Make Your Own Butter (Without a Cow)
When I was a girl, my mother was a saint. I was one of those children who talked contantly (Never saw that one coming, huh) and was always right up on her with questions and endless conversation. I can’t ever remember a time, even now, when I haven’t been trying to figure the world out, finding some new angle almost daily to view it through and gain a better understanding of the whys and what-fors of any given situation.
I was one to question, examine, and then declare my findings. Again, much how I do now. But folks, I can tell ya, My poor mama needed a break from time to time and she always came up with wonderful ways to keep me busy while giving me something else to figure out.
Most of these actiities have become habit for me now, ways I busy myself in the odd need to be doing multiple tasks in order to focus. My friend, Jyl is night and day different from me in this respect. She actually focuses on one thing at a time, just like my husband. Mama is like that, too, so I’m really surrounded by people who stand in place doing one appointed task while I buzz around them talking away with the speed of my thoughts. I imagine it leaves us both a little tired.
Recently I was on the phone with Jyl talking over some things I have coming up with Southern Plate and while talking to her, I walked into the kitchen and got all of the fixin’s out to make a little butter. I poured my cream into a mason jar, screwed the lid on good and began shaking away. ~swish swish swish~
After a few minutes of talking while I swished in the background Jyl asked, “What are you doing?”
“I’m making butter.” I declared, as I continued swishing while I walked around the house talking on the phone.
Did you know I can’t stand still or sit while I talk on the phone? Doing only one thing at a time is very difficult for me and always has been. Of course it’s ADHD but it is certainly not a disorder, it’s a gift, a talent, and a blessing. The only reason it is called a “disorder” is because other folks beat us to the punch in declaring themselves normal and us abnormal. If we wouldn’t have been so busy up and leaving Europe and creating an entirely new country based on an entirely new governmental concept, we could have gotten to declare the rest of the world “OTATD” or “O-Tats” for short, One Thing At A Time Disorder. ~grins and giggles~ But that is a post for another day so back to what I was saying about butter..
Jyl sounded incredulous “You’re doing what?”
“I’m making butter, I’m going to spread it on some saltines.”
“Are you talking about actually churning butter?”
“Yeah, but in a mason jar. Haven’t you ever made butter?”
This is when it occured to me that Jyl, being the quiet person that she is, most likely never annoyed her mother like I did and therefore was never given the fascinating task of making butter in a mason jar. Since I can’t see her ever being able to annoy people to the extent that I do, I guess it is up to me to take the initiative and show her how it’s done so this post was born.
Tomorrow begins National Dairy Month and this is a great post to help us kick that off so yesterday, me and the kids made butter. This is a GREAT activity to do with kids, or to let them do on their own to buy you a few minutes of quiet in the kitchen while you cook. Even adults enjoy the “neatness” factor of making your own butter with just some whipping cream and a mason jar!
All you’ll need is: Heavy Whipping Cream and a jar or two.
I usually use the larger jars but these little eight ounce ones are easier for little hands to hold and do just fine.
Fill your jar 1/2 to 3/4 full, but no more than that. Your cream needs space to shake around a bit.
Put the lid on well and then start shaking!
This will take anywhere from ten to thirty minutes, but your butter will most likely be ready in twenty minutes or so. It all depends on how much you shake it. Little hands will take frequent breaks 🙂
Now let me tell you what is gonna happen here so you don’t think you’re shaking your arms off for nothing:
First, the liquid is going to completely coat the jar as you shake and you’ll hear it just a shaking back and forth
Then, the liquid is going to get really thick, still coating the jar, but as you shake you won’t really hear it shaking anymore and you’ll begin to doubt me. Hang in there, I promise there will be butter soon enough, just keep shaking on faith :). You can open the lid if you want and see that your cream is just really, really thick. Then…
After about fifteen or twenty minutes, you’ll notice the sides are no longer coated and it pulls away from the sides a bit.
You’re almost done!
A few minutes later you’ll feel solids shaking around in there and the liquid and solids will separate completely. Now your butter is ready.
When you open it up you’ll see this.
Pour that out into a strainer or colander so the liquid can drain out the bottom.
