My husband is a Doukhobor, which means (among other things) that butter is very important. It’s something that his mother makes regularly, as though whipping up a batch of cultured butter were just as simple as going for a walk or breathing.

So of course I had to try it. Though I will admit to being daunted by my lack of a churn, butter press and all the rest those museum pieces, it turns out that making butter is kids stuff. It was really that easy and fun! So next time you you have expiring whipping cream in your fridge, don’t pour it down the drain… churn it into butter! Cultured butter is divine when compared to your typical store-bought variety, so rich and flavourful. It truly makes my toast happy.

Cultured Butter

Making cultured butter is really easy and fun, and the taste is divine when compared to your typical store-bought variety. It truly makes my toast happy.

Author: Emillie
Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 15 mins
Yield: 1 cup 1x
Method: Fermented

Scale

Ingredients

2 cups whipping cream
Culture (see notes)
Salt to taste (non-iodized, scant 1/4 tsp)

Instructions

Culture the cream for at least 12 hours in a one quart jar.
After the cream is cultured, whip it up. This can be done with a hand mixer, but it’s actually easier to control if you do it by shaking the jar vigorously for about 5-10 minutes.
Keep shaking/whipping until the butter fat separates from the buttermilk.
Once the buttermilk has separated and the butter has formed into a ball, pour off the buttermilk (and reserve for baking/culturing).
You want to extract all the buttermilk possible to prevent the butter from going off. So massage the butter with a spoon. Pour over cold water to rinse away the whey. Massage again, and keep massaging and draining off the whey in the cold water until the water runs clear (because all the whey has drained off).
Add the salt. Mix it in with the spoon, and put butter in to a storage container. If you aren’t salting the butter, store it in the fridge. Otherwise it can stay on the counter for up to a week.

Notes

Mesophillic cultures work best (kefir, sour cream, buttermilk) but you could use yogurt. Unpasturized cream should naturally ferment without any additional culture.
Feel free to add in any additional flavours during the salting stage. I like 2 cloves garlic and 1/2 cup finely diced herbs for a savoury flavour. Add 1/4 cup honey with 2 tsp cinnamon for something sweet.
Store flavoured butters in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer if you aren’t going to use it up right away.

Keywords: homemade, diy, traditional, kid-friendly, fun

Here is butter when it’s at the whipped stage. Keep shaking even though it doesn’t feel like you’re doing anything at all.