How to Make Butter

Every so often, Bo and I like to do the same thing on the same day and then compare our results.

Today, we decided to try making our own butter. So here's my butter page.

All you really need to make butter is a pint of heavy cream. I also added some flaked salt to mine, and I decided I wanted to add a little vanilla extract.

First, pour your heavy cream into a clean jar suitable for shaking. I used a quart mason jar because it's what I had.

The cream was almost impossible to open without tearing it to pieces. I ended up having to cut it open with a knife.

Next I added a pinch of flaked salt. This is just because I didn't want my butter to be so sweet.

I then added a drop of vanilla extract. I didn't want the vanilla to be overpowering, but as it turns out, this wasn't really enough to know it was there.

Now put your lid on really tight. You don't want anything leaking while you shake it.

Now shake it like crazy.

You'll get tired of this, and will probably think that something's wrong, but keep at it.

Eventually, after years of shaking, the cream will change into whipped cream.

But we're not done, so shake it some more.

Soon, the whipped cream will start solidifying.

This means we're getting close.

Keep shaking.

Finally, and suddenly, the cream will separate into butter and buttermilk.

Here's a different view.

Pour off the buttermilk, then close the jar and shake it for a few more minutes to get more milk out.

Here's the buttermilk that I got from my pint of cream.

Here's the butter in the jar after getting just about all the milk out of it.

And here's the butter next to a deceptively large spoon.

After all that work, here's what we're left with.
Now put it in the refrigerator to chill.

This is a really interesting process, and I recommend that everyone try it at least once.
It's also somewhat gratifying to make your own butter.