Butter

Butter is so easy to make if you have a food processor.  It is easier to make if you have at least 3/4 pint of cream but no more than 1 1/2 pints if you have the standard size of food processor container.  Just put the cream into the food processor and pulse.  It goes to "whipped" and then very quickly it turns yellow and separates into butter and buttermilk.  No splashing because it is all contained within the food processor container : )

The butter will be all in a loose lump so pour the buttermilk into a separate container and keep it.  Then you need to wash all the buttermilk out of the butter or else it will go rancid very quickly.  Just pour 3-4 tablespoons of water into the butter and process for a few seconds until the water looks like the buttermilk.  Then pour this into your buttermilk and set aside again.  Repeat the washing process several more times.  This milky water gets set aside and I give it to the hens. You can throw it out if you don't have hens : )  It is better to spend a couple of extra minutes washing the butter than have it go off.  Biting into a slice of toast with butter that is going off is just yeuk!

The butter will be in a big lump so I turn it out on to my little glass chopping board (that can just go into the dishwasher).  Scrape the food processor "bowl" well as a little bit of butter can go a long way on a slice of toast.  Then I paddle it with a couple of flat bladed knives to work it into a cohesive smooth lump.  Lots more milky water comes out and I add that to the hens' jug.

You can add salt at this stage but I don't usually do that as I put most of the butter in the freezer and the freezing intensifies the saltiness.  Besides, it keeps longer in the freezer if is is unsalted.  When it somes out of the freezer and softens, it takes seconds to mix a pinch of salt through.  How much salt is up to your taste buds.  You can always add more but can't take it out so start small.

I divide it into small blocks about 2ozs so that it is a weekend treat.  They are individually wrapped in a bit of cling film and then put together into a bigger bag or container.  Being cut into blocks of similar size and shape means that they fit together well and don't take up too much space. I'm not sure how long it is supposed to keep because keeping it has never been a problem.  Certainly after 3 months it is in absolutely perfect condition.

Quantity produced: I usually get about 10ozs butter from 1 pint of double cream so as long as the cream costs less than 80p, I reckon it is worth the effort (which is only a few minutes).  My daughter's find of cream at 5p per pint is just incredible : )

Homemade bread with homemade butter topped with homemade jam.  Mmmmmm.

Buttermilk - scones of course.  It makes wonderfully light scones.  Since I add the first washing water to the original pure buttermilk, there is enough liquid to make a good batch of scones.

I've mentioned scones before and my recipe is in this post:

http://smallholderwannabe.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/well-i-got-my-invitation-back-to-farm.html

Rhonda Jean at Down to Earth has posted about butter with pictures and she says it better than I do:

http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2009/11/making-butter-easy-way.html