Butter Making

[wheels]

Sorry No, I've never made it that way. I just add a pinch of salt and sugar and whisk in my Kenwood mixer. The old lady I saw doing the recipe (in a programme about Chatsworth) did this with an electric hand whisk.

I suggest, unless someone with experience of a churn can advise, that you churn the older cream but have an electric whisk/Kenwood mixer on standby to rescue it if it doesn't work!

Good Luck

Phil

[realcoolchris]

I got 2 litres of double cream from Costco at 1.79 each

They made a kilo of butter.

I use my Magimix with the egg beater attachment and did this lot in 3 batches. I keep the cream cold.

I washed it well and bashed it about with the scotch hands (AKA butter pats) for a good while (maybe 15 min) and then wrapped it: froze some and kept the other for immediate use.

But when I come to use it, I get a small amount of water come out of it: not a lot but it's annoying. So what's the best way to remove the water?

Previoulsy I let the cream get to room temperature and on a hot day, I found it almost impossible to remove the water- the fat and water seemed to emulsify. When the butter came from the fridge it had a crumbly texture, because of the water in it.

In the past I've ripened the cream with a few teaspoons of cultured buttermilk from the supermarket: left in a warm room for 12 hours it thickens and gives a good yield when you turn it into butter.

I like the sweet cream butter unsalted: I think butter from ripened cream might be better salted but obviously it's a personal choice.

[jillsouthern]

Hi JohnB,
I have bought one of the glass butter jars with churning handle on top. I've tried cream and Jersey milk at all temperatures and sell by dates and just can't seem to make butter!! I really want to do it by hand rather than resort to an electric blender.
Can you (or anyone) out there PLEASE offer any advice. I have had whipped cream, creamy cream but never any mix where any buttermilk separates so clearly I'm doing something wrong.
Yours gratefully,
Jill

[wheels]

realcoolchris and Jill

I'm not the best person to answer this - others have far more experience than I do when it comes to butter making. However, in the absence of other replies I'll wade in with my thoughts.

Chris - it seems that your method of extracting the water is spot on - that's what I do (but without the luxury of butter pats). You have also found that the butter needs to be cool - I use ice cold water to wash it in. If what you are storing in the fridge (from a batch) is OK and only the frozen from the same batch isn't, it would appear to be solely related to freezing the butter. Is the butter OK, apart from the liquid? If so, I guess the only answer is to dry it well before use.

Thanks for the info about ripening the cream - I've been meaning to try this for some time.

Jill - from you description it sounds as if it has just not been churned enough.

The stages the cream goes through are hard to describe but first it thickens and then it looks whipped, it then sort of curdles and goes sort of creamy yellow and stiffer, you keep beating and all of a sudden it separates into butter and buttermilk. It does it in the blink of an eye and the change is unmistakable. The time it takes varies according to temperature, age of cream etc and sometimes even in the Kenwood it seems to take forever.

If I was doing it by hand I think I'd con the kids into believing it was a magic trick - so that they would do the hard work for me!

I hope this helps

Phil

[jillsouthern]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your posting.
I did wonder whether I wasn't churning it for long enough however once it gets to the whippy cream/creamy cream stage the paddles in the churn rotate and create a "hole" in the mix, but as the glass jar is square the result is that the stuff in the corners doesn't get mixed in!!! Is this normal and do I just have to keep taking the paddles out and spooning the corners into the centre, so to speak?

Regards,
Jill

[jillsouthern]

Hi,

Ooops, Apologies Phil, slightly misread you posting to both of us!!

Regards,
Jill

[jenny_haddow]

I would say keep paddling. I find once it begins to separate it all evens out.

HTH

Jen

[wheels]

A square jar with beaters that go in a circle sounds daft to me!

How can it beat the stiff cream? The cream will inevitably end up in the corners - is there any chance of changing the jar for a round one?

[jenny_haddow]

Jill

Have a look on You tube for Lehman's butter churn demo. Its a square churn with a happy looking female operating it. You might get a few pointers.

Jen

[wheels]

Link to the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72FKnwmncpQ

[jenny_haddow]

Thanks Phil. I'm hopeless at the techi stuff.

Cheers

Jen

[jillsouthern]

Thanks guys and girls, I'll have a go when my cream is past it's sell by date!
Regards,
Jill

[jillsouthern]

Hi Phil,
Have now managed to make two batches however no matter how much I rinse it and sieve it and bash it with my pats it still seems very soft and so it's difficult to get all the water out of it. Also it's very pale yellow - I'm using Asda Double Cream. Any suggestions please?
Many thanks,
Jill

[wheels]

Jill

Mine also turns out very pale. I don't mind this as I love the pale, creamy Normandy type butters.

As to the problem of it being soft: is this after it's been in the fridge? If so, I'm at a loss as to why this is; I wish mine was softer so that it would spread straight from the fridge.

Maybe Jenny will have an answer to this one.

Phil

[jillsouthern]

Hi Phil,
Thanks for your reply.
My butter is very soft as I'm working it. It still has water "seeping" out but it doesn't go as firm (and therefore as easy to bash the water out) as that I saw being made at Shughborough working estate demonstration.
Would it help to put it in the fridge for a bit and bash it again do you think? That which the lady made at Shughborough was quite firm as she used the "pats" to get the rest of the moisture out and mix it with salt.
Regards,
Jill