Lynne's Homemade Butter

November 3, 2007

Makes about a half pound butter and about 2 cups fresh buttermilk.

The better the cream, the better the butter. It's worth checking out local farms for their cream. And, yes, different creams do have different tastes. It's that "terroir" thing.

1 quart pasteurized good tasting organic heavy cream (check the label—you want just cream, no stabilizers, certainly not ultra-pasteurized, nor fillers)

1. Put the cream in a large mixing bowl of an electric mixer or use a hand held mixer. Put the mixer whisk in the bowl and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap to keep the buttermilk from splashing.

2. Beat the cream at medium to high speed until splashes of liquid start hitting the plastic and you can see solid pieces of butter.

3. Set a sieve over a bowl and pour the contents of the bowl into it. Gently knead the butter to release all of its liquid (about 3 minutes). Save the buttermilk for drinking, baking, smoothies, soups, stews, etc. Work salt into the butter if you like. Wrap the butter well in plastic because it loves to absorb orders. You can freeze the butter, or refrigerate it up to a week.

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