This time it is 'Butter' butter..

Let me start off by saying, "I am, by no means, an expert!"
And that being said.. I made butter yesterday
And here is how I did it.

I started with a gallon of fresh, raw milk.
If you look closely you can see the cream line
at the top of the milk.
I used basters to slurp up the cream while
leaving the milk below undisturbed.


What I am left with is thick, rich cream.
Very good in coffee, by the way.


I chose to use the larger jar to churn in
and the more room and air in the jar, the quicker it goes.
Put the lids on tight and shake.
And shake. And shake. And shake.
I find that if you shake 'lid to tail' it goes faster.
I have gotten to where I can do many things while shaking
a churn jar in one hand. I can feed the woodstove..
I can do laundry..
It's amazing really.

The cream will start in the shaking jar by sloshing loosely.
After a little while it turns to a whipped cream like consistency
and is very light and quiet while you shake.
And then, without warning, it will return to the sloshing
and you will feel that the cream is a liquid again.
The jar even gets heavier.
This is what you want. The new liquid that is in the jar is
butter milk and within it... Butter!

I have had the butter to form in one solid clump and I have had
it to form in a myriad of little balls.
I prefer the clump.
This particular batch, of course, came in the little balls.
I used a strainer to separate the buttermilk from the butter,
carefully saving the buttermilk for cooking. I am thinking cornbread for dinner.
The butter milk you will get from this bears no resemblance to the
thick, vile stuff you buy in the store. I don't know what that is?
This buttermilk is as thin as regular milk and sweet.

I have no photos of this coming part because my hands were covered in butter.
I pressed the butter gently against the strainer to squeeze the buttermilk
from it. Then I placed it into a bowl and began to rinse it.
Fresh water and squeeze. Fresh water and squeeze until the water runs clear.
Then, with the back of a spoon, press the butter until no more water runs from it.
(ok.. I used my hands)



And there it is... butter!
Really sweet, rich butter.
Great butter.
And the jar of buttermilk.

I store my butter in a small Tupperware type
of container. Somewhere I have my Great Grandmother's
butter mold and I will dig it out soon and show you.



I love making butter!
I love not having to give my money to
the grocer for butter.
I love knowing what is in my butter!
So, if you have a source for good milk,
then give it a try!