churning butter

ok, making homemade butter is the easiest project i've posted about yet. really. easiest project.

3 steps:
1.) churn
2.) strain
3.) wash

ok, step 1:

you need heavy whipping cream and a mixer. some people will tell you to leave the cream out over night. but, eh, i don't bother.

pour the cream in the mixer.

turn it on. start slowly and gradually turn it up as high as it will go with out splashing all over.

it will be a little frothy to start.

see?

then it gets thicker...

and thicker.

then it starts getting a little chunky looking.

then a lot chunky looking.

then it starts to separate. you can see a little milk in the bottom of the bowl.

then you have butter! (and buttermilk.)

exciting!

step 2: straining

fish out the big chunks of butter.

and put them in a strainer.

pour the rest through the strainer into a bowl.

straining...

now the messy part. squeeeeeeze the butter. more milk will come out. pour the milk into the milk bowl. then squeeze more out. there is a lot in there.



step 3: washing

put the butter into a bowl of ice water (or really cold water) and squish it around. this gets even more milk out.

there you have it. butter and butter milk. easy, right?

1qt of heavy cream will make 2 c. butter and 2 c. buttermilk.

quarter your butter and wrap it in wax paper. i froze 3 and put 1 in the fridge.

you can use the buttermilk to make pancakes. the recipe i use is:

2c. buttermilk
2c. whole milk
2tbsp baking soda
3 c flour
3tbsp melted butter

mix the milks together. whisk in the baking soda. stir in the flour. stir in the melted butter.