Home Made Butter and Buttermilk

You know I am all about making things myself lately.

I think it all started when Mr B brought me the cheese making kit and since then we have gone on in leaps and bounds. I mean my theory is why buy it when you can make it?

Plus the home made version always tastes a million times better then the store brought version - the secret ingredients are pride and satisfaction!

Butter is really not that hard to make, all you need is:

600ml thickened cream
1/2 tspn salt
Electric mixer
Wooden Spoon

Place the cream in the bowl of the electric mixer and beat on low speed for 10-15 mins.

You will notice the cream begin to thicken and then begin to seperate. The big lumps are your butter and the liquid is your buttermilk! Continue beating on low speed until the butter has formed a ball. Pour off the buttermilk. Make sure to keep your buttermilk in the fridge and use it for baking something delicious!

Add a little bit of water to the bowl to wash off the butter. Use the wooden spoon to press and fold the butter, squeezing out as much of the buttermilk as you can. Continue this process until the water pretty much remains clear. Pour the water off.

Add the salt (and any herbs you may want to add) to the butter and stir through. Spoon the butter into a container and store in the fridge.

*If you want to make cultured butter, warm the cream to 20C and pour into a sterilised container. Add 1/4 tspn of mesophilic starter culture and allow to rehydrate for 10-15 mins before stirring well. Leave the cream in a sealed container on your bench overnight. The following morning, proceed as above.

This butter was awesome, it's hard to explain but it just tastes real and natural and I much prefer knowing it was made in my kitchen than buying it and not being entirely sure what preservatives and chemicals are in it.

What are some of your favourite things to make that most people would buy?

Mrs B xx