When I was younger, my Aunt and Uncle had a dairy cow named Claire on their farm up in Marmora, about 20mins from Peterborough. Claire is a very good cow, she is the matriarch of the herd and is a pretty reliable alarm clock in the mornings. She's still around these days, but no longer works in the dairy industry.
As well as raising live stock and growing food, we do a lot of baking at the farm. Usually because there is a lot of food and fresh ingredients at our disposal. One of my fondest memories is when we used to pour the fresh milk in jars and shake them around the kitchen and the yard until they magically churned into butter. It seemed like magic at the time, now it's still kind of magical - but it's just nice to make my own fresh butter.
For anyone interested in making your own, here are some very easy/no-brainer instructions to make jar butter. If you have kids to entertain, this can be a fun activity they can do to help you in the kitchen.
Supplies/Ingredients
heavy cream
(I've used regular whipping cream - anything with a high milk fat content, say 35% M.F. or higher, will work perfectly)
jar or container with very secure lid
parchment to wrap butter in
energetic youth or strong arm
(you can also use a food processor or stand mixer instead)
Time
10-15 mins
Shelf Life
Fresh homemade butter is best consumed in 7 days refrigerated or 5 days on the table.
If you rinse it with ice water it will store longer, but I usually use it all before then.
Step1:
- Pour cream into jar, secure lid and shake
-1cup of cream will yield about 1/2 cup of butter + 1/2 cup of butter milk
I leave about 1-2inches of space from the lid so the cream has room to move.
Step2:
- After about 5 minutes you'll notice the mixture has separated into curds and liquid.
Pour out the liquid into a cup/container -You just made buttermilk!
- Close the lid and continue to shake, pouring out the liquid as it accumulates.
Keep shaking the jar until liquid stops separating from the butter.
Step3:
- After the buttermilk is all drained out, wrap the butter in the parchment
and allow to firm up in the refrigerator.
Before refrigerating the butter I like to shape the it into a log.
Enjoy your fresh homemade butter and buttermilk!
For anyone in the Toronto area this week. There is a movie @ TIFF called "Butter" staring Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde, Hugh Jackman, Alicia Silverstone and Ashley Greene. It's about the "hostile, high-stakes world of competitive butter carving." Pretty sure it's going to be hilarious.
Check here for movie times and details!
We went to the The Christie Conservation Antique Show in Hamilton this past weekend and I noticed there were tons of vendors selling old butter making tools like molds, presses, and churns.
They can be pretty valuable if you find authentic antiques.
Here are just a few listings I found on Etsy
- Wooden Sunflower Butter Stamp
Links
Here are some links I came across when making this post. They have some good suggestions and alternative methods in making your own butter.
