Now wait, don't think I've gone all super-mum on you.
I don't make our own butter every week. Or even once a month. Just occasionally, as a treat.
It is so much easier to make than you might think, and a great way to use up any cream that you have in which might be on the turn.
If I ever see cream in the reduced section of the supermarket, as it is going out of date, then I will buy it for butter. As a bonus, you also get the Buttermilk from it. Perfect for making up a wee batch of scones to partner with your butter.
You will need double cream for this, which I think is known as heavy cream in the US? The quantity doesn't matter.
OK, let's get started.
~Pour your cream into a free-standing mixer. The free-standing part is not essential but it will save your arms! This also works best if you have a 'K-beater' but I'm pretty sure it would still work with a normal beater.
~Start mixing your cream, like though you were just whipping it up as normal.
~The difference is that you keep on beating it after it reaches that lovely thickness that would be so nice with strawberries. This is where it starts to feel wrong - all those years of trying not to over-beat your cream! It starts to look thicker and almost grainier.
~Keep on beating and beating and then suddenly the magic happens. It splits into two parts, the butter and the buttermilk.
~Just a bit more beating now, until the butter has all come together in a smooth lump.
~Now you need to pour the buttermilk into a separate dish/bowl/jug to use for something else. Put the butter into a clean bowl.
~Because there will still be a little bit of buttermilk left in the butter, which will cause your butter to go rancid, you now need to wash it out. All you have to do is pour on some clean, cold water and squeeze the butter with your hands. You should see some more of the white buttermilk coming out.
~Tip out the 'dirty' water then pour over some more clean stuff. You should do this a few times, maybe about 5 or so, until you can see the liquid is clearer.
~Add a sprinkling of salt, if you like, and shape your butter to how you want it.
~You should store it in the fridge, but take it out for a while before serving, to make spreading a bit easier!
Don't give any thought whatsoever to the fat content!
Although, in my opinion, it's so pure, and you know exactly what you are eating, unlike margarines with their di-whatevers and everything else in them!
And don't forget to make the scones.
