I Just Made Butter!!!!

[Summerthyme]

Nah... I think it's wonderful that people learn these skills. My warnings are almost *always* based on what I learned the hard way! Believe me, there is not much worse than putting a nice chunk of your lovely, homemade (3 days old) butter in a frying pan and starting to melt it for the morning's scrambled eggs... and then thinking "who puked?"

Because that's what it smells like... it WILL drive you out of the kitchen, it's that bad.

I'm just trying to save others from learning the hard way!

Summerthyme (I've often said it's not that I'm all that smart- I just have a very good memory, and rarely make the same mistake twice!)

[night driver]

Well now I know what to do with extra butter milk we do not use!

This is great - Thanks everyone for sharing.

Uhhhh...

Buttermilk is what's left AFTER you make the butter from the cream.

[1Ms. America]

If you happen to have a large amount of butter to work with, put on some non-latex gloves because skin oils will add a cheesey smell and flavor from the oils in your skin. Summer is right about the 'puke' odor from not rinsing.

The left over buttermilk is REAL buttermilk. You can also use it in biscuits, cakes, pancakes...It's not like the clabbered, sour stuff from the store. However, that cultured suff from the store is the same culture used to make cheddar cheese. I'll let you take it from there :)

[psychgirl]

Nah... I think it's wonderful that people learn these skills. My warnings are almost *always* based on what I learned the hard way! Believe me, there is not much worse than putting a nice chunk of your lovely, homemade (3 days old) butter in a frying pan and starting to melt it for the morning's scrambled eggs... and then thinking "who puked?"

Because that's what it smells like... it WILL drive you out of the kitchen, it's that bad.

I'm just trying to save others from learning the hard way!

Summerthyme (I've often said it's not that I'm all that smart- I just have a very good memory, and rarely make the same mistake twice!)

Well dang!....I did rinse it, but didn't know it was such a big deal! I didn't rinse it much so what butter I have might not be any good?.....we won't eat it all in a day. What if I freeze it?

(sometimes pertinent info is such a buzz-kill, lol But thannk you anyway, summerthyme)

[Summerthyme]

Yes, freezing should stop it from turning (but it will start right back up after you thaw it). And I'm sorry.... but it would have been worse if you DIDN'T know and found out in a couple of days...

Summerthyme

[maddymae]

I remember shaking that mason jar too. Seems like we let fresh cows milk set and then maybe skimmed it to make the butter(?). Can't remember that part, just a whole lot of shaking. MM

[psychgirl]

Yes, freezing should stop it from turning (but it will start right back up after you thaw it). And I'm sorry.... but it would have been worse if you DIDN'T know and found out in a couple of days...

Summerthyme

Summerthyme

That's ok....I'll use it up, and at least know I can make my own if I had to.
I just tried it on a piece of bread and so far, so good.

[Summerthyme]

YES! it is neat to know you can make it.

And the rancidity (IF you did leave some buttermilk in) doesn't show up as quickly/obviously using it cold as it does if you heat it.

Summerthyme

[Disastercat]

We can still get "real" buttermilk here in the Irish shops, for awhile it got really rare but not it is back again. I think the return of the organic and local dairies is helping with that. I find that "real" buttermilk is useful for somethings (is great in bread) but that the cultured stuff sometimes works better in soda recipes (like scones). Sometimes it is just a matter of taste, husband likes to drink "real" butter milk but not the cultured stuff.

Cultured stuff is also nice in that you can make more of it (or use it as a cheese starter) just by adding it to warm milk and letting it sit overnight.

You can use whey from cheese making for anything that calls for traditional butter milk, because that was partly what it was. The leftovers from butter making or in cheese making, it was consider a healthy drink for most of the Middle Ages and into modern times, until the cultured stuff took over.

[psychgirl]

Are you referring to the liquid that came off? There wan't much at all, and it was almost a pure water-like material. Then again, I only made a very small amount so it might have looked different if there were more.