Confession: I've been making butter in mason jars.
Who does that, right? Me!
I've kept this secret for a few weeks. I can't stop making small batches of butter. Cinnamon sugar, salted, unsalted, strawberry, and honey butter. Each ball of butter more delicious than the last. I'm sick. I know.
The obsession started when I read one of Meagan's blog posts which linked to a how to make butter at home tutorial (that is now missing). I *had* to try it. No way could it be this easy. WHY am I just finding this out now? Who conspired to keep this tidbit away from me? A pox on thee. Jerk.
I cook often and wish I could share my creations on my blog more often but if you haven't noticed my food photography is horrendous. Improving is a goal of mine but I can only do so much in a day and when I've got a hungry family to feed pulling out my camera is far from my mind.
BUT I do have time to stand in my kitchen like a deranged butter addicted lunatic shaking a mason jar like there's no tomorrow. The kids don't interrupt out of sheer fear I suspect (what on earth is mom doing?) and I get a decent work out at the same time (wear a sports bra).
Start with some room temperature heavy cream. I like to use local cream when possible. In Vermont we would buy it in the prettiest and chubbiest glass bottles.
The cream thickens fairly quickly.
Boom. Whipped cream.
Oh, I've also been making whipped cream this way. *Insert shameful looking emoticon* You can judge me but I've lost five pounds this month so I'm not doing too shabby.
Maybe eating large amounts of homemade whipped cream and butter IS good for me.
Shake it like a Polaroid picture ladies. Shake until you feel completely ridiculous. Open the lid. Your cream is whipping. Whipping good (let's see how many cheesy song references I can make).
This is not a pretty picture but I wanted you to see what the mixture looks like when the butter forms.
Separate the butter from the buttermilk. Save your buttermilk for future use. I saved mine in a jar for pancakes. It kept for a little over a week.
Carefully rinse the milk solids from your butter ball under cold water until there is no milky reside left.
How pretty is that? Well, It'd be prettier if I wasn't awful at this food photography thing but you get the idea.
Mix in some salt. Or not. Or mix in some cinnamon and brown sugar. Maybe some vanilla beans? Or some garlic and dill for a steak butter? The possibilities are endless.
Form your butter into a ball or log then cover in plastic wrap. I think it keeps for a week or two but can't tell you for sure because it gets consumed pretty much immediately.