Homemade Butter

Unless you have your own milk cow to provide you with  

cream, making homemade butter is not the most cost efficient way to get this essential ingredient.  However, if you are using it as a fun project for you and your little kitchen helper, you can't beat it!  One quart of heavy cream at Aldi was $4 and makes about 1 1/2 cups of butter (equal to approximately 3 sticks) and 1 1/4 cup of buttermilk.  The only thing you need besides the heavy cream is a few drops of yellow food coloring (if you want your butter to be the same color it is when you buy it at the store) and a pinch of salt (if you are making salted butter).

Now, there are several ways you can do this, but I went with the easiest- my stand mixer.  All you do is add your ingredients (1 qt heavy cream and optional pinch of salt and 5 drops yellow food coloring) to the bowl of your stand mixer with beater blade attached.  I recommend covering the mixer completely with a towel, as there will be some splashing as the butter forms.  Turn your mixer on a medium speed and wait. . . 

and wait. . .

and wait. . . 

At this point you will hear some splashing.  This is normal and means your butter is almost ready.  Keep going until the butter sticks to the beater blade as shown below.

After the butter has formed and stuck to the beater blade (see above) and buttermilk has separated, you will need to drain and rince the butter.  If you want to save your buttermilk (for scrumptious freezer biscuits, perhaps? ), put a strainer on top of a large bowl and pour entire contents of mixing bowl into the strainer.  Buttermilk can then be placed in a mason jar or other air tight container and stored for up to two weeks in the fridge.  

Leaving your butter in the strainer, rinse with COLD water until the water runs clear.

  You can now shape your butter any way you like.  I did mine in a simple block, but I am looking for some cute old fashioned butter molds.   If you do not have butter molds, then the best method is to lay the butter on a sheet of wax paper or freezer paper , shape, then fold and store in the fridge.  It will keep for several weeks.