How to make your own Butter.
How to make your own Butter. (and Buttermilk for baking)
INGREDIENTS
1 pint of Double Cream
1 large bowl of iced water
Salt to taste (optional)
Electric stand mix, or electric hand whisk. (if you are using electric hand whisk, let it cool down half way through the 10 minutes or you may burn the motor out) LOL.
METHOD
Pour the cream into your stand mixer and start it off on low then set it to medium speed. If using an electric whisk, do the same but half way through, let the whisk cool down for a moment before commencing again.
Start whisking the cream until you see first soft peaks, then stiff peaks, until you see it turning solidified and separating from pure Buttermilk. Once you reach this stage - betweebn 5 to 10 minutes, pour the buttermilk that has been separated into a jug and save it for baking. (worth it’s weight in gold because I keep ordering it and it’s never available)
Now, it’s entirely up to you, you now need to get rid of any remaining buttermilk remaining in the butter because it will turn rancid if left. The recipe says iced water but thinking Nana never had iced water, I personally ran the kitchen cold water tap into the bowl of butter, swished the butter around, tipped the liquid out into the sink through a strainer. I did this about 4 times until the water being sieved away into the sink ran nice and clear. (very important that the water runs clear).
Now just grab that butter and squeeze out any surplus water and shape it into a nice square or round shape and put it into your butter dish. You can even freeze it and use it as and when. It tastes divine on toast, muffins, scones or fruit soda bread with a dollop of strawberry jam. Yum.
**********************************
Enjoy!