I used local heavy cream that I picked up at my local green market. There is one ingredient in this- cream. I know you're thinking- well, what else would it have in it? But flip over your commercial store brand and you will see cream, along with other additives. No bueno for me.
I'm guessing you can do this with a hand mixer, but it takes a good 20 minutes to get the cream to turn into butter, so it may not be worth your while. BUT if you do try it with a hand mixer- let me know how it goes!
I like to salt my butter right from the get go- so once I pour the container of cream into the mixer, I grind some sea salt in it before I start it up. I start with the whisk attachment to speed up the whipping, then switch to the flat mixer to finish it off. Turn the mixer to level 4 (you can go up to 6, but no higher!), set a timer for 12 minutes and walk away. Really, go do something.
It has taken on average 20 minutes of mixing for the mixture to 'break', so I like to start looking around 12 minutes. Also, it's about this time when the cream will move into the whipped butter category- and if you have a fresh loaf of bread around you will want to snag some. You can stop here- however in this state the butter will only stay fresh for 24-48 hours. This is great if you're having guests over and want to put fresh whipped butter on the table- but unless you're going to consume it all right away, you're going to want to keep mixing.
You had 12 minutes to play, but now it's time to work- stick close from here on out. Eventually the color will turn a bit more yellow (like... you guessed it- butter) and it will look wet and crumbly. Push it a little more and then stop. If you move the mixture away and see liquid on the bottom of the bowl, you have arrived. You have 'broken' the mixture into two things: butter and buttermilk.
Now it's time to get dirty- with clean hands! Reach in and grab a handful of the mixture while keeping it over the bowl. Gently squeeze (I like to press between both palms) and push out as much as the liquid as you can. Keep going until you have only a little of the butter left in the bowl. At this point I like to grab a small strainer to catch the remaining pieces. Pour the bowl mixture through the strainer held over a small bowl to catch the buttermilk. Don't throw this away!! You will now have a messy ball of butter feeling goo .... that doesn't quite look like butter.
You want to knead the butter in your hands, squeezing out the last of the liquid. Some people rinse the butter with water, but I skip this. Grab some wax paper and mold the butter into a log. Roll it up pushing out as much air as you can and twist the ends. Then throw in the fridge to harden. In the fridge it will last a few weeks, but you can also freeze it for a few months.
Salted butter is great- but want to take a walk on the wild side? Once you hit the whipped stage, toss in some freshly chopped herbs. I've made rosemary butter, thyme butter and sage butter so far. I freeze it in chunks and use it to roast chicken, saute veggies, on fresh bread and more!
I have to say, I was shocked at how easy this was- and how the butter tasted so different than store bought sticks. Plus you get a bonus with the fresh buttermilk- which can be used in homemade ranch dressing, pancakes and more!
As a parting gift, I thought I would share my work space during this project. I know some people only like to show the sparkly, clean photos- but everything is better with a mess.
Questions about the process? Did you try your hand at homemade butter? Leave it in the comments!
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