Making Butter

Antique rocker churn

Making butter is not as hard as some might think. You don't even have to have a churn, although one does help if you're making a larger quantity. However, many have made butter by shaking the milk in a tightly closed jar. Sitting in a rocking chair and briskly rocking can also help.

Crockery churn without the dasher

My mother first made butter this way, but she soon used a churn with a dasher. The handle to the dasher would be pulled up and pushed down until butter began to form. There were other kinds of churns, like the rocker churn, crank churn, and finally the electric churn. On the last, my mother used an electric churn. It fit on top of a crockery churn, the small electric motor drove its dasher at a much faster rate than the hand could pump one, and the butter came quickly.

To make the best butter, you need to save the thickest cream from 

Butter mold

the top of fresh (not homogonized) milk that has set for a while. Agitate it until lumps of butter form. Scoop the butter out with your hand or a large serrated spoon leaving the buttermilk. Rinse in cold water as you knead it. When the water runs clear instead of milky, add a pinch of salt if desired and press into small bowls or use a butter mold to form uniform portions. Keep refrigerated.

During much of recent history, butter fell out of vogue, because research indicated its fats might be harmful to our health. However, new information suggests butter might be as good for us as margarine, if not better. Maybe we should start churning again.

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