Easy Homemade Butter, Step by Step

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Twelve-year-old Tiffany Martin skims cream from one gallon of fresh milk and places the cream in a container with a tight fitting lid to let it 
Twelve-year-old Tiffany Martin skims cream from one gallon of fresh milk and places the cream in a container with a tight fitting lid to let it "ripen" or become cultured cream. This step is necessary if you want to make cultured butter. 
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The cultured cream (no more than 1/3 of a jarful at a time) is shaken vigorously until Tiffany sees the butter starting to form and separate from the buttermilk. 
The cultured cream (no more than 1/3 of a jarful at a time) is shaken vigorously until Tiffany sees the butter starting to form and separate from the buttermilk. 
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When the butterfat comes out of suspension and you can see butter and buttermilk in the jar, this tells you that it's time to strain the contents of the jar in order to separate the butter from its buttermilk. (Save the delicious homemade cultured buttermilk for baking!) 
When the butterfat comes out of suspension and you can see butter and buttermilk in the jar, this tells you that it's time to strain the contents of the jar in order to separate the butter from its buttermilk. (Save the delicious homemade cultured buttermilk for baking!) 
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Last step: Top-quality cultured butter and cultured buttermilk are ready for the fridge!
Last step: Top-quality cultured butter and cultured buttermilk are ready for the fridge!
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Tiffany then rinses the new butter under cold water until the last traces of buttermilk are washed away.
Tiffany then rinses the new butter under cold water until the last traces of buttermilk are washed away.
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The butter is next
The butter is next "worked" to remove the water, and salt is added, to taste.

Forget about buying an expensive cream separator or butter churn. Forget anything anyone ever told you about butter being hard to make. Because if you want to produce your own flavorful, creamy “high-priced spread” from fresh cow’s milk, you can do it — quickly, easily and without any expensive equipment — in just four easy steps. Here’s how to make butter:

Making Butter Step 1: Skim, Then Culture Cream

Start by pouring one gallon of milk (fresh from the cow) into a clean container. Chill the milk quickly, and keep it in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours. Then skim the cream off the top of the fluid with a spoon. When you begin to see watery skim milk in the spoon, stop skimming.

Next pour the cream into a jar, cap the container tightly and let it sit on the kitchen drainboard for approximately 12 hours (or until the cream is about 75 degrees Fahrenheit and smells slightly sour). This is called ripening or culturing which is developing the acid content of the cream. (Only cultured cream will produce butter with a good “butter flavor.”) Experience will teach you when your cream smells too sour or too ripe and when it’s just perfect. I usually set the cream on the drainboard after breakfast and make butter after supper the same day.

Making Butter Step 2: Shake Cream

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