Friday, September 02, 2016

What's on the Menu this week? How to make your own butter:

Yes, we are serious.
2 cups (500 ml ) double cream will make one cup of butter, leaving you with 1 cup of buttermilk. You need cream with a butterfat of at least 35 %. Chill a sieve in the fridge.
Put the cream into a food processor and blend. You need to continue until you have overbeaten the cream and keep going. The cream will start to clump and give off some liquid. That's the buttermilk. When the cream clumps together in one mass, turn off the processor and using the cold sieve drain off the liquid. Keep it, you can use buttermilk in your cooking. What remains in butter.

Now wash the butter in cold water until it runs clear. Transfer it from the sieve into a bowl and using cold hands (run them under a cold tap) or a spatula, knead it to remove any water. Pour that off and add a little salt, this helps to preserve the butter. You only need about a quarter to half a teaspoon, according to your taste. Form into a roll and wrap in parchment paper. Store in the fridge. You can of course add flavours like herbs, paprika, garlic or lemon if serving with food or bread.
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016

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