Homemade butter

[IndyRob]

My cream has carageenan in it and I haven't had a problem yet using the Kitchen Aid mixer. Although I always culture the cream, and it's already starting out in a thick (and very cold) state.

I've tried yoghurt and buttermilk, but prefer the results from using a basic mesophilic starter culture from cheesemaking.com. Actually, I have higher hopes for their buttermilk culture or Flora Danica (which both appear to be comprised of the same components). But I haven't tried them yet.

Also, the longer you leave the cultured cream in the fridge prior to making the butter, the more pronounced the effect.

[paulraphael]

I've been meaning to do this. I spent some time in a pastry kitchen that made their own butter, and it was probably the best I've tasted. They bought their cream from the local farmer's market (it's a brand you can get in a few places in NYC ... a bit pricey but has much more real dairy flavor than the supermarket brands).

I believe their formula was 2/3 heavy cream and 1/3 creme fraiche. They bought the creme fraiche from the dairy rather than making it themselves.

[andiesenji]

I tried to do this the other day with my daughter. I dropped the cream into my Kitcheaid and turned it on. It never came together. Even after 20 minutes I still had just cream sloshing around in the bowl. I've made butter before and never had this problem.

The only thing I could think of was that maybe the carageenan levels were too high in this particular cream. Any ideas on what may have happened?

Could the cream you got hold of be specially intended for coffee? I've never heard of stabilizers being present in other sorts of cream (I just took a look at the supermarket cream we have in the fridge, and it contains only cream [38% fat]; I always have to be careful to not turn it into butter when I'm whipping it). Although it may not be the only culprit, it seems to me that carageenan would definitely interfere with breaking, since that's part of the reason it's there. Carageenan is also a thickener, which suggest that the fat level is fairly low, making it less than ideal for butter production.

Almost all supermarket heavy cream has carageenan in it where I live. I intentionally looked for cream without it but it was nowhere to be found (even in the "gourmet" stores).

Do you have any wholesale grocers/small restaurant supply that are open to the public? Here in California, Smart & Final sells manufacturing cream, which is where I buy mine.

Trader Joe's house brand heavy cream has no additives. Other California dairy products that are "pure" are Straus Family Creamery carried by Whole Foods.

[Chris Hennes]

The trick is to try to find a cream that is not ultra-pasteurized, but just plain pasteurized. The high-temperature process in the ultrapasteurization destroys some of the components of the cream, so all UP creams I am aware of have added stabilizers to counteract the effect. That said, such a thing does not exist where I live, either. Unless you go direct-from-farm, ultrapasteurization is the only method available here.

[chris-s]

Being based in the UK, I use double cream (50.5% fat). I culture it with a bit of live buttermilk, leave it overnight in a warm place, then return to the fridge to chill.

Into the Magimix with the egg white whipping device and it comes together in around 5 minutes. Pour off the buttermilk (keep for scones or soda bread or the cat)and wash with several changes of cold water in the Magimix.

Drain & work with wooden paddles to remove excess water. This last bit is hard, tedious work but necessary to prolong the shelf life.

Culturing the cream gives a better yield: I got around 50% yield from the last batch I made, which given the cream is 50% fat is about what you'd expect. Without culturing, you get sweet cream butter which is absolutely delicious.

[andiesenji]

I posted in the "What's In Your Cream" topic the link to my blog page where I made butter with regular supermarket heavy cream.

4/21/2011 butter making

It works! And almost as well as with the manufacturing cream.

Edited April 21, 2011 by andiesenji (log)

[chezcherie]

i was surprised when i checked my bottle of Trader Joe's Heavy Cream (pasteurized, but not ultrapasteurized). Contains carrageenan. Still my favorite, but that was surprising.

[Anna N]

There is something very satisfying about making butter! I was gifted 1500ml of organic cream and tonight I turned it into butter in the Thermomix.

[janeer]

Nice!

[glennbech]

There is something very satisfying about making butter! I was gifted 1500ml of organic cream and tonight I turned it into butter in the Thermomix.

Where I live (Norway) it makes absolutely no economic sense to make butter from cream. 1 liter of cream costs about $6-$7. Good quality butter is a lot cheaper to purchase.

Is it the same where you live, or is cream cheaper?

Awsome looking butter by the way. I have made butter from sour cream - for fun, with great results.

[Anna N]

There is something very satisfying about making butter! I was gifted 1500ml of organic cream and tonight I turned it into butter in the Thermomix.

Where I live (Norway) it makes absolutely no economic sense to make butter from cream. 1 liter of cream costs about $6-$7. Good quality butter is a lot cheaper to purchase.

Is it the same where you live, or is cream cheaper?

Awsome looking butter by the way. I have made butter from sour cream - for fun, with great results.

It depends. Butter can vary from about $3/lb on sale to almost $6/lb when not on sale. Organic cream regularly approaches $9-$10 a litre but when it approaches its best before date will frequently be sold at half price. This is the cream one watches for to turn into butter. One can stock up on it, freeze it and turn it into butter at one's leisure.

