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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => FRESH CHURNED - Butter & Ghee => Topic started by: Jessica_H on January 01, 2011, 05:29:39 PM
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Hello,
I'm trying to find an actual step by step recipe for butter. I'm kind of gathering from reading here that I just mix my cream? And maybe it should sit out first?
I have cream I've skimmed off 1.5 gallons of raw milk and I do have a kitchen aid mixer...which I'm gathering can be used?
Thanks!!
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We ended up using a hand mixer instead of our kitchen aid, which didn't seem to do as good a job. Took a long time to get to butter. I'm wondering how well we actually did cuz it was a lot of work for very little pay off. We continue to buy our butter.
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I tried my Kitchenaid, but after an hour and a half it was still just foamy cream. I now use my food processor with the knife blade. As my cow is very early in her lactation, the cream is turning in about 60 seconds. Amazing.
I've been culturing about a gallon of cream with a cup of cultured buttermilk (started out with storebought, but now use buttermilk from previous butter batches) and leaving it sit out for 1-4 days. I now get about 3 lbs of butter from a gallon of cream, in comparison with 2 lbs from sweet cream.
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Thanks for the tip MrsKK. I don't have one at home, but can try the one at work. We didn't culture ours before, just used raw cream, do you think that would make a difference quantity wise (will culture help more solids to form)?
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I'm not sure why, but the yield is definitely higher with the cultured cream vs sweet.
Before I discovered that the food processor worked well, I just used a gallon plastic jar that had a handle on it to shake up the cream. It works, but it is a lot of work.
One interesting thing I have noticed: Most people say that cultured butter is harder and not as spreadable at room temperature as sweet cream butter. I believe they are using a purchased, powdered culture though. I use cultured buttermilk and have found that my cultured butter is softer and more spreadable than my sweet cream butter ever was. It also keeps much longer.
It is important to get all of the buttermilk washed out of the butter and also to make sure as much of the water is out as possible once the butter is fully washed (the wash water should be clear). I knead the mass of butter in my hands, holding above a black bowl so that I can see if the water is clear or not. By kneading it in my hands and giving it a shake now and again, it gets more of the water out, too.
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I've been culturing about a gallon of cream with a cup of cultured buttermilk (started out with storebought, but now use buttermilk from previous butter batches) and leaving it sit out for 1-4 days. I now get about 3 lbs of butter from a gallon of cream, in comparison with 2 lbs from sweet cream.
Hmmm I wander if this isn't due to some acid coagulation. Certainly 1 - 4 days is plenty of time for that to happen. Let's see what the experts have to say about this.
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Sucess!
I can't believe it worked :) I was quite doubtful. I couldn't figure out how beating cream would turn it to butter. I used the kitchen aid and it took about 30 minutes. I let the cream sit out for about 3 hours before I turned the kitchen aid on.
(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_-iAX3lPJhow/TSPnvfRYc_I/AAAAAAAAKQo/1bP-f_iWsCA/s576/IMG_1385.JPG)
This is from about half a gallon of cream
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_-iAX3lPJhow/TSPnvgI2JdI/AAAAAAAAKQs/qBOH-HwAHIE/s576/IMG_1386.JPG)
I've been culturing about a gallon of cream with a cup of cultured buttermilk (started out with storebought, but now use buttermilk from previous butter batches)
I'd like to try this. I have buttermilk from the butter I just made. How do I culture it?
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Sucess!
Congrats Jess. Great Job.
I'd like to try this. I have buttermilk from the butter I just made. How do I culture it?
See if this thread clears things up
Cultured Butter Thread (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,3905.0.html)
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That was a great thread! But I'm still not sure how to turn my buttermilk into a culture...
And then what's the rule of thumb for adding a buttermilk culture to butter? I'm used to following a recipe...1 packet to 2 gallons (or something like that).
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Jessica, buttermilk IS a bulk starter. It has bacteria in it.
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Jessica, buttermilk IS a bulk starter. It has bacteria in it.
Really??? Oh shoot...more reading for me tonight :o
One day I'll figure this all out. So then do I just add some buttermilk to my cream and that makes it "cultured cream"? How much?
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I use about 1 Tbls/qt of cream. I leave it out, to culture, for 24 hours, then refrigerate it for a day or two before making the butter. If I bring it out to sit on the counter for an hour or so, I can make butter in my food processor in about 1-2 minutes.
I also use the buttermilk as a meso starter for some cheeses, like camembert, at the rate of 1/3cup per gallon of milk.
