Simple From-Scratch Butter
Hello, my dear ones! Welcome to my first-ever entry within the skills of the home section here on my blog. In the earlier stages of Bread and Butter, when I was dreaming up what it would be, I knew I not only wanted to encourage women to love and tend to their homes, but also to equip them to do so. Unfortunately, it is all too common for women my age, who now have a home of their own, to feel completely lost when it comes to the basics of running a home or making a meal. It is the result of mothers and grandmothers who are not, as Titus 2:3-5 says, “teaching the young women to.. be keepers at home” and a lack of young women who are eager to learn. No matter how little or how much you have been taught, your current confidence level, or access to real-life homemakers and willing women - this section is for you.
““Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so to train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, workers and lovers of home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands so that the word of God might not be reviled.”
Real butter is a staple in our kitchen. It is an ancestral fat that has been used for generations, and one of the most nutrient-dense health foods we can have in our diet. Recent “health culture” has convinced many people that animal fats are bad - but hydrogenated oils like margarine or other fake, plant-based butter substitutes are.. good? These substitutes are highly processed, rancid vegetable/seed oils that are laden with additives and cannot begin to compare with real butter. If you would like to learn more about why we need animal fats, or why butter is better, I highly recommend checking out those linked resources and all resources from the Weston A. Price Foundation.
And despite common misconception, as well as a modern-day disconnect from where our food comes from, most people do not know that they can make a batch of butter and therefore also end up with a batch of buttermilk right from their kitchen counter top, in as little as 10 minutes, with the right tools. Butter is simply the milk-fat and protein found in milk, and when “churned” encourages the fat to combine and separate from other parts of the cream. This “churning” motion I find is best achieved using my Kitchen Aid Stand-Mixer or an electric hand mixer and creates more than just butter. When processing, you will find that the firm, yellow butter begins to detach from the white milky liquid in the bowl. This is your buttermilk! Another health food which is often ignored in the American diet, but highly beneficial. The cost-effectiveness of turning a bit of cream into butter which you can cook with, bake with, or spread and buttermilk which you can use to properly ferment your food or add to your baked goods makes this simple process worth it every single time.
What kind of milk do I need to use?
For making butter, you will need non-homogenized, low-temp or unpasteurized whole cream. You cannot make butter from ultra-pasteurized, homogenized cream found at most grocery stores. This is because the process of heating the cream (pasteurization) and the process of mixing or emulsifying the milk (homogenization) both kill much of the nutrient content as well as destroys the fat structure needed to make butter. If you can get your hands on raw, grass-fed, whole cream from a local farm this will give you the most nutrient-rich butter with a deep yellow color which comes from healthy cows grazing fresh green grass. If you do not have access to raw milk, I recommend these two brands which are local to me and have given me success in butter-making.
Hatcher Family Dairy: Whole Cream (found at Whole Foods, Sprouts)
JD Country Milk: Whole Cream (found at Whole Foods, Sprouts)
Tools/ingredients you need:
One quart of whole cream (This ends up making about 420 grams of butter, which is a little under 2 cups.)
Salt (optional) I highly recommend using unrefined, celtic sea salt instead of table salt which has been stripped of many of its minerals. This is the brand I usually purchase!
An electric stand mixer or an electric hand mixer.
A kitchen towel
Cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer
A funnel
A quart size jar to store your buttermilk, and a container to store your butter. I love using old crocks for this, but just about anything with a lid that you can store in the fridge will work just fine.
How To Make Butter:
Step 1: Pour one quart of cream into the bowl of your stand mixer with a whisk attachment or bowl of choice if using a hand-mixer.
Step 2: If using, place a kitchen towel over your stand mixer, covering the bowl as best you can to avoid the cream splashing out of the bowl.
Step 3: Turn your mixer to a medium-speed setting. If using a stand mixer, I usually set a timer for around 8 minutes which is about how long it takes for the butter to form. If you are using a hand-mixer, continue to mix in circular motions while the cream thickens, changes to whipped cream consistency, and then finally to firm butter which is separated from the buttermilk and resembles buttered popcorn.
Step 4: Once your butter has formed, remove it from the bowl and rinse it under running water, massaging and folding until it runs clear. This removes as much buttermilk from your butter as possible, which helps to preserve its shelf life.
Step 5: If adding salt, add it here by sprinkling on top and gently working it into the butter. Store butter in container.
Step 6: Using a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth, strain your buttermilk to remove any remaining bits of butter and store in a glass jar in the fridge. I like to add a small piece of tape to the top of the jar and write the date. Your buttermilk should last in the fridge up to 2 weeks, or you can freeze it for later use.
“Food is our responsibility, our charge! Think of women all over the world, quietly and faithfully carrying on their burdens. No trumpets blowing for them, perhaps, but the sound of a tea kettle steaming cozily..”
I do hope this has been helpful for you and has made the task of making your own butter seem less intimidating and more attainable! If you do have any questions, please leave them below and I would be happy to help guide you along. Another way you can stay connected, or reach me with questions, is through my new texting platform. Those who opt in will receive a text when I publish a new blog post, which allows me to notify regular-readers and keep to my conviction of being off of social media in this season. If you would like to opt in, simply text your first and last name to the phone number (931) 330-1701. You may opt out at anytime.
Blessings on your home & may the work of your hands prove to be fruitful,
