Butter

A friend of mine wanted me to show her how I make butter-so here is the blog! Sorry it's a little late, Tara! I worked all weekend. Check Tara out at http://www.organizedsahm.com. She has awesome gluten free recipes and tons of homeschool ideas!

       You will need a food processor, measuring cup, heavy cream at least 40% fat, cheese cloth, a jar for buttermilk, a strainer, and a baking sheet.

Start with 4 cups of cream into the food processor. I use the sharp blade. Turn it on and wait til the butter separates from the butter milk. It goes through a couple stages- I'll show it with pictures.

Step one: cream

Step two: whipped cream

Step 3: about to separate

Step 4: butter

Awesome! Now you have butter! Most recipes stop here and that's a problem. If you don't "work" the butter, it won't work in recipes because there is too much buttermilk left in it. Now, drain the buttermilk into a jar and use it for other recipes. Get as much out as possible. 

Now we will "work" the butter. Fill your measuring cup up with ice water.

Pour about 1/2 cup of water only, not the ice, over the butter. Make sure the cold water comes in contact with all the butter. Then, process it for like 30 seconds. Pour the water out. Do this 3 times and you will notice the butter getting harder in consistency. Here are what is looks like after each time.

After "working" 1:

After working 2:

After "working" 3:

Now, spread your cheesecloth over the strainer or colander.

Put butter on cheesecloth and shape it a little.

Cover it with the cheesecloth.

Put in the refrigerator on the baking sheet for at least 10-12 hours. It takes that long for most of the water to drain out. When it's done, I cut it into sticks, wrap the individually in plastic wrap, and freeze. 

Now, you have the best butter you have ever had always ready to go! One thing to remember is that it sours quickly because it is so fresh. Take the butter out as you need it. It won't last for more than 2 days. I have making my own butter for over a year and will never go back to buying it! It's do easy and yummy! Ya'll enjoy!

Update: double this recipe and you will get about 2 1/2 pounds of butter.