Learn how to make Homemade Butter 2 different ways in this fun old fashioned activity for kids and adults alike! It’s easy to churn your own butter and make your own buttermilk!
Homemade butter can be made a variety of different ways. A mason jar makes a fun, and accessible activity for people of any age and skill level. All you need is a jar and some heavy cream. For less of an arm workout, you can also use a hand or stand mixer.
JAR SIZE FOR SHAKEN METHOD:
You can use any size of jar you want. Baby food jars are a bit easier for little hands to work with, so consider using them if you are doing this activity with smaller children. The recipe is altered depending on the size of jar you use. You only want to fill the jar half-way with heavy cream. You need space in the jar for the cream to be able to churn into butter.
SALT OPTIONS:
As written, the recipe is for unsalted butter. Want salted butter? Add a bit of salt to the cream before shaking or mixing (up to 1/4 teaspoon salt per 1 cup cream). Once your butter is churned you can also add in herbs, honey, and other flavorings for some gourmet butter options.
HONEY BUTTER:
We know you really came here to make honey butter, so this recipe is just for you. Once your butter is made, you can add honey in a to it in a 2:1 ratio. This recipe should make approximately 1/2 cup of butter, so you will want to add 1/4 cup of honey. Have an insanely sweet tooth? Go ahead and use a 1:1 ratio and add the full 1/2 cup to your 1/2 cup prepared butter.
HOW SHOULD I STORE MY HOMEMADE BUTTER? HOW LONG WILL IT LAST?
The butter will stay good for 3-5 days at room temperature, and about 7-10 days refrigerated. How long it will last depends on the age of your cream and how well you were able to rinse away the buttermilk. The idea behind homemade butter is that it is eaten fresh, within a few days. Store wrapped or in an airtight container. The liquid left over after the butter forms is buttermilk. You can also store this in the fridge for about a week for later use.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup heavy cream 38% fat content
- cold water
INSTRUCTIONS
Mixer Instructions
- Pour cream into the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, or use a mixing bowl and hand mixer. Begin beating the cream on a low speed, and gradually increase the speed as the mixture thickens.
- After several minutes, whipped cream will form. Continue mixing. The whipped cream will start to yellow. After several minutes more the fat solids will separate from the liquids and you’ll see clumps of butter fat quickly form, leaving the sloshing liquid buttermilk in the bottom of the bowl.
Mason Jar Instructions
- Pour heavy cream into the mason jar, filling it half-way full. Do not overfill past the half-way mark. Screw the lid on tightly so there are no leaks.
- Shake mason jar for approximately 5-7 minutes. After a few minutes, whipped cream will form. Keep shaking until you hear that a lump has formed inside, and shake an additional 30-60 seconds after that. You should clearly see that the fat solids have separated from the liquids. The amount of time it takes will depend on how vigorously you are able to shake the jar.
Rinsing, Flavoring, and Storing
- Strain the fat solids from the buttermilk using a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth. You can reserve the buttermilk and save it for later use in recipes.
- Pour cold water over the butter. Discard water and repeat rinsing 2 times more. Shape into a ball or any other shape (you can purchase butter molds for interesting designs).
- At this point you have butter. You can add in things like salt, honey, and herbs to create flavored butters, or serve in its pure form as is.
