Look what I can do.
Right now I’m probably about the coolest person I know because I can make my own cultured butter.
I had a thought a few weeks ago.
Many of you know I dip homemade chocolates for Christmas every year. I really wanted to use the best ingredients I could find for my candy. I have been reading up on cultured butter and how delicious it is.
I started a search for a tutorial for culturing cream then churning it into butter. That’s when I ran across a site from America’s Test Kitchen Feed.
The step-by-step instructions and tutorial were perfect.
I’m giving you the link to the site so you can make your own cultured butter, too. I know deep down inside you have been wanting to make your own butter.
Link: America’s test kitchen
I’m not showing you all of the steps because this isn’t my recipe and Louise Emerick does such a fabulous job of showing every little detail.
I’m just going to show you my process to making the most wonderful butter you will ever taste. Sorry France, I just booted you off of the top of my list.
I’m now going to show you my process.
I purchased some local cream. It was very important to have cream without additives and preservatives of any kind. The same is true for yogurt. Make sure it is whole fat and free of any additives or preservatives including any type of “gums”.
You need:
2 pints of whipping cream (32 ounces)
1/3 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 large jar
The jar must be larger than a quart jar. I’m pretty sure this is a 2 quart jar.
Sadly after taking this photo I realized that my precious Winder Farms cream contained carrageenan, which is a gum. I used it any way and it seemed to work ok.
I went on a search to find cream with NO additives.
Look what I found.
Notice: Ingredients: Heavy Cream and Milk.
Rosehill dairy. I love you.
I had to drive 30 minutes to a small market in Salt Lake called Liberty Heights Market to purchase my fresh cream. I loved it so much that they ordered me a full gallon for my next large batch of cultured butter.
I poured the cream into the large jar.
Added the yogurt.
Put the lid on and then I gave it a good shake.
I let it sit on the counter for about 48 hours until the cream was thickened and cultured.
I followed the instructions from America’s Test Kitchen precisely.
Once again here is the link: America’s Test Kitchen
After the cream has thickened I followed the instructions and beat the cream in my kitchen-aid mixer fitted with the whip attachment. It took less than 2 minutes before I had beautiful butter.
Amazing!
This is the result of culturing, whipping, draining, and rinsing.
BUTTER. Sweet cream butter. I had less than a full pound, about 15 ounces to be exact.
But that’s not all.
Not only do you get fabulous butter, you get cultured BUTTERMILK as well!!!
After the cream churns into butter you have to pour off a liquid that the butter is floating in. It’s buttermilk.
It’s thick and creamy. It’s so dang amazing I just can’t stand it.
Look! I have almost 2 cups of creamy, cultured buttermilk.
My father was raised on a dairy farm, so I ran downstairs (my parents live with me) and gave him my chilled buttermilk. He took a drink and said, “that’s dang good buttermilk.”
Tell me something I don’t know. I AM amazing.
To make me appear even crazier to my family, I purchased this butter mold from Williams-Sonoma.
Now my butter was going to have a cow on it!
Note to self: Next time you purchase a butter mold, make sure you season it with mineral oil or the butter will STICK!
I just happen to have a couple of antique butter paddles laying around…really I did.
Another note to self: You have to freeze the butter in this stinkin’ mold (not worth it, don’t buy one) for a couple of days in order to pry it out without totally destroying the cute cow on the top of the butter.
I have made so much cultured butter that I now have a gallon of buttermilk in my refrigerator along with about 4 pounds of cultured butter for my Christmas chocolates.
I have pre-weighed and labeled the butter for my English Toffee, and Salted Caramels. I have already beaten the butter into my fondant centers and the fondant is divine. Simply divine.
Wouldn’t this make the coolest Christmas gifts ever!
Note to all who read this entire post: Next week I will be dipping my Homemade Hand dipped Chocolates
Every year I give away a few boxes to my readers. Keep an eye out for that week that I have the give away. My candy recipes were handed down to me by my grandmother. They are amazing. Now you can see why I only want the best ingredients for them. This year they will have my cultured butter that has been lovingly churned to make them even more special…probably just to me.
Now can you see why I think I’m totally the coolest person on the earth right now? I even strut around my kitchen like I’m all that and more.
Do you know what my dad said to my mom? “Why the hell is Janet making her own butter”?
Thank you, I will try and tough it out. It was kind of smelly!!
