Today, we are going to talk about butter. Real butter. Delicious, delectable, decadent butter. This week, I found 7 half pints of cream on sale at the store for a mere .50 per carton. Being low on self control but high on innovation, I bought first, thought second. Yesterday, we made butter. Not only was this a great homeschool project, but it was also a great way to involve my minions in one of my food passions. Here is how we did it. We have, by the way, done this before, and I'll cover a few aspects of troubleshooting while I show you.
First of all, you need a plastic jar with lid (see how we use a recycled Miracle Whip jar? Alpha Man's bad habits sometimes pay off!!), 2 marbles, and a carton of cream. Contrary to what you may read on the web, do NOT use a glass Mason jar. See, we made butter with a Mason jar back before Thanksgiving, and it was wonderful. It was so wonderful, in fact, that we set ourselves up to make it again at Christmas, when the grandparents came for their visit. We were going to show off our butter making skills and then make grilled cheeses with our ultimate butter to go with the soup we were having for dinner. However, the glass jar we were using exploded all over Thing 1 while he was taking his turn at churning. Poor Thing 1! It was a waste of good cream, too. There was cream everywhere! It was all over him, my computer chair, and the carpet. He was so mad at me for coming up with this scheme. Whatever! My only regret is that I didn't get a pic.
Anyway, I digress. You only need the above supplies to make yourself a nice surprise. Pour the cream in the jar and add the marbles. Like this! Then put the lid on. Do not forget this important step!
Next, find a willing victim ... err ... I mean Participant! and they get to start shaking the jar. Everyone in the house should take a turn at this so that no one throws out their shoulder. Seriously, everyone, even the neighbor kid if he is over for a visit. And if you're old enough to find this online, you're old enough to realize that The Hard Part will be all your responsibility so let them shake the jar until you don't hear the marbles anymore (3-5 minutes), then take a look inside and you will have a jar full of whipped cream. Like this!
Now, you take over and reeeeeaaaalllllyyyy put your arm into shaking. Do whatever you need to do to create movement in that jar, while it is just whipped cream it will probably just slop from side to side or up and down with large, splatty plops that sound like you're slopping a wet towel onto the bottom of your bathtub. After a minute or two or what seems like a lifetime, it will suddenly become easier. Open it up and take a look. It will look like this, where it's all coming together in the center and you will see a little bit of whey starting to form.
Put the lid back on and keep shaking. It won't be long till there is a firm ball in the center. That is your butter.
Fish it out and put it in a bowl.
Take out the marbles and clean them off and salt your butter if you like. I like. The salt makes a big difference in bringing out the flavor and it doesn't take much.
While you mash the salt in, a little more whey will come out. Just put it back in the jar.
In the end, from a half pint of cream, you will have about half a cup of whey and half a cup of the most amazing butter you've had. So hide it. Or share it with your loveypies, your call.
Put the whey in a jar and save it for something. There are many different things it can be used for, perhaps as a soup liquid or if you have enough, you can make ricotta. We made 2 batches yesterday and I'm not sure how much ricotta I can make with a cup of whey but I'm going to try it out. It will probably only make a bite, but it will be a great bite.
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