Cultured butter
Be the first to rate it
Raw cream soured in the fridge or on the counter, then shaken in a mason jar until it turns into tangy cultured butter.
Ingredients
- Raw cream any quantity (for example a single cup)
- Optional salt/seasonings: garlic powder oregano, mint or thyme, 1⁄4 teaspoon at a time, to taste
- Equipment: quart-sized mason jar; cheesecloth, a clean flour sack towel or a jelly-strainer bag; glass container for the buttermilk; spoon; bowl; cool water
Equipment
- mason jars
- fine sieve
Directions
- Sour the cream: either refrigerate it until it sours on its own (a week or longer), or pour it into a loosely covered mason jar, no more than 3/4 full, and leave it in a warm spot until it smells slightly sour. The more sour it is, the tangier the butter.
- Put on the lid and band and shake hard, slamming the cream against the sides. It should begin to thicken within 5 to 15 minutes.
- When clumps of butter form and pull away from the sides, shake at a steadier pace.
- When almost no liquid is left and the sides are clear, pour it into cheesecloth, a towel, or a bag to drain, catching the buttermilk in a glass container.
- Press the butter with a spoon to squeeze out as much buttermilk as you can. Rinse gently with cool water until the water runs clear.
- Put the butter in a bowl and mix in salt or seasonings to taste, 1⁄4 teaspoon at a time.
- Keep covered in the refrigerator, or freeze.
- Keep the buttermilk in a glass container in the refrigerator for later.
Notes
Safety: this uses raw cream soured at room temperature; raw milk and cream carry a risk of harmful bacteria. Discard cream that smells bad or grows mold. (This is also a shake-in-a-jar method; see Shaken butter in a jar.)