Butter is Back Baby!
I used to write headlines competitively for academic events when I was in high school, can’t you tell? But in all seriousness, this week I am delving into a world that has always been home for me, the dairy world. Let me explain. I started a goat dairy in 2006 with my family and was head cheesemaker and cheese developer for over a decade. Dairy is what I know and do best! The wonderful world of milk is vast and there is so much you can do with this glorious liquid white gold. I just so happened to finally stumble upon Volleman’s Dairy products at Stahlman’s at Bear Creek farm stand. I knew in that moment, I could feel it in my bones, I was meant to create something beautiful with their cream.
A little about Vollemans: I have been fervently stalking them on Instagram, watching their posts and stories and enjoying content from a local Texas dairy. I am a firm believer in supporting local farms and our local food communities and I was dying to try out their milk. They are a family run farm and are also campaigning for bringing back bottle milk service. How cool would that be to get local milk delivered? Too cool. They also use recyclable/reusable glass jars and highlight how they practice sustainable farming in their dairy. Plus, they have the cutest cow logo their jars and, if you know anything about me, I am a huge sucker for fun logos and packaging.
I picked up a pint of cream and will be making, you guessed it, BUTTER. But not just any butter, oh no, we are going to make cultured butter. Cultured butter is when the cream is be “ripened” with a culture for 24-48 hours prior to making butter. By doing so the cultures in the cream will add a depth of tang and flavor and allow us to showcase this local product for the true rockstar it is.
All we need to do is add cultured buttermilk to cream and let it sit covered for 24-48 hours. You want live active cultures in your buttermilk. Borden brand dairy has this available at most grocery stores here in south Texas. I have heard of using cultured yogurt but be cautious, most yogurts have thickeners and stabilizers that we don’t want in our recipe so make sure it only has live active cultures and milk and nothing else. If you are using yogurt, I would increase the amount of 3 tablespoons to 6 tablespoons of yogurt.
The process of making butter is quite simple, place the cream in a stand mixer with whisk attachment, you can use a handheld mixer too or even a mason jar. In the case of the latter, you will shake the jar until it separates. Talk about an arm workout! Or maybe a great activity for young children with lots of energy. Beat the cold cream on high until it separates. You will see the cream whip into peaks then start to look granular and shortly after it will separate. When it is fully separated turn off the mixer, it will splatter quite a bit at this point. Next, we need to pour off the buttermilk to use for other recipes(this stuff is kitchen magic, buttermilk glaze and cookie recipes coming soon!) and wash the butter.
Washing the butter is the next step that allows for the extra milk solids to be “washed out” of all of the fat “butter.” It helps the butter to last longer in the fridge and prevents spoilage. You simply place ice cold water in with the butter and knead and press on the butter with back of a large spoon. You will notice the water will look quite milky. Pour it off and continue to knead the butter with a spoon until the water is clear. This took two washes for me. Tilt the bowl so the water runs off to one side and is easier to pour out.
Add salt (if using) after all the water is drained out of your bowl. Store your freshly made butter wrapped in parchment paper or your favorite butter dish. I recommend using Maldon smoked salt if you want a flavor bomb type of experience with your cultured butter. It’s a quality sea salt that is so delicious on everything and the large salt crystals give a great pop of flavor. Unless you are using this butter for baking, then I would leave out the salt.
Congratulations, you just made a batch of homemade butter! Easy right? The baker in me is not done quite yet, we are going to go one step further; making Browned Butter for a decadent chocolate chip cookie you don’t want to miss. Subscribe below and follow me on social media @sunshinetxcookies for more info and videos. Thank you and happy baking!
Cultured Butter
Ingredients
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 3 tbspn cultured buttermilk needs to have live active cultures
Instructions
- Pour heavy cream into a clean jar.
- Add buttermilk and stir thoroughly.
- Place lid on jar, can use coffee filter or cheesecloth to allow milk to breathe.
- Leave on counter for 24-48 hours. Makes sure to leave in a cool dark place, not in sunlight or next to stove.
- After the cream has cultured for a day or two, place in fridge for at least an hour to chill. This will help to firm up so your butter won't be greasy.
- Place cold cultured cream in a mixer with whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until it separates, around 5-10 minutes
- Pour off buttermilk into clean and sanitized container. Store in fridge for other recipes.
- Using about 1/2 cup of ice cold water, knead the butter with the back of the spoon. You will notice the water turn into a milky color. Repeat until water is clear.
- Add salt if desired and store wrapped in parchment or your favorite butter dish.
