Homemade Butter

This process is incredibly easy.. and so neat!  It is like a science experiment.  You simply whip cream so long and fast until the solids separate from the buttermilk.  It takes about 15 minutes and a standing or handheld mixer.  

I will show you the process in pictures because the cream goes through multiple stages before it becomes butter.  Be patient and keep a close eye on it.  I've read that the fresher the cream, the better.  In the summer, I like to go to local farms and get farm fresh eggs.  From now on, I will be getting some fresh cream as well!  

Just two ingredients, heavy cream and salt.  

Pout the cream into the mixer and slowly increase speed to high.  At this point, it is like a sift whipped cream.  

Now a stiff whipped cream.  

It just keeps getting thicker. 

Now it is starting to resemble butter.  At this point, turn you mixer down because you don't want the buttermilk to splash everywhere.  

Keep going and the butter will start to separate even more.  

Isn't that cool!  Once the butter pulls away and forms a ball, it is ready to be strained.  

Take the butter and strain any buttermilk through a fine mesh sieve. Cheese cloth would work even better but I didn't have any.  This is an important step as it will last longer if you remove any excess buttermilk.    

After all of the liquid is removed, add salt and form into a ball.  At this point you can even add other ingredients to make flavored butter.  Roasted garlic, lemon zest, thyme, cinnamon, honey, strawberry... the list goes on and on...