wings31

 http://waltonfeed.com/old/butter.html

This assignment was to blog about something we knew nothing about.  (Wow, that makes absolute perfect sense, doesn’t it?)  And being the totally random person I am (yes I admit it) I wanted to do my post on how to make butter.  ANYWAYS, I decided I’d tell you how to make butter step by step.  YAY!

Step 1:  The first step to making ahh-mazing butter is to collect the cream.  How, you may ask, is this accomplished? Well, you let the raw, whole milk sit and sit and sit for hours.  Eventually after seemingly-endless waiting, the cream will naturally float up to the top.  To get the cream, you can use a cream ladle.  It has holes that are about 1/16th inch in diameter.  Milk will run through the holes, yet the cream won’t.  Store the cream in a cold place, (a fridge works) and as you get more cream each day, add it.  NOTE: Colder milk= thicker cream. 

Step 2:  You’ll need to sour the cream next.  Setting it out on a counter for about 24 hours will finish this task.

 Step 3:  Next you will need to perfect the temperature.  This will allow the butter to separate from the cream.  Anywhere from 50-68 degrees F.  However, you do not need to do this step if you’ve had your cream sitting on a counter for 24 hours to sour it.

 Step 4:  Now you will require a butter churn. 

Make sure you don’t fill the churn over half way. The vertical plunger churn and the rotating paddle churn are the two types of churns you can use. Patiently churn the butter, in a smooth motion. With the vertical plunger churn, you will be required to slowly raise and then push down the churn, in cycles of one second each. The paddle churn should be stirred once per second as well. At least half an hour will be needed for the churning, but it can take A LOT longer.

Step 5: Separating butter from buttermilk can be done by using either the cream ladle, or butter paddle. Take the butter off the top of the milk and place it in a bowl.

Step 6: Now you will need to remove the rest of the buttermilk from the butter. Scrape the butter off the sides of the bowl using a paddle, and pour the buttermilk out of the bowl.

Step 7: Time to clean the butter up a bit. Using cold water, work the butter as done previously. You will need to use more and more cold water until the water remains uncolored. All buttermilk must be removed from the butter.

Step 8: One teaspoon full of salt should be added per pound of butter. You’ll need to thorougly mix it in. If the salt is too much, rinse it once again with cold water until some of the salt removes itself.

Step 9: Last step, you’re almost there! Place your butter in a mold, and rid the butter of any air bubbles. Remove the butter from the mold, and wrap it. GUESS WHAT!?!?! All done!

Credit for this information goes to: http://waltonfeed.com/old/butter.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/blurdom/1010416204/
I tried to paste this picture, but was unable to. This is what newly made butter looks like.