Grab Your Bonnet and Churn...& Don't Forget the Cream, Of Course!

Butter! It's ok for you to eat butter. Yes, I said that, and I am a health professional and passionate healthy-eater, so I've got some validity to my statement. Put your Crisco and margarine down (or into the trash) and eat some REAL BUTTER!

Now, ladies...we no longer have to actually wear a bonnet and apron and sit on the front porch churning butter in the summer heat. You probably have already figured this, however, I think there is a similar visual in our minds at the thought of making our own butter. I recommend before you traipse through the cold grocery store aisle and grab a case of butter off the shelf that you learn WHY homemade butter is worth the work of your hands :).

Do You Use Raw Cream or Grass-fed Organic Cream that is Pasteurized?

Either one is great for making homemade butter! These two options provide great nutrition for you and your family and are probably more cost-effective than buying them at this high quality (I recommend doing the math based on your budget and local availability). Currently, I am learning about raw milk (which is what I'm using to make raw butter with) and why in the world we would consume raw. I'm sold. Once again, farm is better :). Read here for even more intriguing information on raw milk and your health.

The reason organic grass-fed milk (or cream or butter) is another important healthy option is, like raw dairy, also because of the nutrition that it provides. While we don't get the good bacteria and naturally-occurring enzymes for digestion (which can solve some of your 'lactose intolerance') like we do with raw, we get vitamin K and Omega-3!!!

Here is the Method I Followed For Making Butter, Step-by-Step:

Take your cream (that you purchased or extracted from your own milk) and pour it into a deep bowl. Place your mixer in the bowl (a mixer or food processor that you can walk away from is handy if you want to do something else while the cream gets whipped) and blend on high for quite awhile - anywhere from 5-10 minutes or so. You will see the buttermilk start to separate from the cream, which is now looking like butter.

Next you need to wash your butter mixture with some ice cold water. Pour the water (no ice) into the bowl and mix for another few minutes on high. Now, place a big piece of cheesecloth over another somewhat deep bowl that preferably has a lid (for later) and strain your butter/buttermilk mixture through this cheesecloth with a spatula. Get all of that precious butter out of that deep bowl! Now you will have your butter separated from you buttermilk in different containers. This is why you might just want to put a lid right onto your bowl with buttermilk so that you can put it straight into the refrigerator. This is what your butter and buttermilk will look like...

Voila! Butter. Now place your butter in a container and place it in the refrigerator. You now have fresh buttermilk and butter - I'm seeing a really good reason to make homemade buttermilk pancakes slathered in butter! Enjoy....I know your body will :)