| HOMEMADE
BUTTER |
| Making
your own butter is a great way to discover the magic of milk and introduce
your children to how dairy products are produced. It is also a great conversation
piece at your next dinner party. |
| 1
pint heavy cream |
| We
prepare the butter jar prior to the arrival of our guests and then let
them do the work. You will be amazed at how many people don't know how
butter is made. All you need is a clean, large plastic peanut butter jar
with a lid and heavy cream from the store. |
| Fill
the plastic jar half way with heavy cream and screw the lid on tight. If
the kids are helping it is a good idea to tape the lid to the jar so they
can not open it. Now shake the daylights out of the heavy cream. At first
the cream will slosh around like any other liquid. In a short while the
cream will thicken into whipped cream. Keep shaking and very soon the fat
in the cream will separate from the water and you will suddenly have butter
and buttermilk. |
| Open
the jar and pour off the buttermilk. Close the jar and continue shaking
for about 2 more minutes. This will remove more moisture from the butter.
Open the jar and pour off the additional buttermilk. Scoop out the butter
and chill. The new butter can also be placed into a small decorative mold
or individual serving cups prior to chilling. |
| Your
butter can be sweet (above method) or salted by adding a pinch of cheese
salt prior to shaking. You can also flavor your butter with the addition
of a pinch of garlic or onion powder, your favorite herbs, or even sugar
and ground cinnamon. |
