There was an article in the New York Times recently about making your own butter. I thought this was a great idea as Cauliflower and I don’t use much butter, and it would be fun to make it ourselves in small batches (and, okay, it would be fun to smugly point out at a dinner or brunch that I’d made the butter myself because really, who does that?!).
The basic idea is to agitate heavy whipping cream until it passes the whipped cream state and separates into butter and buttermilk. I used heavy whipping cream from the Straus Family Creamery, a local creamery located in Tomales Bay.
I first tried blending the cream in a food processor, which didn’t work as the whipped cream didn’t move through the processor very well. I then moved the the whipped cream to a bowl and mixed it with a hand mixer. This worked really well, and it was amazing to see the butter separate…as well as amazing to watch the buttermilk fly around the kitchen. Take steps to cover the bowl as you’re mixing.
Afterwards, I drained the buttermilk and began rinsing the butter in cold water until it ran clear. Then I squeezed the rest of the moisture out. Pressing it would work too. If you don’t do this, the butter will sour. At this point you’ll also want to salt it (if you’re going to). This will give the butter more taste and it will keep longer.
Now…go be smug.
Butter in my hand.
Finished butter in a bowl.
Tonight, Caitlin and I made the Cauliflower that you made for dinner last week, and it came out fantastic! While that was cooking, I decided to have another go at making butter after my oh so unsuccessful attempt years ago. I am happy to report that with the new found confidence that you instilled upon me with this post, I was able to successfully make butter! Great post! Thanks!
I’m glad that it turned out well for you, both the cauliflower and the butter. Sometimes it just takes a little practice. Now you can experiment with flavored butters – garlic, onion, anchovy, etc.