It will probably have a strong flavor. At least your buttermilk will be fabulous.
Ha ha. Sure. What have you got too loose?
how long can you absolutely leave the cream out, 48 hrs max. We were doing it and forgot about it and it's been 4 days. Can I still make it???
Regarding the butter mold (I mean, how cool would that be?)…You might try soaking it in ice water for a about a half an hour. The wood will swell and then when you pack the butter into it, you are more likely to have it pop out as you expected. After you wash it, tho, you should re-oil it before you put it away.
My 4 year old seen an episode of The Cat In The Hat where they made their own butter and cheese and she thought it was "just pretent" because it was a cartoon. In steps super mom (me) and showed my daughter how to make butter using whipping cream and a mason jar. IT WAS AWESOME BUTTER!! Now I make butter all the time. Oh and btw, butter here in Ontario at the store is $3.99 a pound. Butter milk was $3.69 for a pint (500ml). My whipping cream was $2.79 for a pint and I got butter and butter milk to use to make the best fried chicken EVER.
That is just so cute I can't stand it. I love 4 years olds. They are darling. You are a super mom. I'm so happy you are making your own butter. It's the best buttermilk ever! Thanks for your comment.
I made the butter and it is wonderful! and my family thinks I'm crazy…
Not crazy just totally cool like me! Tell me, do you just love the buttermilk? I think I love it just as much as the butter.
Wondering how long the butter and buttermilk stay fresh in the fridge. Don't really want to freeze either but may have to
Butter came out great, though a bit milder than I expected. Hubby and I realized that we may have miscalculated the hours so maybe I should have left it longer. But the first time is always the scariest. Next round I will have alot more confidence! Thanks for your help! Going to freeze the buttermilk to use in pancakes!
I have had mine sitting on the counter for about 45 hours now. It is lumpy and not as thick as pictured. Will it be fine. It smells like buttermilk, not bad at all. Also, I am sure my house never gets to 75 degrees, so wondering if that makes a difference? Everyone is so excited to find out what I am up to now! lol
My cream took about 36-40 hours to culture. I just waiting until the cream was thick, but not as think as creme fraiche. Be patient. It's worth the wait. Let me know how it turns out.
Not only does your butter sound amazing, but bonus was the laugh I got in reading your dad's comment!
He grew up on a dairy farm, so I thought he would be so impressed.
Janet – do you ever get to Seattle? Would you consider coming? I would love to have you come stay with me and dip chocolates with my friends – like for Valentine's Day! Or whenever! I had no idea you were as crazy as we are! I'm fascinated with how you "dip"…on a slab…and the chocolate holds it's temp?!? We rented a huge machine this year to help us get through our stash – it was great fun! I'm so glad you posted about the shells and where you get your pecans – they will be great fun to try. Now…about your fondant…have you posted those recipes? Will you? If I beg?? xo, Nan
Are you kidding? I love Seattle. You can seriously rent a machine? I'm assuming it's a tempering machine? I have wanted one for at least 100 years now. I spend most of my time tempering chocolate…you know like the pioneers. Every time I take melted chocolate out of my warming pan, I have to temper it on the marble slab. OVER AND OVER AGAIN FOR HOURS. YOU HAVE HELPERS????? I used to let my kids stay home a day from school each year to help. It was wonderful having them. I was hoping that Tiffany would come from Rexburg, but she suddenly decided to couldn't be away from Cassidy for three days. (Give her a few years of marriage, she'll be looking for an escape). I'm happy to send you the fondant recipe I have. It's my grandmother's recipe and is just amazing. It's so smooth and creamy with no signs of sugar crystals whatsoever (if beaten properly). Send me you email address and I'll forward the recipe to you. I seriously would love more information on the machine. How much chocolate are you dipping? So good to hear from you.
Oh, I almost forgot, I was ready your blog the other day and loved the part where you state your baby sister looks younger than you. I laughed out loud. I have a story, but can't post it publicly.
Oh my gosh – you are crazy but in such a good way! I'm so impressed I can hardly stand it! I think making my own cultured butter is in my future – definitely – and the mold, too! Thanks so much and Merry Christmas! xo, Nan
Lol. Thanks for the complement. You HAVE to try making this.
You remind me of my mother in India. However, her method is very different. What a sheer joy of homemade fresh butter! Nothing better than a dollop of fresh homemade butter on warm bread. Bliss! Loved your cute butter mold. Always love to read your posts with all the detailed info.
