How to Make Butter at Home

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Istock/Linda & Colin McKie
We all know and love real butter, but did you know this familiar food is easy to make at home?

Bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver frequently writes about food, and in her essay Lily’s Chickens she writes that she has become captivated by the alchemy of making butter and cheese. But while cheese is an art, Kingsolver writes, butter is a sport.

It’s hard to disagree. Not only does making butter involve a certain amount of physical effort (unless you use a blender) but the whole process is pretty straightforward. In fact, because making butter is so simple, it makes a great project for kids ? or adults. It’s a fast and easy process that lets you see for yourself where this basic and familiar food comes from.

The Basic Process

To make butter, first start with a simple ingredient, heavy cream. You can buy whipping cream at the grocery store, although if you live in a part of the country where you can get fresh cream from a dairy, so much the better.

Next, stir up the cream so that the butterfat globules begin to separate from the liquid. One of the simplest ways to do this is to get a canning jar with a sturdy lid and fill it about one-third full of cream. Then simply shake the jar until you feel and see the butter separate. When that happens, there’s a sudden and noticeable difference in the consistency. That’s the time to stop shaking.

  • Published on Sep 11, 2007
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