417409 Tue Jul 03 04:39:01 -0700 2007 33 31 Home Cooking 0 2715520 just read an article in NYT about the joys of making your own butter. anyone ever try this, and is it worth it, aside from the because-i-can factor? Tue Jul 03 04:39:02 -0700 2007 18355 rudysmom 1 2715603 It'll be tastier and richer than any store bought butter you will every have. It's also pretty easy, but a time suck for such a simple product. Tue Jul 03 05:47:49 -0700 2007 2715520 15217 gini 1 2715732 It is insanely easy. Tastes really good. And it is a lot of fun. Tue Jul 03 06:49:05 -0700 2007 2715520 16858 jdm 1 2715759 It's your normal kindergarten project where you pass around the bottle w/ cream and salt and let all the kids shake. Really easy. Tue Jul 03 06:57:24 -0700 2007 2715520 39874 chowser 1 2716023 I've done it. And in a food processor it's almost too easy to even talk about. Go for it. Tue Jul 03 08:29:21 -0700 2007 2715520 12724 eLizard 2 2722541 hmmm so it works just as well in a food processor? I've been drooling about homemade butter since I read the NYT article but I don't have a mixer. Does it take longer in a food processor vs. a mixer? Thu Jul 05 16:41:43 -0700 2007 2716023 28485 mchan02 3 2727610 it takes no time in the food processor. a few minutes. no more than 5. Sat Jul 07 13:39:21 -0700 2007 2722541 12724 eLizard 3 2784639 Mixer doesn't take long, just a bit longer than whipped cream. And you don't have to clean the processor! Thu Jul 26 05:17:06 -0700 2007 2722541 14139 Kagey 4 2786412 but i don't get it. don't you still have to clean the mixer? Thu Jul 26 12:40:31 -0700 2007 2784639 12724 eLizard 5 2788257 Yeah, but I've got a hand mixer and all I'd have to clean are two ejectable mixing blades. The processor would mean cleaning the container, lid, blade, etc. And the parts can be fiddly, with hard-to clean places. Fri Jul 27 03:04:06 -0700 2007 2786412 14139 Kagey 6 2789783 gotcha! Fri Jul 27 12:55:12 -0700 2007 2788257 12724 eLizard 1 2716617 I definitely want to make butter after that article! I just first have to figure out what to use it for. Tue Jul 03 11:11:33 -0700 2007 2715520 13525 JasmineG 2 2716633 MMMM! What WOULDN'T you use it for!!?? Tue Jul 03 11:17:04 -0700 2007 2716617 16216 k_d 3 2717901 I have`nt made any since I was a kid, some 50 yrs ago, but ireally enjoyed makeing it for my mothers fresh pancakes she would make for breakfast, as my father would slice bacon off the slab for my mother to cook. brings back some great memories. thanks. it makes me laugh when I think back about they way did things in those day. back in the 40`s. Tue Jul 03 17:57:41 -0700 2007 2716633 50491 bigjimbray 1 2717915 I made it when my heavy cream was on it last leg. I used my Kitcheaid and my daughter and I had a blast watching it transform to butter. Tue Jul 03 18:05:03 -0700 2007 2715520 11540 mochi mochi 2 2786524 Hehe, it's not much of a blast when you're making a whipped cream frosting and it goes just a little bit to far though! Thu Jul 26 13:01:51 -0700 2007 2717915 83462 Lixer 3 2786601 True that, but we were aiming for butter so it was all good. Thu Jul 26 13:22:00 -0700 2007 2786524 11540 mochi mochi 1 2718037 I just made butter for the first time in about 90 seconds using my kitchenaid immersion blender chopping attachment. I couldn't believe how fast it was! I used TJ's pasteurized heavy cream (in plastic bottle). The butter is very mild and sweet; I think I may try to sour/culture the cream next time for more flavor. It's fun to know that it's possible to make butter so quickly, but I'd only do this if I had some leftover heavy cream lying around... Tue Jul 03 18:57:18 -0700 2007 2715520 22761 sogi 1 2718041 During World War II butter was hard to find in stores but my uncle had an ice cream factory so used to bring home cream which my aunt routinely turned into butter using the electric mixer. It's also a fun project to do with children. Homemade butter is especially nice on pancakes. Tue Jul 03 19:00:39 -0700 2007 2715520 15521 Querencia 1 2719006 Does anyone bake w/ homemade butter? Is it worth doing? Wed Jul 04 09:14:20 -0700 2007 2715520 39874 chowser 2 3629919 I'm not much of a baker, but homemade butter is suppossed to be great for flakey pastry since it generally has a higher butterfat, around 86% - depending on the MF in the cream you use. Most generic store bought butters are standardized around 80% butterfat since that's the minimal amount allowable (in Canada). The higher fat allows the butter to be more plastic at cold temperatures, therefore easier to work into pastry cold. Fri Apr 25 12:55:08 -0700 2008 2719006 160300 Kane_TO 1 2719037 just out of interest does it work out cheaper? Wed Jul 04 09:30:11 -0700 2007 2715520 22559 smartie 2 2719410 Not unless butter is pricey or you've got access to really cheap cream. If I'm remembering right, last time I did this, I used a pint of cream and got approximately a stick of butter. A package of butter at TJ's is about $2.50 in my area, and a pint of cream was like $1.50. So it's approximately 2.5 times more expensive. Wed Jul 04 12:31:08 -0700 2007 2719037 108192 screetchycello 1 2719172 This article confused me. I thought the difference between commercial butter and 'fancier' butter was that commercial butter is just made from cream as described in the article (but in larger volume), while gourmet butters were 'cultured,' or the cream was allowed to ferment first which gave more flavor to the end product, but implied more time and cost. Can anybody clear this up? Wed Jul 04 10:41:27 -0700 2007 2715520 56871 dinnerbell 