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I started out my first batch with store-bought cultured buttermilk. For batches since that first one, I've been taking from my own buttermilk. I also use that as a mesophilic culture for cheesemaking purposes.
I have tried allowing buttermilk from sweet cream butter making to culture/clabber naturally, but got off flavors, so I gave up on that. It is still good for baking purposes, though.
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Homemade buttermilk is only bulk starter if you started with cultured cream before churning. If you started with sweet (fresh) cream, your buttermilk is just skimmed milk.
I used to make butter in the food processor all the time but could only do 1 quart at a time. Here's a tutorial I did a few years ago:
http://solarfamilyfarm.com/?p=27 (http://solarfamilyfarm.com/?p=27)
Since then, I've gone to churning 1+ gallon at a time in my Kitchen Aid using the whisk attachment & a splash guard. If you use the beater attachment it doesn't work very well. If my cream is too cold, it can take a long time to churn. If warm enough, it only takes 10 minutes or so. DO NOT walk away from the mixer......when that butter breaks, you'll have buttermilk all over the place! I've also refined/simplified my washing & working processes.
In the wintertime, it is important to have your cream on the warmer side (68-72) or it takes a very long time to churn. If your house is cool, leaving the cream at room temp may be too cool.
Also, the yield on butter depends on the % fat in your cream. If you are home and have no way to officially measure this, that is fine. The longer your cream sits on the milk, the thicker it will be come (i.e. the more fat). I will often skim only the thickest top cream (perhaps an inch or two) and save that for butter and use the part skim for cheesemaking. That super thick top cream is highest in fat and gives a much larger yield. If you are milking today and skimming tomorrow, your cream will not have had a lot of time to rise and therefore will not be so thick (not have as high a fat content). You will not yield as much butter with this procedure.
Does this make sense to anyone or am I rambling too much. I've been super busy and have barely had time to scan the forum, let alone this post!!
Kristin
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Thanks Kristin,
Enjoyed reading info from your link (http://your link) The photos help alot.
I too use my Kitchen Aid with the whisk attachment and find it works well. About 15 min and I have butter. Your right about the splash guard. Been there done that (what a mess) ;D
Kudos to all who have contributed to this thread.
Regards: john
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Can I make butter with raw goat's milk? Judy
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Judy, in a manner of speaking, yes, but to be precice,you have to separate out the cream which is what you'll use to make the butter.
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Actually, it is traditional to make butter with WHOLE goats milk that has been fermented (soured) and is warm. I've got an older National Geographic that talks about this being done by some folks in the Himalayas. Unfortunately, most people don't care for the flavor of this sort of butter. But it is possible!
Kristin
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Traditional, it's all relative. We don't have that tradition in America.
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Hi All,
I've been following this thread and a couple others on butter making. I did a modified version of what has been posted with great results.
9:30 PM - Saturday evening stir in 100ml store bought buttermilk into 6 qt Raw Cream skimmed before making two Tomme. Let sit out overnight at room temp. ( 65F )
10:00 Am Sunday morning - moved cream to a cool location - Temp 36F
Monday left in cold area - Temp 36F
12:30 PM - Tuesday placed pot containing cultured cream in sink water bath raised milk temp to 68F
Placed 1/3 milk in KitchenAid mixer / splash guard & mixed on Speed 4 (aprox 3-4 min) then speed 8 (aprox 2 min) until butter separated. Whisk attachment.
Drained butter and Buttermilk in a cloth lined colander set in a bowl to catch buttermilk. Same Process for two more batches.
Placed Ice cubes in a mason jar filled with cold tap water. Placed butter back into KitchenAid mixing bowl. Replaced Whisk attachment with standard mixer attachment.
Start mixer at low speed -- add in aprox 2/3 cup Iced Water.
Repeated until water ran clear ( four times draining and adding fresh Iced Water)
Mixed in 1 tsp flake salt.
Butter by this time has become firm and needs to be pressed into containers with rubber spatula.
Yields: from 6 qt cream
2 pounds butter
3 qt. Buttermilk
Using the standard mixer attachment and Iced Water eliminated the need to do a lot of hand work finishing off the butter.
Thanks to all who contributed to this thread. I learned form your post. and now have a simple method for making cultured butter or Sweet butter.
Regards: john
Addendum: I've found that although the above method is very efficient at washing butter fat from freshly make butter, it does leave a certain amount of water droplets mixed in with the butter itself. I would welcome comments from others as to what method can be used to press out these residual droplets of water.