Homemade Cultured Butter and Buttermilk

Well butter my buns and call me a biscuit! How have I never made cultured butter before? Not only that but how have I never made good old fashioned buttermilk? I didn’t even know it was possible. OH but it is. So very possible. And so very easy. Just takes a little bit of elbow grease to get it going and then butta-bing (see what I did there?).

You might be wondering what exactly cultured butter is and what is the difference between that and regular butter (or you might not). Cultured butter is made by adding live bacteria to the cream and then letting it culture for about 18-24 hours which will create this slightly tangy and delicious flavor to your butter. It also has a slightly higher fat content and produces more of a silky texture (in the video below I literally cannot stop licking it off my fingers. so good). Cultured butter is more common in Europe, and you can find it in most supermarkets labeled as “european butter”. In the recipe below I added a little bit of kosher salt since I prefer salted butter over unsalted. I have also added honey along with the salt and it makes for the most delicious spread on sliced bread!

This recipe also creates good old fashioned homemade buttermilk that can be used for baking (or drinking alone however it doesn’t really do it for me solo). I used it for my homemade buttermilk loaf bread , but you can also use it in really any baking (pancakes, muffins, breads, cakes, cupcakes, you get the idea).

I decided to show this recipe through a video since I was far too impatient to take the time and stage/take photos with each step. Ain’t nobody got time fo’ that. I also started the video with the cream already cultured. The steps aren’t listed in the video since I’m pretty new to iMovie however it gives you the general idea on how I made it.

I also found this article incredibly helpful on making buttermilk! Check it out. 

Easy Homemade Cultured Butter and Buttermilk

 

Author: Julia

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Good Ol' Fashioned Buttermilk and Homemade Cultured Butter

Ingredients

• 3 cups heavy cream
• ¼ cup plain yogurt (full fat)
• kosher salt (optional)
• honey (optional)
• 6 cups ice water
• 32 oz mason jar with lid
• cheese cloth (you can get this at home depot)

Instructions

1. First take your heavy cream and yogurt and pour into mason jar. Place lid on and give it a couple good shakes. Remove the lid and cover the jar with a dish cloth, store away somewhere warm ( (around 73 degrees or room temperature.... I used my closet).
2. After cream has cultured about 18-24 hours later (you will know by stirring it with a spoon and having a thicker creamy consistency) taste to make sure yours hasn't gone sour! You'll know by the stanky sour smell (so far I have not had this problem, but it IS possible, rare, but possible). Let chill in the fridge for about 45 minutes before churning.
3. Once chilled, pour into stand mixture (I use a splatter guard as that is when you'll know when the butter has separated from buttermilk... you can use anything such as plastic wrap). And begin to whisk on medium speed for the first couple minutes increasing to high once it thickens.
4. You'll do this until the butter looks completely curdled and buttermilk is splattering everywhere (anywhere from 5-10 minutes)
5. Once separated, pour into a bowl over a mesh strainer that is lined with cheese cloth. Pour slowly not to waste any buttermilk and then once the butter falls in, wrap it up good with the cheese cloth and give it some really good squeezes to get all the buttermilk out.
6. Pour buttermilk into a glass jar, or wherever you plan on storing it.
7. Next you'll want to remove all the butter from the cheese cloth (this gets a little messy) and place into a large bowl so you can give it an ice water bath to clean out all of the buttermilk (the more you fold the longer the shelf life the butter will have since you'll be making sure there is no buttermilk left in your actual butter).
8. Pour about a cup of ice water at a time over your butter and fold and discard the cloudy water and then repeat this step about 5-6 times until water is clear
9. Now is the time to add any flavor if you are flavoring (salt, honey, etc). Fold in flavors until it is all mixed in evenly.
10. Place butter on a piece of parchment paper and roll into desired shape. I wanted to use it for baking so I thought it would be easier to mimic a block of butter so I could divide it into tablespoons when needed.

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