Homemade Butter

Homemade Butter

Ingredients:

1 quart Heavy (whipping) cream

1/2 tsp Kosher salt (optional)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, pour in heavy cream and whip! I always start out at a lower setting so that the cream doesn't splatter all over the place. Once it begins to thicken, I will then begin to raise the speed.

As the cream thickens, it will first become the consistency of whipped cream. Keep going!

You can now see that the whipped cream in the photo below has begun to become a little more granular and has passed the whipped cream stage. Keep going!

When you begin to see the buttermilk separating from the butter you can stop the whipping process.

In a large bowl fitted with a strainer, begin to pour in the liquid and the butter into the strainer.

You do want your bowl large enough so that the strainer doesn't sit in the liquid.

With the butter in the strainer, begin to knead the butter with your fingers to remove as much of the liquid as possible.

Once all the liquid is removed, you can then add the kosher salt. Start out with 1/2 tsp and if you need more you can always add a pinch more at a time to taste. Knead until the butter comes together as you can see below.

One quart of heavy cream will yield approx. 12 1/2 ounces. 

OPTIONAL: Immediately toast a slice of bread and spread with your butter!!!

The buttermilk you have left over (which is not cultured like you buy in the store) will yield approx. 1 pint and can be used in all sorts of recipes from pancakes to biscuits to scones.