Homemade Butter

Since it was requested, here's how to make homemade butter:

The Ingredients:

• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)

The Equipment:

• Food processor or blender
• A largish bowl filled with ice water
• Something in which your butter will be stored

The Method:

Dump the cream and salt into your food processor or blender, and turn it on. Keep watch over it as it turns from cream to whipped cream, to stiff whipped cream. Eventually it'll start to fold in on itself and get slightly yellow. Hang tight, you're almost there! At some point, the liquid will begin to separate from the solids. You'll see a bunch of little globs (the butter) and a lot of liquid (buttermilk). Kill the power and let things settle for a minute, then drain off the buttermilk, mush all the solids into a ball and drop into the ice water. Knead with one hand for a few moments to get as much buttermilk out of the butter as you can. Then transfer your butter to the storage vessel of your choice.

Notes

See, it's simple, isn't it? It actually took me less time to make it than to type this all up. There are a few things you'll want to keep in mind. First, don't overwhip the butter. I did the first time and my butter ended up with a chunky, crumbly texture that didn't spread even when warmed to room temperature. If your butter comes together in a big solid ball while you're still whipping it in your food processor, it's overbeaten. You can still eat it, but the texture will be off. Second, the reason for the ice water bath is to remove buttermilk, which can cause your butter to go rancid when left out for a while at room temperature. I always refrigerate my butter and only get out what I'll need for a meal, and let it warm up for a few minutes before serving. Finally, the amount of salt you use is really up to you. I wrote 1 tsp into the recipe above because it seems reasonable. I like mine a little saltier, I actually use closer to 1-1/2 tsp or even 2. If I have my mom over, I'll use less, since salt and her don't really get along.

Oh, and one final note: homemade butter is just begging for additions. Try herbs or garlic. Yummmm...