I'm thinking this would make the most amazing ghee. What do you think?
Yes, you got it right. She would make ghee out of fresh butter batch. Every time. How perfectly you guessed 🙂
I only wish I was as cool as you. To you I say…strut your stuff cause your freaking awesome!!!
You too can be this cool. hahahaha.
Oh, I am so happy for this butter tutorial! Butter is my dad's favorite food. He eats it plain. He will be so happy when I make this for him!
Also, I am so excited for the chocolates giveaway. I missed it last year. Woe is me. This year I will not be so absent-minded!
Thanks for rockin' so hard!
thanks for such a great comment and making me thing I'm even cooler. Get registered for the chocolates.
I came across your blog via Pinterest and am in love! The food you make, your photos, your clear and detailed instructions, the humor throughout your posts, and the fact that you make your own awesome butter make you one of my favorite food blogs!
You are now my favorite person. Thank you so much for your kind comments. We should hang out 🙂
Janet, you are my favorite blogger! I'm totally blown away that you make your own kefir, my respect for you has gone up, yet again. You amaze me. Very excited about this post, plan to make butter now! (I've been reading up on fermented foods and culturing lately). Favorite part of the post, hands down, is your dad's reaction at the end. I love your dad, he is one direct guy!
Hi Marilyn, How's the family? We miss you. If you ever need Kefir grains give me a call I have some very old ones. I'm so happy to share. You have to make the cultured butter it's amazing along with the buttermilk. You too can be as cool as me. hahahaha.
I can also tell you where you can get cream without carageenan – if you live near where you get Rosehill cream, there is a place pretty close by in Davis County, depending on where you are.
I'm in Sandy 🙁
Another Utah food blogger 😀 yay!
So excited to make this. Today, while dropping off items at Goodwill I thought I'd pop in to see what's in the kitchen section as sometimes I can find mason jars. Walked out with a 35 cent butter paddle!! How lucky was that! I don't think they knew what they had there.
Lucky is right. What a find. I hope you enjoy the butter. I made another batch yesterday. I have a gallon of buttermilk. Looks like I'm making buttermilk biscuits and buttermilk pancakes today. Thanks for your comment. I love hearing from everyone.
All right, you're the coolest person I know too!! I want to try this so badly!!
~April
DO IT!
You've been my cooking idol for awhile now. I LOVE reading your posts. It inspires me! We have now had perfect turkey (and the most incredibly gravy)two years in a row thanks to your Thanksgiving tutorials, and even though we traveled out of state to be with friends this year, I still made the turkey because there was no way I was going to eat anything but your bird! Now this whole butter thing you're doing just puts you over the top into a whole new level of awesomeness. Though we now live in Chicago, we used to live in Layton,UT and had Rosehill Dairy delivered every week. It ruined me for all dairy products that came after because it's so good! I'm rambling, but the point is: You're a super star. The end.
You totally made my day. Hahahaha. Best comment EVER!!! Go ahead and ramble on and on. I'm going to make sure I read this to my children. You are so right on the Rosehill dairy. I'm not driving 30 minutes to buy milk. My husband thinks I'm crazy. Don't freeze in Chicago. Comment anytime.
Boom. And like that, family gifts are done.
My wife and I were just talking about making homemade candy baskets for our folks. They eat way too much junk.
I've seen a soft caramel recipe blog post somewhere and some grain-free fig and walnut crackers. But this butter in the caramels and to accompany the crackers will be perfect!
That just sounds divine. Lucky parents. Thanks for sharing the idea.
I mistakenly make my own butter every now and then – you know, forgetting that I'm whipping cream for dessert and letting it go too far lol. But I've never tried intently to make butter – especially cultured. Definitely going to have to try this at home soon!
Hahaha I've done the exact same thing…many times. You will love this cultured butter.
I think I might just love you. I've never met you. But you make butter and that is a beautiful thing.
Why thank you Samantha. You made me giggle.
I have to agree, you are the coolest person on earth today!!! Love your post, look forward to learning how to make your candies.
Xo's
Cross your fingers and hope I get that truffle post up next week. My dipping week in INTENSE. Thank you for your awesome comment.
You know, Aleesha may be on to something. The yummy yogurt bacteria are as much in the whey as they are in the yogurt. But it is whey. It will come right back out of the finished product. I hope she tries it and posts her results. Sounds good.
