for the butter to separate from the buttermilk.
My next option was a mason jar, and while it was slightly quicker, I was still missing something. The cream has to be room temp, or warmer for it to start to separate into butter and buttermilk. I was throwing ice cold cream into a jar/churn thinking I would be done in 30 minutes, tops.
Another option to make butter is with a kitchen aid mixer. I had just gotten one this past Christmas. For whatever reason I haven’t figured out, I could never get the cream to go past the ‘whipped cream’ stage. I’d mix and mix and it would never turn into butter.
Now, almost a year into having our dairy cows, I have finally figured it out! Ready to hear it?!
What you’ll need:
- Mason jar, any kind will do. If you plan on making a bigger batch of butter, use a half gallon. I usually use a quart
- Lid for the mason jar
- Raw cream skimmed off the top of raw milk
- Strainer
- Bowl of ice cold water
- Wooden spoons/ spatula
Step one:
Skim your cream off the top of raw milk. To do this it’s fairly simple, using a ladle if the mouth of the jar is wide enough, if not use a turkey baster to ‘suck up’ ( for lack of better words) the cream.
Place your cream into your selected mason jar
Step two:
This step is VITAL for QUICK and EASY butter -making. It’s gonna sound odd but just trust me on this. Place your jar into the oven (oven off of course) and turn the oven light on. This warms your cream quickly! I usually leave mine in for about 1-2 hours. During this time I can do household chores, tend to my daughter, etc.
Step three:
Now you’re ready to do the actual butter-making! Shake your jar with the lid on tightly for 10-20 minutes. I have found that by leaving my cream in the oven with the light on, I am able to make butter in 10 minutes!!
Step four:
Using a strainer over top of a bowl, strain your butter. It will separate into butter and buttermilk. You can use your buttermilk for all kinds of recipes, but that is a blog post for another day.
Step five:
Place your strained butter into the bowl of ice water, allow to rest for 10 minutes. Then rinse your butter with cold water until the water runs clear. Salt your butter to taste, place in the fridge or on the counter in a butter container.