Making butter

[virgo9]

I've just discovered the joy of butter making. It's so easy and so yum!!! I have read before that someone said that it was best to buy cream close to code. So my question is.... Is it better to freeze the cream and then thaw as I need to make butter? Or is it better to make up as butter and then freeze? Does it make any difference either way it is done? I picked up a few 600ml cartons of cream which are use by tomorrow!

Thanks

[Meagan]

If you have the time would make the butter then freeze 

[andiesenji]

What do you mean by "close to code?"

[gertbysea]

I am sure virgo9 means close to use by date.  I agree and leave it even longer.

Gretch

[virgo9]

Yes, I mean close to use by date - actually it is use by today. I do have time to make butter today, but would rather do other things. Should I freeze the cream, or make it into butter first, then freeze. Gertbysea, how long after it's out of date do you leave it before you use it?

[judydawn]

Andie this excerp will explain the 'use by date' codes on our produce here in Australia.

Most packaged foods have a 'use-by' or 'best before' date stamped on the box, wrapper or bottle. This date gives you an idea of how long the food will last before it loses quality. Foods that should not be consumed after a certain date for health and safety reasons, such as a ready-to-eat chilled lasagne, must have a 'use-by' date. Foods still need to be properly stored to remain fresh and safe.

We also have a 'best before' date on items like canned foods etc which last a lot longer.

[Miranda]

According to what I have read, it is even better to let the cream ripen at room temperature for a day or so –providing you are not in a heatwave somewhere!

[andiesenji]

I leave the cream out at room temp for 24 to 48 hours, depending on the ambient temp - less time during the summer - and I do sometimes use a spoonful of culture from the previous batch (prior to churning) to develop the more complex flavor of cultured butter.

We have the "Sell by" and "Use by" and "Best by"  dates on various food items here also. 
Interestingly with the Organic milk products, the sell by dates are much further away than the standard stuff and the "Lactose free" milk has an even longer shelf and use life.

I have kept heavy cream in the coldest part of the fridge for two months without it turning.  I do have thermometers in different parts of the fridge and that section, for meats and etc., is at 34 degrees F. while the digital setting is 37 degrees.  I have another fridge, that is used just for cheese and produce, that is kept at a higher temp because those items do better at 45 to 50 degrees F. 

[achookwoman]

I would make the butter and freeze it, rather than freeze the cream.  If you don't open the bottle , it will usually keep for well after the use by date.

[andiesenji]

I recall seeing a post (or three) about making the butter with chilled cream. 
I don't.

I use a quart of heavy cream - as soon as I get home from the market I open it and add two or three tablespoons of buttermilk, mix well and leave the cream out on the counter for 24 to 48 hours, less time in the summer when ambient temps are high and longer in the winter as I keep my kitchen at about 65° F (18.33 C.) and check from time to time to determine when the cream has "clabbered" or begun to separate.  The last batch took 63 hours for the cream to reach the desired stage.

I then put the entire room temperature quart into the TM, with the butterfly,  set it for 3 minutes, speed 4 but stopped it at 2:45 as the mass was thumping in the bowl.
I drained off the buttermilk,  added a pint of ice-cold water (not the ice) and ran it for 20 seconds at speed 4, drained off that water and repeated this two more times, adding two teaspoons of salt to the final water bath.

I work the butter on a wood cutting board that has a built-in slant with a depression at the bottom to catch liquids. 

I tried one quart, using chilled cream, and the final yield of butter was measurably less than when I use the clabbered and room temp cream.

On the farm where I grew up the cream reserved for butter was never chilled, it was allowed to "clabber" after it had been through the separator and pasteurizer.   
The cream for table use was chilled and as soon as the thicker cream had risen to the top, some was skimmed off to make clotted cream.