It would be easy to do by draining the yogurt. Especially if you are making your own greek yogurt, just keep the whey and use that. I should try it…some day.
…and fresh butter is THE BEST!
🙂
Janet, what a wonderful blog. Perhaps after the Holiday I will be able to give it a try. Thank you so much for sharing it. It really seems so very easy to do. Lynn Landeau.
Thank you for your kind comment. I hope you try the butter.
I am so excited to make my own butter! Would it be possible to use only the whey from drained yogurt to make the butter? Thanks!
I don't know. Does the whey contain the cultures necessary to "culture" the cream?
You are just soooo awesome!!! lol… I made butter as a Girl Scout but we just used heavy cream. I have always wanted to try it again so I think I will look up the recipe and try it sometime. Thanks for sharing!
I have a question — can I use raw milk cream (I get raw milk from a farm out here in Utah) and also, can I use kefir grains vs. yogurt?
I'm sure you can use raw cream and yes, you can absolutely use kefir grains. I make my own kefir as well. Let me know how the raw cream works.
Thank you!! I am wondering if there is an email signup we can do, to get your posts via email vs. RSS? I don't go to my Yahoo Reader very often I am also here in Utah but up in Cache Valley. We just moved here this year from Minneapolis, VERY DIFFERENT! But it is giving me the opportunity to try many new homemade things, milk straight from the cow, etc. Pretty cool.
Holy Cow (no pun intended) you must be in complete culture shock!! The good thing is this means you can get Rosehill milk delivered I'm so jealous. Are you in Logan? If you are, you have to go to Crumb Bro. bakery. Fabulous breads and treats. I'm in the process of redesigning my blog. I'm getting help because I'm maxed out on my computers kills on what I have here. I hope to have that available very soon. Thanks for checking in. I really try to post weekly, but with the holiday season it might not be as consistent.
Very cool indeed!!
Ya, I know. Thanks for the support.
I soak my butter mold in very cold water for 30 minutes, then pack it with the butter and refrigerate for several hours. My butter pops right out.
Fabulous tip. I will try that. I wish the mold would have come with some kind of instructions. It was just sitting by it self in a box. Thank you so much.
Cool. VERY cool!!!!
I KNOW! I think I'm the coolest person I know because I can make this simply yet very cool butter.
Awesome!! I absolutely love your blog! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you for such a kind comment. You just made my day.
This is a great post! Thank you for sharing…
You are so welcome. Thank you for a kind comment.
Nice technique…and great picture. Lots of great info here, thanks for taking the time to put it all together! http://www.roygroething.com | Higher Education Photography
I love this idea … Michael Ruhlman did cultured butter too.
http://ruhlman.com/2012/04/making-cultured-butter/
But, I love this idea! I want to make some now. I love butter so much.
I am commenting to ask, because i've not found it on your blog yet. How do you dip your chocolates? I love your post about it but really would love to see how you dip everything. I do some things, not fancy candies, but find it messy and never looks nice. Your candy looks gorgeous! How about a link or a post?
I have never posted an exact "how to" on chocolate dipping. I'm planning on posting something next week. I will be showing how to make my Gingerbread truffles. I will show the entire process. It took me 30 years to perfect dipping…no lie. It's a ton of work, but so worth the effort. Check back next week for a truffle demo.
Thank you for the cultured butter link. I will me reading it thoroughly.
This looks fabulous! I never would have thought of making cultured butter from scratch. Now I want to just to find out how delicious it is!
It's so fast and easy. I hope you get to taste how wonderful it is.
I'm gonna try this thanks!! I have made butter before but not like this…IT'S GOING TO BE ULTRA YUMMO FAB!! You strut on! ha
You will be amazed.
Making butter is much easier if after you let it set out, instead of putting the cream into a bowl and using a mixer you put into your blender and blend it until it begins to separate (about a couple of minutes or so). Clean up is easier, it doesn't go everywhere like a mixer and it separates the butter from the buttermilk much faster. I love fresh butter and there is nothing like it on hot biscuits!
I make my own butter for the plain fact that I can, and it saves me money. I will for sure have to try this recipe for cultured butter!!
Great blender tip. The first time I made the butter in my mixer I forgot to put the plastic wrap around it and turned my back for a second and had the biggest mess all over my counter and floor.
You butter makers are all the coolest…just like me!