By: yycbusymom

Making butter is surprisingly easy! I literally shocked myself the first time, as I had that little nagging voice in the back of my head saying “you have at least got to try this, and if you fail DON’T tell anyone!” I mean, how could I lose? I had frozen some whipping cream and had no idea what to do with it! So, it sat in my freezer. Then,  I came across youtube videos and thought: “ let’s do this!”

So I pulled out my frozen whipping cream (note: 33% by Dairyland, nothing special, just grocery store whipping cream,) sat it in the fridge to defrost for 1-2 days until completely thawed (or so I thought.) I then pulled out my food processor and poured in just enough cream to cover the blades and turn it on (yes, I had the lid on.)  In less than 10 minutes the cream “broke” and I had butter and butter milk!!

I was so amazed my family thought I had lost it! After explaining what I had accomplished they wanted to see proof! So I did another batch and voila! Again, perfect! The third batch, not so much, as my whipping cream still had frozen chunks it it and wouldn’t “break” entirely. I transferred this to a bowl and left it to thaw a little more.

I started another batch, this time, a little too much cream! To my embarrassment, even though the lid was on, it leaked. After draining some of the cream to a proper level, I set it to mix, and much better! After the “half broke” batch was thawed enough I returned it to the food processor and it was saved- it did separate.

After all butter was separated, I put the buttermilk into a mason jar. Then I began the washing process. Now this is where I couldn’t find details, so I did what I thought I should. I squished and rinsed the butter in ice cold water, until the water ran clear. Then placed the butter into a tea towel and wrung out as much liquid as I could. I then put the butter into a container, washed my hands of the greasy goo, and dealt with the kids.

When I came back to the butter, I noticed it was sweating milky liquid, which told me I didn’t get all the buttermilk out. Leaving the buttermilk in the butter will cause the butter to quickly go rancid. So I washed it again, not gently this time, but literally squished it between my fingers like play-doh until the water baths were clean. It took three good ‘washes.’

I then filled the sink ½ the height of the bowl. I had the butter in the bowl and drained off any excess water. I then started flattening and mashing the butter against the side of the bowl, draining off the water. This process went on until I couldn’t squish out anymore water. It was done!

I then divided the butter into three separate containers: a salted one, one plain, and added garlic seasoning to the third.

OMG! I’ve never loved butter until that very moment.

For more tips on creating butter from cream, read the Making Butter From Cream: Tips post in the Radical Survivalism Message Boards!

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Special thanks to yycbusymom for the guest-post!