Homemade Butter

Ladies and gentlemen, meet my homemade butter. There are no preservatives or the ever-so-deceptive "natural" flavorings" added as is often the case when it comes to store-bought butter.

Though I've learned never to say never, I am very tempted to say that I may never buy commercial butter again. That's what's bound to happen once you have tasted the freshness and the creaminess of homemade butter. Even the uncultured buttermilk left from the process tastes absolutely delicious.

To make: Put in a bowl of an electric mixer cold fresh cream twice the amount of the butter you would like to make. Add one teaspoon of salt per 8 fluid ounces and start beating on low speed. You'll get soft whipped cream first then very thick whipped cream. Once you reach this stage, things happen fast so brace yourself. The cream will start separating from the whey and become very slosh-y. Squeeze out the whey and store the butter in a lidded tub in the refrigerator.

Homemade butter goes rancid quite quickly, so either use it up in a couple of days or freeze the surplus.

Note: (Added 3-6-09) I have experimented making butter by mixing some whole Kefir with the fresh cream (1/2 cup Kefir per every cup of fresh cream) and let the mixture stand at room temperature for an hour before churning. The end result is fresh butter that has a bit more tang to it -- somewhat like Irish-style butter.

Note: (Added 6-3-09) A tip from one of my readers, Rick: "... if you wash the butter with cold water 2 or 3 times to remove most of the whey, your butter will last longer, less chance of it becoming rancid. Put water and butter in a bowl and knead it with tha back of a spoon, change the water and repeat until the water remains clear. I usually knead the salt into the butter after the final wash ..." Thanks, Rick!