I am reading aloud "Little House In The Big Woods" and yesterday's chapter was about Ma's weekly chores, one of which was butter churning. Well I could see the glazed look coming over DS9's eyes as I read and I knew that I had to bring the lesson to life! He had absolutely no idea what I was talking about, Why would he? We live in the days of supermarkets and ready made produce!! So I set about checking out some web pages on making butter.
I found a simple recipe that only required a carton of cream and a mixer. What fun I.....um....the children.........had making butter! First it turned into lovely thick cream but then after about ten minutes the cream turned to butter and separated from the buttermilk. I switched the machine off and pulled the butter out. We rinsed it through a sieve, making sure to remove any excess buttermilk. Apparently the buttermilk can turn it rancid. The buttermilk will not go to waste either, it is great for cake making. We squeezed the excess moisture out and then salted the butter, finally placing it inside a butter dish.
I can't tell you how nice the butter taste,maybe it is all in my head but I swear it taste better than butter from the supermarket shelf!