[Blether]

Here in Tokyo, the cheapest butter I can find is JPY360 - about USD3.50 - for 200g, i.e. about 6.5oz. About USD4.25 a pound ? In regular supermarkets it's typically around JPY400

Litre packs of heavy cream are rare, but I know a shop that has them regularly - they're JPY1,400 / USD13.75 or so.

[Anna N]

Here in Tokyo, the cheapest butter I can find is JPY360 - about USD3.50 - for 200g, i.e. about 6.5oz. About USD4.25 a pound ? In regular supermarkets it's typically around JPY400

Litre packs of heavy cream are rare, but I know a shop that has them regularly - they're JPY1,400 / USD13.75 or so.

Sounds expensive but then things are relative to average income so it may not be out of line. If you judge it expensive then I am inclined to side with you. I know butter and cream are much cheaper in New York state than here in Ontario.

[Blether]

Relative to the cost of living, the butter here is expensive. I looked into it a few years ago - actually read up the customs department's tariff tables - and the levy on butter is over 50%, if I remember right. I dream of ghee(nie).

[glennbech]

What is the approximate butter yield of say 1 liter of heavy cream?

[Mjx]

What is the approximate butter yield of say 1 liter of heavy cream?

Heavy cream is about 37% fat, so you should get that about that percentage of the weight of the litre.

[andiesenji]

I make butter all the time - used to use an electric churn but now use my Thermomix and I have posted my process with photos earlier in this thread.

One quart of heavy cream will yield close to 1 1/2 pound of "sweet cream" butter. If I "culutre" the cream, the yield is somewhat higher - in one instance, using "Manufacturing Cream" one quart yielded more than 1 3/4 pounds of butter.

Buttermaking is easy.

[Blether]

Andie, do you ever do cultured butter ? If one decides to culture the cream first, what can be used as the "starter" in the absence of a previous batch ? Is plain yoghurt good, or does it have to be the buttermilk that I saw specified elsewhere ?

[Shalmanese]

What is the approximate butter yield of say 1 liter of heavy cream?

Heavy cream is about 37% fat, so you should get that about that percentage of the weight of the litre.

But butter is only 80% fat so you should get a 46% yield ideally.

[andiesenji]

Andie, do you ever do cultured butter ? If one decides to culture the cream first, what can be used as the "starter" in the absence of a previous batch ? Is plain yoghurt good, or does it have to be the buttermilk that I saw specified elsewhere ?

I've tried a couple of methods but since I began using this buttermilk culture from New England Cheesemaking, which keeps in the freezer for a very long time - as do the yogurt cultures, which I also use.

I save some of the buttermilk for culturing the next batch as I make butter at least once a week and I have done about 10 repeat cultures before starting a new batch.

I sometimes alternate between regular "sweet cream" butter (no culture) and cultured butter. I put the cultured butter into a rectangular butter container (glass with a top that seals tightly) and the regular butter in one of the round 1 pound molds and in one of my vintage butter dishes with the domed top, so I know the difference without having to taste.

[Mjx]

What is the approximate butter yield of say 1 liter of heavy cream?

Heavy cream is about 37% fat, so you should get that about that percentage of the weight of the litre.

But butter is only 80% fat so you should get a 46% yield ideally.

Good point, and the yield might be even [slightly] higher, since I've noticed some butters have as little as 75% fat.

[dcarch]

I bought some heavy cream. Was intending to make butter, but ended up making clotted cream instead. Very nice, but not much yield.

dcarch

[andiesenji]

I bought some heavy cream. Was intending to make butter, but ended up making clotted cream instead. Very nice, but not much yield.

dcarch

At one time I made clotted cream about once a month but it was a long, tedious process and while I made larger batches, the end result was always much less than I anticipated, even when I used extra heavy cream (Manufacturers Cream).

So I did some experimenting and found that using a special yogurt culture with the heavy cream produced a dense, thick result which was much "sweeter" than yogurt made with regular milk. My guests also liked it much better than the traditional CC when spread on scones or bread with fresh fruit. One said "it's not as cloying" as the clotted cream I had served in the past.

I use the yogurt cultures from New England Cheesemaking supply - and for this use the "sweeter" one, the "Y-5" culture. They offer a "variety pack" that includes 5 packets of this one. If you decide to try this - incubate the culture for 18 to 24 hours - at about 85 degrees. I have found that gives the best flavor and consistency.

I love dairy, have for my entire life, and have done a lot of experimenting with various dairy products, especially since the industry began adding all the unpronounceable chemicals to various products. So I make my own cottage cheese, cream cheese, ricotta, mozzarella, sour cream, yogurt and tried my hand at "aged" cheeses when I still had live-in help for assistance with the heavier tasks. (I sold my cheese press a couple of years ago because it was too heavy for me to handle.)