Mmmmm....there is nothing that tastes like freshly made butter. Is there anything better, you ask? Well, yes...there is. Freshly made CULTURED butter. What is cultured butter?
Cultured butter is made from heavy cream that has "cultures" added to it. Those cultures can be from yogurt, creme fraiche, buttermilk, or kefir grains. You add them to the cream and let it sit on your counter for 12-48 hours. The cultures add a delicious tang and depth of flavor to your butter. It tastes so.good.
I used my Kefir grains to culture my cream. Kefir is a drinkable-style yogurt that contains friendly probiotic bacteria that are super good for your digestive system. It is made with milk. The grains look like little pieces of cauliflower in the milk. I strain them out of each batch and re-use them for the next one. They last quite a long time.
To make the butter I used I quart of cream (NOT the ulra-pasteurized kind....raw cream can be used as well.) and my kefir grains. I put the cream in a quart-sized Mason jar and added my kefir grains. Put on the lid and give it a good shake. Let it sit on the counter till thick. I left mine out for about 24 hours. Taste it to see how tangy it is and if you like it. Mine was to my liking @ 24 hours. If you like it a little more tangy, leave it out a few more hours. No more than 36 hrs.
I then strained out my kefir grains and added the cream to my Kitchen-Aid mixer and whipped it until the butter separated from the buttermilk. It took about 5 minutes and it is MESSY! Have a large dish towel ready to cover your mixer....it splashes everywhere! Once it became butter, I drained off the buttermilk ( Save the buttermilk for baking or feeding the chickens...they love it!)and added some COLD water, about 1/4 cup to the mixing bowl and whipped the butter to expel all the buttermilk. If you don't get all of it out, your butter will spoil faster. I did this 3 times until the water was clear after mixing. Drain and then add salt to taste, or leave it out. I added a good pinch to my butter. Store in an airtight container. Use just as you would regular butter!
I paid $9.99 the other day for about 1/2 cup of cultured butter from Vermont! I will never do that again! Try this easy, delicious butter!
