A Guide To Homemade Butter | Kilner® (2024)

FAQs

Is homemade butter worth the effort? ›

The texture of homemade butter is softer, creamier, and fluffier than regular stick butter. The flavor of the plain butter differs on the type of heavy cream you use.

How long does homemade butter last? Homemade butter has a shelf life of up to 2 – 3 weeks when kept in the fridge. You can also keep your homemade butter in the freezer for up to 9 months.

Jersey cream makes churning faster, due to larger butterfat globules. Just using run of the mill cream from the store probably means that you are starting off with better ingredients than the average butter. But if you can find non-ultra heat treated cream from pastured cows, that will vastly improve the flavor.

Always buy heavy cream or whipping cream for churning butter. Any brand will do. You need the higher fat content. Heavy cream is approximately 40% butterfat and 60% milk solids and water.

Butter isn't that expensive — it's about $3 per pound at the wholesale level. Cream costs roughly $3.50 for 16 ounces, or less if you buy a larger carton. That means the price of making your own butter isn't much more than buying it in the store, and often you can get organic cream cheaper than organic butter.

Any sour or off-putting smell means it's a goner. Same goes for taste: If it tastes sour or off, toss it out. 5 And don't worry, a small taste of rancid butter won't hurt you. Of course any visible mold, discoloration, and changes in texture are visible cues that it's time to throw the butter in the trash.

“Any conditions which tend to harden the butter-fat will require a comparatively high churning temperature; and any conditions tending to soften the butter-fat will require a lowering of the churning temperature.” In summer, I can pull the cream straight out of the fridge (at 40°F) to churn.

Excessive churning after the butter has separated will make it greasy and hard to shape. Too little churning will cause the butter spoil quickly due the trapped buttermilk it still contains.

With all of the health benefits of butter, why not run to the store and gather up a box of wholesome sticks of the stuff right now? Not so fast. Unlike the real, raw, organic, deep yellow, grass-fed butter enjoyed traditionally, most commercial butter is mass-produced from pasteurized and hom*ogenized milk.

Early butter was made by leaving a covered bucket of fresh milk in a cool place like a barn or cellar. The cream naturally separates from the milk rising to the top and is then skimmed off and stored. After a few days enough cream is on hand to make a batch of butter.

Why do you rinse homemade butter? ›

Once the butter and buttermilk are separated, rinse the butter in cold water until the water runs clean. The more buttermilk you wash out, the longer it'll stay fresh; even so, homemade butter will have a shorter shelf life than store-bought — think weeks rather than months.

It's really easy to make your own. You will need a large container (churn, crock, jar, etc.), a cup of buttermilk (which acts as a starter), and a gallon of whole milk.

To make butter from raw milk, separate the cream from the raw milk, then skim the cream off the top and pour it into a glass jar. Let the cream sit out for 5 to 12 hours so it can ripen. Next, agitate the cream until the butter solids separate, pour off the buttermilk, and wrap the butter solids in cheesecloth.