Homemade Butter and Buttermilk
- Total Time
- About 30 minutes, plus refrigeration
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 6cups organic heavy cream
- Salt to taste (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)
308 calories; 33 grams fat; 21 grams saturated fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 208 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Pour the cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk. Tightly cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and start mixer on medium-high speed. The cream will go through the whipped stage, thicken further and then change color from off-white to pale yellow; this will take at least 5 to 8 minutes. When it starts to look pebbly, it's almost done. After another minute the butter will separate, causing the liquid to splash against the plastic wrap. At this point stop the mixer.
- Step 2
Set a strainer over a bowl. Pour the contents of the mixer into the strainer and let the buttermilk drain through. Strain the buttermilk again, this time through a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl; set aside.
- Step 3
Keeping the butter in the strainer set over the first bowl, knead it to consolidate the remaining liquid and fat and expel the rest of the buttermilk. Knead until the texture is dense and creamy, about 5 minutes. Strain the excess liquid into the buttermilk. Refrigerate the buttermilk.
- Step 4
Mix salt into the butter, if you want. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate.
Private Notes
Comments
If you leave too much buttermilk in the butter it will go rancid relatively quickly. Remember that making butter was a form of preserving fat and you want the fat to be able to be stored for a long time. Squeezing out the buttermilk decreases the chance that your butter will 'turn.' 5 minutes is a suggestion - squeeze yours till you stop expressing thin liquid and then stop. I had a cow and made untold pounds of butter, went by 'dry enough' and not time.
First of all, this took a LOT longer than 5-8 minutes in my stand mixer. But I didn't particularly care, pour more wine, work on the NYTimes crossword, wait it out. When it changes into its separate states, it does so quite suddenly. This is a bit of a messy job so lab gloves are pretty handy. The second strain of buttermilk removes the slightest amount of solids, really minimal. The resultant products are quite good, and each of them are amazingly less greasy than their commercial counterparts.
I made this twice on my Kitchenaid stand mixer on the 6 setting. It took more like 13 minutes to separate, the liquid did not splash against the plastic but I could hear sloshing liquid and then stopped. I did not knead the butter, just squeezed it between cupped hands to get most of the moisture out. I am interested in more details, such as, what happens if you over whip? For salted butter, how many tsps would be typical? Is the 5 minutes kneading necessary and what does that really do?
Please note that the recipe specifies an “electric” mixer, not a “stand” mixer. In my experience, a handheld electric mixer using an ordinary egg beater attachment will get the job done a lot faster. Or, if you have a food processor, you can pour the cream into it and get the job done faster still. See the New York Times recipe for cultured butter for a similar method using the food processor.
When Shaking or whipping cream, starting temperature is key. Use Coldest cream possible for whipped cream vs. room temperature for butter. Unhomogenized farm milk users take note: it is essential to use only the cream top so take care when ladeling off the cream. Getting some of the whole milk part in, will delay your churn turn.
I followed instructions using a whisk attachment but after whisking for 20 minutes, I just got whipped cream. A different recipe recommended switching to a paddle attachment after the cream is whipped and with in a minute, the butter separate! Success!
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