There’s nothing like fresh butter made with high-quality ingredients. It’s so smooth and rich, that straight out of the churn it tastes just like ice cream. It really is that good. Nothing better!
All butter is great, but some butter is truly extraordinary. What gives it superior status? It’s got to be fresh, and it must be from pasture-raised cows. Because butter is a product of cream, the quality of the milk matters. Cows that have been happily munching grass produce richer, sweeter tasting milk and cream—which translates into better butter. If you’ve ever followed a pastured dairy through the seasons, you’ll probably notice a difference in the product: Butter is paler in color and less rich in the winter months, when the cows eat hay (a.k.a. dried grass). Once the fields turn green and the cows get to eat fresh grass, the butter becomes daffodil-yellow and has a vegetal sweetness.
The first thing you’ll need is room-temperature really good quality cream from pasture-raised cows. Being room temperature it will process faster and will be easier to work with.
Once it’s ready, place the cream in the bowl of your food processor, being sure to leave enough room for it to agitate without splashing out the top or sides. Keeping it below the halfway line is a good rule of thumb.
I have a 12-cup food processor at home, and find that a quart of cream is just the right amount.
Make sure that the top is securely locked in place, then let ‘er rip. The cream will whirr around the bowl, thickening and transitioning to whipped cream (feel free to stop the machine at this point and sneak a taste), then “breaking” before finally separating into milk solids and buttermilk. The butter will look like delightful little yellow clouds swimming in a cloudy sea.
The whole process takes five minutes or less with a small batch.
Set a fine mesh sieve over a mixing bowl or glass measuring cup and pour the milk solids and buttermilk into the sieve. The bowl or measuring cup will catch the buttermilk.
Save it and use it for pancakes or scones.
Rinse It Out
To finish the butter, rinse it under cool water, gently moving it around the sieve with a mixing spoon.
You’re rinsing off the residual buttermilk, and this is important because the more thoroughly you rinse, the longer your butter will last. Continue rinsing until the water runs clear, then let the butter drain in the sieve. You can also use a spoon or clean hands to work out any excess liquid, which, if left in, could also turn the butter rancid quicker. Commercially-produced butter is washed with either a chlorinated rinse or lactic acid to help preserve it. That means your homemade batch will never keep as long as the store-bought version, but making sure it’s squeaky-clean helps.
Take It With a Grain (or More) of Salt
If you choose not to salt your butter, know that it will turn faster. (It’s essentially just more concentrated heavy cream. Salt helps preserve it.)
If you are salting, add a little bit at a time and taste as you go. You can always add more, but it’s impossible to fix a too-salty butter.
A fine-grain salt will incorporate into the butter better, but a flaky sea salt will impart intense bursts of salinity. I’m a fan of both; it just depends on my mood.