This is Brady and Katy’s jar both emptied.
Now adding a little salt is optional but I like to.
This is just a little kosher salt that I’m going to stir in.
You will need to add this to taste so start small.
Stir in salt, if adding it.
Spoon butter into small ramekin, cover, and refrigerate.
It will harden as it gets cold.
Enjoy!
Doesn’t this look good? I love it on Saltines!
Making Butter At Home (Fun activity for all ages!)
- Whipping Cream
- Mason Jar
- Salt (optional)
Fill jar 1/2 to 3/4 full with cream. Place lid on tightly. Shake for ten to thirty minutes, or until you hear solids shaking around and can see through the glass that the solids have separated from liquid (read up in post for more details of what the shaking stages will be like). Pour into colander to separate liquid from butter. Place butter in a ramekin or bowl and stir in salt, if desired. Refrigerate until hardened. Enjoy!
Did your Mama have creative ways to keep you busy as a child?
My Mama Reed used to have her grandkids shuck corn and snap beans on the front porch. They loved feeling needed!
I’d love to hear what your parentsand grandparents did in the comments section below!
We had a WONDERFUL time this past weekend when we got our own private tour of a working dairy farm in Alabama.
Stay tuned to my next post for details and photos!
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What you DO speaks loudly, I can’t hear what you say.
~A quote Nick Saban used in his book, How Good Do You Want To Be?
Submitted by JoAnn. We have a great collection of positive and uplifting quotes which I’d love for you to read through and enjoy, or add your own! Submit your quote by clicking here!
Sweet memories of being with Mamma on the back porch using her (crock) churn which I now have. When it was finished it went in the wooden butter molds to shape. No running water or plumbing in her house and a wringer washer was used to do laundry…how spoiled are we.
Oh the things a mom will do to keep kids quiet, if only for a moment. On a rainy day, my mom would sometimes make me —-
Match up all the socks in the house. (My mom would first take all the socks out of their respective dresser drawers, claiming that she was sure they weren’t matched up correctly, and pull them apart. And so for the next hour or so, I matched up socks. )
Sort and organize the pantry. (My mom would explain that she was sure their was a can of peaches, or tomatoes, or whatever else she could think of that she just couldn’t find. Would I be a doll and look for it?! I was born to organize and I found pantry sorting lots of fun. Still do.)
Shell walnuts, peanuts or any other nut on hand. (My mom was truly an incredible baker, but she saved those moments for rainy days. Looking back, I think it was to ensure that we kids had an activity, like shelling nuts, on a rainy day.)
Sort beans. (My mom didn’t like broken or split beans when she made a pot of beans. So once I was a little older she would make me sort the beans. I didn’t get the job when I was very young though, as I once stuffed small northern bean up my brother’s nose. He didn’t complain until the moist environment made it swell about a day later. )
Thanks for the wonderful post Christy. It made me stop and smile.
Don’t throw out the liquid! Drink it! that’s the real old fashioned buttermilk. Yum!
What you buy in the store is cultured buttermilk–made with an active culture, fermented, similar to the way yogurt is made. So it is thicker and tart, not sweet like the liquid left when you make butter from the cream.
Try it! (careful-the kids may fight over who gets to drink it!)
My kid’s will love this, ( i have twins) i’m always looking for ways to keep them busy while i’m busy around the house. Thanks Christy i never knew making butter could be that simple.
Other ways to entertain small children in the summer: have them “paint” the sidewalks or stairs with a bucket of water (magic paint). Once dried,they can give ie a second coat! Also, mixing Kool-aid with a little water makes great “scratch and sniff” paint. Once the masterpieces are completed, have an art show for the neighborhood!
Thanks for the great story! We’ve got 10 grandkids and this’ll keep a few of them busy next time they’re over. And I’ll have fresh butter to boot — YUM! In answer to your question, when my mom needed a break from me she’d pull out the laundry basket, set up the ironing board, plug in the iron and tell me to get busy. My daddy claimed I was the best shirt-ironer in the world so I *loved* to iron. Still do, as a matter of fact!
My daughter’s K-4 class made butter at their Thanksgiving party. They were all so excited to make butter for their rolls.