Help with butter making please

[ElleG]

Hello, I bought 2 litres of jersey cream to make butter, cream fraiche and yogurt.

I made some butter this morning, cream was fresh and seperated after about one minute. No problems. I left 500mls in a container on the bench to culture (sour) then tried to make butter this afternoon. After 14 mins the mixture slightly thickened, no clumping! I've put it in the fridge to chill overnight and I plan to try again tomorrow.

 Has anyone else successfully made cultured cream? Any hints I should be aware off? The taste is good, colour is yellowish.  I have never made cream before, so was chuffed this morning, deflated tonight! I would appreciate any assistance.

Many thanks
Elle

[Aussie Brenda]

Hi Elle, I have never made cultured cream or butter, but on looking at recipes to sour the cream you add 1/4 cup of buttermilk from the butter making to 1 cup of heavy cream and leave overnight to culture, I don't think you would leave in on the bench, but not sure it isn't stated but does say it will thicken, was yours thick before you started.  Someone will have a answer for you. I was really thrilled with my butter making I have about 10 small containers in the freezer, I do put some oil in mine at the end so it is easy to spread from the fridge.

[ElleG]

Thanks Brenda, for the input. I am following Sally Fallon in Nourishing Traditions - felt very brave leaving the cream on the bench all day! I am just starting to experiment with fermenting. So I was disappointed the butter didn't work 

The recipe you have read for cultured butter is very similar to the creme fraiche in the book. She makes the creme fraiche by adding buttermilk to the cream and leave for 24hrs on the bench, chill and then it is ready to use. So thats what I have done. Fingers crossed.

[ElleG]

Oops, meant to say it had thickened, had to scrape out where it had set on the edges.
thanks

[achookwoman]

ElleG,  are you using cultured Buttermilk?   Not the stuff left from the butter making.  I think Thermomixer has some info on his Blog.

[Aussie Brenda]

Next time I make butter I'm going to give this a try too, let us know how this batch turns out. Thanks.  I love the way we all learn something new everyday.

[ElleG]

No, Achookwoman,  I just used the buttermilk from this mornings butter making for the creme fraiche. Nourishing traditons just says commerical or whole milk buttermilk. The butter was just the cream sitting on the bench. I will check out Thermomixer's blog, many thanks.

[achookwoman]

I have posted a recipe for Creme Fraiche and i am certain you have to use the cultured buttermilk for the 'bugs".  Last year,  while in France at a cooking school,  we were able to taste Creme Fraiche from Normandy.  I have never tasted anything so silky smooth.  It had just a slight tang,  nothing like what we have here.

[ElleG]

After a night in the fridge the cream I had attempted butter making with was thick and set. I tried to whip it again, for a brief minute, it did separate and I could see a little bit of buttermilk. However, it then whipped and became silky and smooth. It was butter like, but because no buttermilk was extraxted, it wasn't butter. So a failure. So Brenda, don't try this!

 I will do some more research. if there was a shame section, I could add what I did with the cream.. I tried to make a quiche with it (thinking well it is cream). When the caramelised quiche cooked, it sepated like butter!, lol  Dinner was a tin of baked beans 

Chookie, I looked at your creme fraiche recipe and it just said buttermilk. My creme fraiche was a success, thank goodness.

[faffa_70]

Andie makes cultured butter, I am sure she will have the answers when she sees this post. Hope she is feeling ok, Haven't seen her on for a while. I might send her a PM 

[ElleG]

Thanks Faffa, I looked up Andie's blog - very interesting! I read how she makes butter and also the link for cultured butter using a commerical culture. I really don't know what I did wrong as Andie leaves her cream on the bench to warm overnight. I think I need to check the temperature of the cream next time I try it. That seems to be the biggest risk for error.

[andiesenji]

In the old days, unpasteurized milk was set out in the dairy room - not refrigerated - and the cream allowed to rise to the top and skimmed off after 24 hours.
This was called "clabber cream" and was what one churned butter from.

Today, unless one owns a cow, all milk is pasteurized and getting the cultured cream requires the extra step of culturing the cream for a minimum period, usually no less than 12 hours at 80° F., longer if it is cooler. 
It has to be heated then cooled before adding the culture.  Otherwise the cream will just sour. 

You can use a commercial buttermilk product as the culture base but if you are just using the liquid from making butter, unless it is cultured, it does not contain the organisms that break down the lactose. 

In my experience the cream will whip and break easier if it is chilled after culturing.  It will take longer to churn than plain heavy cream.

Here's a link to clabber cream.

I haven't kept notes or taken photos the last few times I've made the cultured butter.  The next time I will so I can document my results.
On one occasion I heated the cream, cooled it and mixed it with yogurt because I did not have enough cream to make a full batch of butter.  It turned out pretty good but also took longer to whip and break down into the butter globules but I don't recall how much longer.  I don't set the timer on the TMX, I just turn it on to speed 4 and let it run until I hear the sloshing sound that indicates the cream has broken.  It's not easy to describe but once you have heard it, you will know what I mean. 

[ElleG]

Thanks Andie, looks like I will have to buy a culture if I want to make cultured butter. i am looking forward to reading your technique when you next make cultured butter.  Butter, cheese and yogurt making are all so interesting when you can use the thermomix.

Not sure where I read about adding cream to the milk when making yogurt, I still have about 500 mls Jersey cream left.  I usually have greek yogurt after draining the natural yogurt.  My question is, has anyone added cream, and does it make the yogurt really nice as a treat?

[andiesenji]

Thanks Andie, looks like I will have to buy a culture if I want to make cultured butter. i am looking forward to reading your technique when you next make cultured butter.  Butter, cheese and yogurt making are all so interesting when you can use the thermomix.

Not sure where I read about adding cream to the milk when making yogurt, I still have about 500 mls Jersey cream left.  I usually have greek yogurt after draining the natural yogurt.  My question is, has anyone added cream, and does it make the yogurt really nice as a treat?

Using the technique described on my blog, I use heavy cream to make yogurt - the same process, heating, cooling, then adding the culture.
With heavy cream you get an end result that is much like clotted cream, thick, rich and spreadable.
with light cream or what is called "half and half" here in the US, you get similar to Greek yogurt, quite thick without the need to strain off the whey. 
The photos on this page  are showing yogurt made with the half and half or light cream.

[ElleG]

Andie you are so generous with your knowledge. Thank you very much. The photo of the half and half  yogurt looks  perfect.  I'm going to make half and half yogurt today, had a lot of fun with the 2 litres of cream.