CULTURED BUTTER
There are two ways of making butter: you can either mix salt with cream, making salted butter. Or, to make unsalted butter, you need to ferment it with a culture, which not only preserves it (in place of the salt), but also gives it an incredible flavour. The art of making your own butter is also deeply satisfying. This makes a brilliant gift and you can tart the butter up by finishing it with a dusting of garden herbs or spices.
MAKES ABOUT 125G
250ml double cream
2 tbsp natural whole milk yogurt or kefir
A pinch of sea salt
You will also need:
A sterilised jar
A clean tea towel or cheesecloth
1 Combine the cream and yogurt in a large, sterilised jar. Seal and shake (or whisk) vigorously until combined. Open the jar and cover with a clean cloth. Leave to sit at room temp (18-22°C) for 24 hrs; it should thicken and taste rich and tangy.
2 Seal the jar and refrigerate for 2 hrs. If you refrigerate it longer, allow the mixture to warm slightly at room temperature before moving on to the next step.
3 Line a fine-mesh sieve with a double layer of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl. Make sure there is plenty of extra overhang on the cheesecloth.
4 In the bowl of a food processor, add the thickened butter mixture and process at a high speed until the yellow curds begin to separate from the white buttermilk – this should take 2-3 mins. Alternatively, you can shake the cultured cream in a jam jar with good old vigour and bicep power until the whey splits from the solids.
5 Slowly pour the buttermilk through the mesh sieve and allow the lump of butter to fall in the cradle of the cloth. Let it sit for 1-2 mins, allowing excess buttermilk to drip through. Gather the ends of the cheesecloth up around the butter, pushing the curds down and into a ball. Twist the cheesecloth and squeeze to extract as much buttermilk as possible.
6 Pour the buttermilk into a separate container and reserve for another use (pancakes, polenta, risotto, brownies). Meanwhile, place the butter ball in a clean bowl and pour 100ml ice water over the top. Give it a good squeeze to extract any residual buttermilk, then drain off. Repeat 4-5 times
– it will start to harden.
7 Place the butter on a clean kitchen towel and pat lightly to remove excess moisture. Knead a few times to help remove any remaining buttermilk.
Pat dry and shape into a log or round. Sprinkle with a little salt and wrap in parchment paper. Refrigerate until ready to use. It will keep for 1 month in the fridge.
Cook’s note: Use the delicious buttermilk in pancakes or to make soda bread. Both are great edible canvases for adding thick slicks of your homemade butter.