I Can't Believe It's Real Butter!

I can think of a few bedazzling achievements from the 1980s:  the hair crimping iron, Hammer pants, the Back to the Future movies, Swatch watches...and yours truly!  On the other hand, there are a host of notable disasters from this quirky decade. One such product will remain nameless, but is the antithesis to this week's post hero -- home-churned butter!  With the advent of shelf-stable vegetable-based substitutes and the vilification of dietary fats in Western culture, for over seventy years butter has been squeezed out of its rightful place as a nutritional staple.  However, the tides are turning as trans-fats and processed butter substitutes are being exposed as health threats.  Instead, real butter from pastured cows is being recognized as a rich source of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), beta-carotene, Omega-3s, selenium, and Vitamins A and E.  But it is another member of butter's myriad assets that is currently making nutritional headlines: Vitamin K2.  Scientists are finding that K2 in grassfed milk butter is essential for keeping bones healthy and arteries clear from calcification, among many other benefits.  How's that for a reversal of the notion that butter clogs the arteries!?  As we continue to recover from the many oddities of the 80s, I'm thrilled that butter is back on the menu where it belongs.  For a more thorough look at good vs. bad fats and why healthy fat is our friend, see the "Food" tab on my homepage. Also, please read more about Vitamin K2 and its integral role in our diet.  Now for the fun part -- the simple steps to making delicious, homemade butter.

Butter isn't difficult to make, but the first essential step is to procure raw, unpasteurized whole milk from a good source.  The health benefits of butter are fundamentally linked to cows eating grass, preferably only grass (with minute amounts of grain, if any).  After selling our family cow last fall, Weldon and I purchased a share in a local, small-farm dairy owned by friends of ours. Every other week we pick up 2-gallons of fresh milk.  The best use for the cream (when I can keep it from Weldon's coffee mug) is to skim it from the jars of milk and churn it into butter.

You will need:
1+ gallon of real milk (unpasteurized, unhomogenized)
Small Scoop or Ladle to skim the cream from the top of the milk
Large Glass Jar with lid -- quart-sized or 1/2-gallon sized mason jars work great
Quart Jar -- for storing buttermilk
Medium-sized Bowl
Butter paddle or Wooden Spoon
Sea salt, optional
Container to store the butter

1. Using whatever's convenient (like a ladle or 1/4 cup measure), carefully dip the cream from the top of the milk.  Go slowly and take as little milk as possible. Put the cream into another glass jar, filling no more than a scant half full.  If you're quart jar will be more than half full, use 2 quart jars or jump to a 1/2-gallon jar.  Trust me, anything more than a scant 1/2-full will be a bear to churn later.

2. Shake continuously.  It doesn't have to be a bullet-train's rigor, but a steady-paced chug is required.  Kids, husbands, bribed guests, or naive volunteers are excellent for this task.

Big Red Hen, anyone?

Good things come to those who wait.

Patience is a virtue.

It's alive!!

3. When the butter is about to make its debut, the jar will begin to feel like its contents are taking on mass...as if the liquid is thickening.  Keep shaking.

4.  Without any warning, the yellow butter will solidify leaving a watery-milk-colored liquid. Keep shaking until the butter is more or less a lump.  (Steps 2-4 can take anywhere from 5 - 25 minutes depending on the particular cow, seasonality, temperature, and age of the cream...and the patience of the shaker. Handy Note: room-temperature cream will always churn faster than cold cream.)

5.  When the butter is in a happy blob, pour off the buttermilk into another quart jar and use later for delicious baking and pancakes (yes, this is a two-for-one process!).  Place the butter in a shallow bowl.

6.  Using drizzles of filtered running water, press and prod the butter with a butter paddle or the back of a wooden spoon.  Refresh the water a few times. It is imperative that the butter be kneaded in this way until the water runs clear.  The butter is prone to spoilage if buttermilk is left in the mix.

7.  When the water runs clear, drain all the excess liquid.  If desired, sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on the surface, work it in with your paddle/spoon, and add a second pinch as needed.

8.  Pack your butter into a container.  I use recycled sour cream containers or small glass bowls covered with wax paper.  Your butter can be used fresh, kept in the refrigerator for weeks, or frozen for months.  Remember, this unctuous delight is made from fresh, raw-milk cream -- all of the healthful organisms in the milk are there to benefit you in the butter.  It will not keep fresh for long if not refrigerated.

Anyone can make butter!  In my estimation it's worth the time and simple effort for a host of reasons.  As mentioned, a balanced whole food diet including healthful fats works wonders for the body's well-being; but you probably didn't realize that as long as butter is being made at home, an arm workout will no longer be a reason to head to the gym.  Secondly, I think it's pretty fantastic that the very same dollars I spend on milk each month can yield everything from yogurt to mozzarella, sour cream to cream cheese, butter to buttermilk.  When's the last time a carton from the grocery reincarnated itself into a smorgasbord of other dairy products?  And last, but far from least, is the superior taste! Butter-making and other "mundane" tasks associated with made-from-scratch cooking add the special oomph that takes dishes from good to outstanding.  Anyone who eats the fruit of your churning labor will melt into a satisfied pool as they sigh, "I can't believe it's real butter!"