'I think of making butter as stirring sunlight through the cream, and as a child I always sat on the sunniest corner of the verandah to make it. As I turned the wooden paddle, always in the one direction, the cream thickened, then deepened in colour. It thickened more and began to sweat, then suddenly gushed its buttermilk. The butter had to be washed three times to clean all the buttermilk out of it, otherwise the butter did not keep well. Then we salted it with much more salt than we would use today.' - Eric Rolls AM, A Celebration of Food and Wine, UQP, 1997. Historian, author and poet, Eric Rolls, sums up the making of butter so beautifully in a chapter of A Celebration of Food and Wine titled 'of flesh'. He says that 'From any cows, Australian commercial butter from the big companies scarcely deserves the name butter' and notes that 'the only way to get supreme butter and cream is to milk your own cow.' Few of us can enjoy what I see as the 'luxury' of having a milk cow in the back garden, methinks, and nor do we all have access to the very best cream, which Rolls says is produced by Guernseys and Australian Illawarra Shorthorns. That said, good quality, pure cream can be found at farmers markets across Australia. For example, Country Valley in Picton, NSW produces an award-winning classic cream. I'm sure you will find a similar producer in your neck of the woods. So, now you have the cream, let's look at making butter, and its side product, buttermilk. At the cheese making workshop that Peter and I were invited to attend last year, artisan cheese maker, Susan Meagher showed us that making butter at home was quick and simple. Indeed, it's so easy, I don't understand why we aren't all making our own butter! You'll need some cheesecloth or muslin, a mesh strainer, a spatula, a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, an extra bowl, and a jar for the buttermilk. All of these must be meticulously clean. As home made butter does not keep more than about a week, I make it in small quantities. It can be frozen if need be and will last for a month stored in an airtight container in the freezer compartment. Scroll down for links to links to my recipes that use buttermilk. BUTTER 500mls pure cream Pour the cream into the bowl of a stand mixer and with the balloon whisk attachment, beat the cream on a medium speed. As the machine whips the cream, you'll notice that it starts to thicken. Soon, the whipped cream forms stiff clumps on the whisk and you'll see the buttermilk in the bottom of the bowl. This can take anywhere from around ten to fifteen minutes, so please be patient. Line a mesh strainer with a square of muslin or cheesecloth and place it over another bowl. Pour the buttermilk into the strainer and then transfer it to a clean jar. Store the buttermilk in the sealed jar in the refrigerator. With a spatula, remove the blobs of butter from the balloon whisk and place them into the muslin over the strainer. Now, rinse the entire clump of butter under cold running water until the water is clear. Bring the ends of the muslin together and squeeze out as much excess water from the butter as you can. With the muslin wrapped around it, work the butter into a solid ball. And that's it. With this quantity, you will be able to make 250g of butter and 250mls of buttermilk. Wrap the butter in parchment and store in an airtight container in the fridge, making sure you use it within a week. Otherwise, you can cut it into portions, wrap it in parchment and freeze it for about a month. You can also make flavoursome herb butters, such as basil butter (my favourite!), tarragon, parsley, chives, thyme, rosemary or dill, for instance. Notes: Salted butter will keep longer than unsalted butter. To make salted butter, you can use a light brine solution to rinse the butter. Try it with some smoked sea salt! To make cultured butter, add a teaspoon of yoghurt to the half litre of pure cream. For a more flavoursome cultured butter, combine the cream and the yoghurt in a covered bowl and refrigerate the mixture overnight. Then churn as above. Rinse the clump of butter under cold running water, until the water runs clear. Note: The buttermilk (pictured below) is refreshing and can be enjoyed as a chilled drink, but also makes for light-as-a-feather scones, as well as luscious hotcakes, pikelets, muffins and baked goods. Wrap the home made butter in parchment and store in an airtight container. Use within a week of making it. Use the buttermilk to make fluffy pancakes or pikelets, which can cooked in melted home made butter. Tell me dear readers and fellow cooks, have you ever made your own butter? Perhaps, like Eric Rolls, you churned it by hand on a farm? Do please share your experiences. I love hearing from you! xox
27 Comments
24/3/2015 05:07:19 pm
I make butter all the time. It's the first thing I made in my Thermomix. Have you tried it in your fancy Tefal thingo? I make butter in under 3 minutes. Herbs, roasted garlic and I've ever put jam in the butter once to serve with popovers.
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Lizzy
25/3/2015 11:18:37 am
Hi Maureen, no, not yet... but I will do. Roasted garlic sounds like a great accompaniment!
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24/3/2015 11:11:45 pm
I adore home made butter. I'd love to be able to get to the stage where I make it and then bake with it. Hmm I wonder how much cream I would need to do that? :P
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Lizzy
25/3/2015 11:19:09 am
Piffle, Lorraine... what's a little cream here and there! : )
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Suzanne
30/3/2015 02:47:13 am
Thanks for your well-timed piece Liz! I've also recently started making butter in Thermy and love it, although as described by Lorraine, it is an extra ordeal using homemade butter to bake with. The other day I made butter, then made pastry with it and made the filling for a pie... then was well and truly "over it" and couldn't bring myself to finish assembling it until the next day!
