Fresh Butter Food

FRESH BUTTER

Steps:

• Whip 1 pint heavy cream with a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Be sure to cover mixer and bowl with a clean kitchen towel, or risk a splattering mess. The cream will go through several stages -- foamy, then frothy, then soft peaks, stiff peaks, and, eventually, butter. It will take anywhere from 6 to 15 minutes until the butter separates from the buttermilk and starts to spatter.
• Pour buttermilk into an airtight container and refrigerate; it will keep for 3 days.
• Form butter into a ball. Working over a colander in the sink, rinse butter under cold running water to remove any remaining buttermilk. If butter is too soft, float it in a bowl of ice water for 20 minutes, then continue. When water runs clear from butter in your hands, knead butter firmly to remove all moisture.
• Butter will stay fresh longer if it's salted, so work 1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt into butter. Wrap in wax or cheese paper, or pack into ramekins.

HOMEMADE BUTTER

Steps:

• Prepare a screw top jar. It must be clean, dry, and not smell like it's previous contents. (Peanut butter jars work great, as well as baby food jars for smaller portions).
• Pour the cream into the jar, and put the lid on. You will need to leave the jar about half empty to have space to shake, so adjust the amount of cream accordingly.
• Shake the jar vigorously. After a bit, it will coat the sides of the jar, then become whipped cream. Keep shaking - it will start to separate. Its done when it is totally separated into butter and buttermilk.
• NOTE: I stopped every minute to open the jar and take a picture (and let my arm rest :-) ) and it took 7 minutes of shaking. After several reviews, I thought that I'd mention that it takes some people longer - even 20 or 30 minutes - but it is still worth the time to make :D .
• Pour the buttermilk into a separate container, and enjoy!
• A great project for school kids is to use the buttermilk to make biscuits or bread, and then eat it with the butter. While it is very soft at first, it gets rather hard as you store it in the fridge, and will need to soften if you plan to use it as a spread. (If you don't eat it all right away!).
• While researching cheese making I discovered that the resulting butter milk is 'old fashioned' and purchased buttermilk is thicker as it is cultured in a process similar to yogurt. (Someone mentioned this in a review as well.) I have used it with great success in a few recipes without knowing that there was a difference.

HOMEMADE BUTTER

Steps:

• Pour cream into a food processor or blender. Process for 10 minutes, or until the butter separates. Strain off the liquid. Season to taste with salt if you like. Press butter into a small bowl with the back of a spoon to further remove liquid.

HOMEMADE BUTTER

Steps:

• Prepare a medium-size bowl of ice water. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, gradually whip the cream and sour cream together. Increase the speed of the mixer and continue whipping until the cream separates and the mixture thickens.
• Use a rubber spatula to gather up the butter and remove it from the bowl. There will be some liquid that is a natural result of this process. That liquid is actually buttermilk. Gather the ball of butter together into a double layer of cheesecloth or a thin kitchen towel and plunge it into the ice bath to wash any buttermilk off the surface. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Pack the butter into a bowl or roll it into a ball or log shape using plastic wrap. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator.

FRESH HERB BUTTER

Steps:

• Mix together the basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, zest, butter and some salt and pepper. Transfer to a piece of waxed or parchment paper and roll into a log or place in a small bowl. Refrigerate until firm. Slice and serve with fresh corn on the cob, steak or bread.

FRESH HERB BUTTER

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients well.
• Serve as an hors d' ouevre on freshly baked bread.