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Today's Pinterest project is just for fun. I realize shaking a jar of cream is not the most efficient way to make butter.
I also realize I don't need to use Pinterest to teach me how to shake a jar.
The reason I pinned this is for the
- fantastic pictures (mine are nothing special, but that is something I'll be working on very soon)
- reminder to do something educational with the Bigs
I'm trying hard to teach my kids that food doesn't come from a grocery store. This is a great, easy way to learn.
We have a farm store that sells whole milk in glass jars. I bought a few jars and skimmed the cream off the top. If you also have access to quality whole milk, let it sit undisturbed in the refrigerator for a few days so the cream rises to the top.
The author of 2 Little Hooligans just bought a container of heavy cream, and it sure looks like it turned out fantastic. I might try that for a larger scale project, because I also have access to fresh cream nearby.
So on a day off of school we set to work. It seems like it will take forever, and it does take a lot of shaking, but once the process starts (the cream gets very thick like whipping cream), it goes pretty fast. It's very important to rinse the buttermilk out, because the buttermilk is what is responsible for making it go rancid. Although we eat butter so fast around here I don't think we've ever had a problem with that.
Don't dump the buttermilk! It makes fantastic pancakes or ranch dressing.
We added a little salt to ours when we were finished.
And for those of you who aren't yet convinced...
Fresh butter is AH-MAZE-ING.
That's all I have to say about that.
It IS amazing! I am sure I have never told you this before....I used to work at Land O'Lakes (the butter company). And I planned and organized New Employee Orientations. We would head on a bus to see facilities, and while we were on the bus we had everyone make their own butter. Served with club crackers. Num, num, num. Baby food containers also work really well for a small amount! :-)
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