Ever wanted to make butter from home? It’s really easy!
Making butter at home is not something I had ever really thought about doing, but it is something I have done before.
When I was in Year 2 at school (about 8 years old), I used to get milk in a little glass bottle – does anyone else remember that? My favourite part of drinking my milk was sipping the little bit of cream off the top.
One day, the teacher asked us all to give up our cream and add it to a glass jar. Begrudgingly I gave her my cream, and we all spent what felt like all day – 5 minutes at a time each – shaking this glass jar until we finally got butter.
We got to have toast in the afternoon, along with our freshly made butter.
It was delicious!
As it was a bit different from the norm, I remember that day still. However, I never really thought about doing it again until recently.
Yellow sticker cream
Swinging by my local shop, I saw they had reduced the price of a pot of double cream.
We didn’t have any use for double cream that evening, so I was going to leave it, but then thought back to how to make butter, and I wanted to give it a go.
How to make butter quickly
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Very simply:
- tip the double cream into a blender or food processor
- pop the lid on top
- and turn it on.
That’s really it!
After a few minutes, the cream will get really thick, and after 5 minutes, you can see the butter coming away and leaving a buttercream.
That’s not quite the end of the process.
You then need to pour the buttercream off the butter and wash your new butter. You need to wash out any excess buttermilk.
Add very cold water to the blender and blitz again for 10 seconds or so, then pour away that water.
Do this around 10 times, and the water will get clearer each time.
This makes sure that any excess buttercream is taken out of the butter.
If you leave the buttermilk in the butter, it will turn sour and ruin within a day.
It’s then time to shape your homemade butter, which will let a little more of the water escape.
Try using the back of a spoon and squashing it a little.
Then either add it to a small jar, or shape it into a roll, or even a traditional cuboid.
Other ways to make your own butter
If you don’t have a food processor, then don’t worry, as making butter is still possible. However, it will take more time.
Instead, add the cream to a large mason jar and shake. And keep sharing until butter solids begin to form and liquid buttermilk separates.
It certainly does take longer, but it tastes so much better than store bought butter.
Easy homemade butter
So, what started as 300ml of double cream turned into 204 grams of fresh homemade butter and 400ml of buttermilk/strained water.
Half of our new butter has made it to the fridge to be used on toast for breakfast, and the rest has gone into the freezer to be used at a later date.
All in all, it took less than 10 minutes to make butter.
Plus, as it was a reduced pot, it works out cheaper than buying butter from the supermarket.
If you come across any reduced yellow sticker cream or you have some double cream in the fridge that’s about to go off, don’t waste it; make your own butter at home and reduce food waste.
What cream can you use?
We always use heavy double cream to make butter.
However, you can try to use whipping cream. Whipped cream will take longer to make the butter solids, but it can be done.
How long does homemade butter last?
If you are keeping your butter unsalted, it should be eaten within a few days.
However, if you are adding salt, it acts as a preservative and will last for closer to two to three weeks.
You can freeze butter, so if you’ve bought a large quantity of heavy cream, then you can make it into batches and store frozen for another time.
What to do with buttermilk?
While everyone knows what to do with butter, what should you do with the leftover buttermilk?
Instead of tipping it down the sink, there are some other frugal uses for it.
An obvious winner is fluffy buttermilk pancakes or other baking recipes.
You could also use it to make smoothies and custard or add it to mash potato, or use it as a marinade for chicken.