2 2719393 I googled around and found this: http://www.wisdairy.com/OtherDairyProductInfo/Butter/ButterFaqs/GeneralButterInfo.aspx "There are two main types of butter produced in the U.S. – sweet cream butter and cultured cream butter. The United States primarily produces sweet cream butter, which includes lightly salted, unsalted and whipped butter.... Cultured butter, a rich butter made from cultured cream, is popular in Europe and is now being produced in the U.S. It is available in most regions of the country. As with lightly salted and unsalted butter, it’s available in both sticks and tubs." Cultured butter isn't 'better' or 'gourmet' - it's just a different type of butter. Wed Jul 04 12:23:40 -0700 2007 2719172 108192 screetchycello 3 2719521 I've seen cultured butter only at gourmet shops, where, you can imagine, it is quite a bit pricier than the butter you find in the super market. And, in my opinion, it is better. It has a much more buttery flavor than sweat cream. That's why the article confused me. I don't know why making your own better would all that different than the kind you buy. Wed Jul 04 13:11:38 -0700 2007 2719393 56871 dinnerbell 4 2782475 Part of the appeal (especially for those of us who can buy milk directly from farmers) is making butter from good cream, or cream whose origins we know, as well as being able to, say, culture it to our own particular taste. (Now if we could only locate some areas of the country where the cows weren't eating dioxins from the petro-energy fallout... Butter is still the largest everyday source of dioxin.) But if you know your cream source, at least you know what *else* is in it -- and how fresh it is, etc. And a lot of the local milk sources don't *make* butter (as in the original NYT article -- it's hard to come by). I'm planning to skim some jersey milk next week -- it's high fat, but not high enough that my hopes are very high. (I'll let you know) Wed Jul 25 11:56:53 -0700 2007 2719521 112816 colintine 1 2720154 Does anyone know whether there would be a difference if you use the kind of cream that you often find overseas that is sold in UHT-type packages? Does the UHT process prevent the butterification of the cream?? Wed Jul 04 20:11:07 -0700 2007 2715520 10106 James G 2 3629929 You might be able to find a dairy that sold raw milk (many states allow raw milk to be purchased at the dairy), skim the cream yourself, and make butter with it.. if the cows had a good pasture diet, might get some nice flavors. Fri Apr 25 13:00:14 -0700 2008 2720154 176367 grant.cook 1 2723073 This is amazing and insanely easy. I read the article last Sunday and my SO and I finally tried it tonight. We used a food processor since we don't have a stand mixer and it worked perfectly. It ended up taking about 8-10 minutes or so to get to the stage where the butter separates from the buttermilk, which is longer than the article said it took with the stand mixer. But still, 10 minutes is a short amount of time to wait for what's a fantastic result - really creamy butter. Thu Jul 05 20:24:19 -0700 2007 2715520 51406 pellegrino31 1 2788229 I made butter by accident by freezing heavy cream. Upon thawing the cream, I noticed that the buttermilk sank to the bottom and chunky, clotted cream floated to the top. I heated it up in a double boiler, poured the liquified mixture into a clear container and put it in the refrigerator. Clarified butter floats to the top and the buttermilk stays at the bottom. Poke a hole into the corner of the hardened butter layer and pour out the sweet buttermilk. The sweet buttermilk is the best part about making homemade butter... it's so rich, yet lowfat, and tastes like the sweetest milk you've ever tasted Fri Jul 27 00:32:04 -0700 2007 2715520 18347 Sophia C. 1 2829508 Ok, reporting in on skimming milk for anyone still interested in butter -- it does work! (yes, I know people have been doing it for thousands of years, but that doesn't necessarily translate to it working as predicted on this list in a mixer with tiny amounts -- and there were the skeptics who argued that it would only have 4-6% fat, but it must have considerably more, given the amount of butter I'm getting.) I've been skimming jersey cream and when I don't have enough I've been mixing it with heavy cream. But the jersey gives it a very distinctive taste. Now I just have to develop more of a taste for the leftover skimmed milk... Thu Aug 09 11:08:02 -0700 2007 2715520 112816 colintine 2 3229056 I also read the NYT article and I have finally made homemade butter. I had one 8 oz carton of heavy cream that needed to be used today; the amount was so small that I didn't bother with a mixer, I just used a jelly jar. It took a surprisingly short amount of time of shaking, maybe 10 minutes. The results are fantasic; the butter is smooth, creamy and sooo rich tasting, I'm sorry I didn't have a pint of whipping cream! The best part is the buttermilk...it's not a large amount but it's enough to make one loaf buttermilk bread. Fri Dec 21 12:56:10 -0800 2007 2829508 17508 acme 1 3229878 DIY butter is insanely easy in a food processor. Chill the cream until crystals start to form in the freezer, approx 1 hour. Pour in a food process and process on high for 1 minute, or until the butter separates. Remove the butter(straining the buttermilk for the smaller particles) and squeeze out the excess moisture, wrap tightly in plastic, chill and use. Salt can be added of desired. It is great for fresh use or for baking purposes. Fri Dec 21 19:39:26 -0800 2007 2715520 22220 Kelli2006