Friday, February 12, 2010

Homemade Butter















Photo by: Terry Ballard

Ingredients

1 pint pasteurized heavy cream or whipping cream
1/2 cup cold water
Cheese Salt (optional)

Procedure

Let cream set at room temperature for several hours to ripen

Pour into a 1-quart canning jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake viqorously

After 5-10 minutes,when the butter has formed,pour off the liquid buttermilk and spoon the solids into a bowl

Add the water and press with the back of the spoon to help expel more buttermilk. Pour off the excess liquid and continue adding cold water and expelling buttermilk until the liquid runs clear.

Add salt to taste. Refrigerate overnight. This butter will keep for up to 1 week.

Yield is about 8 ounces

I like to use 1 pint jars instead of the quart jars. Also, do not use ultra-pasteurized cream. If you do, use a cheese starter and let the cream ripen for about 18 hours.