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Lizzy
25/3/2015 11:19:43 am
Yes, I was the same... I always have loads of it in the fridge or freezer, but making your own is so good!
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25/3/2015 05:06:00 am
I love making homemade butter! Not so much for the butter -- which is really good, although I can buy equally good commercial butter -- but for the buttermilk. It's wonderful! And commercial stuff doesn't even come close. Good post, wonderful photos. Thanks.
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Lizzy
25/3/2015 11:20:07 am
I agree, the buttermilk is amazing, John!
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Lizzy
25/3/2015 11:20:22 am
Thanks so much, Francesca!
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I think Mr. Rolls is being a little harsh - Australian commercial butter is generally a great product. I often make butter at home, especially when I find outdated cream going out cheap at the supermarket. I just add a little salt after rinsing it, to make it last longer - not that there's much chance of it hanging around in our house.
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Lizzy
25/3/2015 11:21:57 am
I was going to add [at the time of writing] to the article, Amanda... the book was penned in 1997. I think he meant butter from the large firms at the time. I don't think there were too many boutique producers in those days.
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25/3/2015 11:27:09 am
I first made butter at my infants school when the teacher brought in a glass jar of cream and we passed it round and round shaking the jar as we went. The result was amazing. GG
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25/3/2015 02:03:29 pm
My father grew up having to milk the family cow first thing in the morning. Then he had to separate the cream and hand churn it make the butter. He was lean, strong and very fit. I haven't made butter but I do love your images and you have me inspired xx
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25/3/2015 04:25:57 pm
wow. hats off to you, lizzy. it would be very special to make your own butter and buttermilk.
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25/3/2015 04:55:02 pm
I feel like I told someone this story recently, but when I was an apprentice chef, I was in charge of whipping the cream to pipe onto around 1500 plates for a big dinner function we were doing. I swear, I turned my back for a minute, when I looked back, it had turned to butter. Argh! Worst afternoon ever, so much trouble. The chefs made me pipe all for butter with the bread rolls. Still makes me cringe, and I haven't made any since.
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25/3/2015 08:05:21 pm
Just this month I posted my butter recipe. I made buttermilk as well, and even ricotta so that I could make paneer. It is so rewarding, and so easy :)
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Lish Fejer
26/3/2015 12:49:19 am
Hi Liz, I've been wanting to make this for some time now - thanks for the inspiration. I shall try it tomorrow. Hoorah to butter and cream and fat. Loving your posts and vavavavooom on this. I will meet you one day. Lish
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26/3/2015 10:44:46 pm
As a child in Fiji, we had access to REAL milk and I remember the ritual of scalding the milk, then skimming off the cream and having it with EVERYTHING! While butter was readily available, we often used to make it - it's been YEARS since I had butter that good. And I'm a fan of salted butter - I'd also be the one putting in more salt than is good for me :D
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29/3/2015 12:46:32 am
I am getting a big woosh of nostalgia. I DID grow up on a small farm (well, I lived on my grandparent's farm in the summer) when I was a child. I addition to helping out with the harvests we would assist with the milking and in making butter - using an old-fashioned butter churn. The buttermilk would go into my grandmother's exceedingly light biscuits (American kind, not cookies) and the slabs of butter would be spread on those biscuits.But not before individual blocks had been stamped with her unique curlicue design. I have since made a few batches of butter in my Kitchen Aid with my daughter when she was wee (a fun science/home ec lesson). You have reminded me to maybe have a go with it again soon. Now, to find the perfect Scottish cream to make it with. :-)
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30/3/2015 07:22:21 am
You have brought back some lovely memories Lizzy, thank you. No, not about making butter on purpose but making it by mistake. My dear Mom was such a good sport, even though I over whipped the cream which was destined for dessert, I made some butter. I can't recall doing anything with the leftover butter milk but surely my Mom would have. I have some cream in my syphon I wonder if I can just use it to make a little butter!
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1/4/2015 01:42:03 am
It is so simple yet it is funny that this isn't something a lot of people do. * sigh* so little time so much to do.
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Len
10/8/2015 01:12:12 am
I love making butter. its the easiest and greatest thing. i freeze into small portions and if available shave some truffle to make truffle butter. I have used plain old dairy farmers cream that you can get in 2L containers to exquisite peel valley creams whichh are 65% fat. the peel valley cream is so thick you need to add a dash of milk to even churn it properly. latest efforts have involved "face cream" from a raw milk supplier. Easiest way to make cultured butter as the bacteria are already in the cream. I only failed in making butter once. Using king island cream the mix started to separate but then recombined and stubbornly remained a sort of weird whipped cream. Thought to may as well add sugar and frosted a cake. Went rock hard in the fridge. Strangest butter making effort ever!
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Andrea
27/10/2017 05:17:57 pm
I love your photos Liz, just lovely that it really is simplicity that can make us take stock and be mindful of how we can enjoy life. I’m going to make butter today, we can get some beautiful local cream and milk here, so it should be good! Thank you for the inspiration xx
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Cooking and writing have been a lifelong passion. Join me as I share with you my favourite recipes; postcards and morsels from my travels; conversations with cookery writers and chefs; and news on food, cookbooks and cooking. - Liz Posmyk
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NB: I use Australian standard measuring cups and spoons in my recipes.
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