Making your own butter at home is so easy – it’s even a fun activity for kids. You don’t need any special equipment, but it does take a little time and elbow grease to get the best results.
You can make homemade butter in a jar, using a mixer or blender, and even by hand with a whisk! These methods all produce great results and taste creamy and delicious.
Whether you are looking to save money, or just want to get more healthful food into your diet, homemade butter is an easy and delicious way to go! You can store it in a jar in the refrigerator for about 6 weeks, or in the freezer for months.
To make your own, start by buying heavy cream (it’s usually available at supermarkets and organic markets) or raw milk from a local farm. The cream will need to be pasteurized so it will kill the lactic acid bacteria, which can affect its flavor and shelf life.
Once you’ve purchased your cream, the next step is to whip it until it separates into butterfat and liquid. This takes about 10 minutes and will create a very thick, solid butter with buttermilk still on top. The liquid part of the butter is called buttermilk and can be saved for another recipe or used to make sauces, dips, or marinades.
For this method you will need a clean mason jar, heavy cream, and salt. Fill the jar with the cream and screw on the lid. Then, place a marble inside and shake the jar continuously for 5 mins. The movement of the marble will help the cream churn!
The end result will be a thick, creamy piece of butter that you can use for baking or spreading on bread. If you want salted butter, add a bit of salt to the mixture before you mix it.
It’s a good idea to rinse your butter several times with cold water to remove any leftover buttermilk that may be in the butter and also to prevent it from souring. Once it’s done, you can then pat the butter dry and enjoy!
To make it a bit more interesting, you can also mix in herbs, honey or other flavors for some gourmet butter options. This will help the flavor last a bit longer as well, but you will need to make sure that the butter is completely separated from the buttermilk before you use it in any recipes.
If you want to store it for a while, you can freeze it in a log shape and then roll it into a ball before storing it in the freezer. This will keep the butter from going bad as quickly and it will be ready to use within a few days.