When the other kids in preschool were eating peanut butter and jelly, I was munching on butter sandwiches. Our family had a separate freezer growing up just for butter—my mother bought 75 pounds every time it went on sale (who knows when you might need a few hundred cookies or a half-dozen quiche crusts, right?). So it’s not surprising that today I’m pouring brown butter pan sauces over fish, churning up butter ice cream, baking brioche, even threatening my husband and friends that I’m going to throw a “butter party.” I. LOVE. BUTTER.
And while I love it for sautéing and baking, a good butter—I mean a really good butter—can stand on its own as well as any cheese. We’re not talking Land O’Lakes here, but the European-style cultured stuff. As in yogurt or crème fraîche, cultures added to butter give it tang and depth and, combined with the character of the cream that’s used, give every batch its own detectably distinct flavors and nuances.
Recently I had what seems an obvious thought: Why do I keep buying this stuff? I suddenly realized, if I love it so much, I should just make it myself. How hard could it be, right?
A little research revealed that making butter, even cultured butter, isn’t that hard. Take 48 hours, and just about 30 minutes of hands-on time, and presto, you can have homemade butter. And guess what? You also get homemade, old-fashioned buttermilk out of the deal (this is not the fake cultured skim milk à la the grocery store, but the genuine article).
Some tips on buying an ideal cream for your homemade butter: I’ve read that ultra-pasteurized cream won’t culture properly (because more of the bacteria that help along the culturing has been killed off in the high-heat processing), but I gave it a shot and didn’t have a problem. However, I do agree that the less processed the cream, the better (if you have access to raw milk, you don’t even have to add any cultures; it will culture on its own when left to sit). It’s also not surprising that a few tests with various brands of cream proved the obvious: the better the cream, the better the butter (and buttermilk). Butter made from generic store-brand cream turned out pale, uninteresting butter that really wasn’t worth the trouble. Whole Foods 365 Days pasteurized heavy cream gave me lightly golden-hued butter with a nice tangy flavor that was definitely worth the effort, though of course the rich, golden butter I made from cream from a local dairy was packed with nuanced flavor and richness that made it the big winner, a true “munching butter.”
Like nearly every other recipe I can think of, a good homemade butter will beat a “good” store-bought butter any day of the week, hands down; not to mention, making it is just plain fun. So let’s get churning.
Step 1 CHOOSE IT
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Butter is churned from cream, so the first step to cultured butter is, naturally, culturing cream. To end up with about ¾ lb of butter (and about 400 ml of buttermilk), start with 4 cups of heavy cream.
Step 2 POUR IT
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Pour your cream into a large glass container that has a lid. I found a 64-ounce Mason jar works well and allows room to give the cream a good thorough shaking in the next step.
Step 3 INOCULATE IT
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Add ⅓ cup of good-quality, plain, whole-milk yogurt—preferably without preservatives or gums—or buttermilk, or crème fraîche (you need something with live cultures), then put on the lid and give it a good shake to thoroughly combine the contents. I stuck with yogurt because it’s easy and affordable. Stonyfield Farm’s Plain Cream Top Yogurt worked well for me; I also tested Fage Greek Yogurt (labeled “Total”) once, and it took longer to culture but still turned out great tasting butter.
Step 4 COVER IT
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Remove the lid and cover the jar with a clean kitchen cloth. You want to keep it clean from any debris that might try to venture in, but the cream needs some air to culture properly.
Step 5 STORE IT
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Put the jar in a warmish part of your house; around 75 degrees is a good temperature, and leave it there for at least 18 hours.
Step 6 TASTE IT
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After 18-24 hours, it might have a bit of a foamy “head” on it. Give it a stir and a taste. You are after a thick, silky consistency, a tangy flavor, and if it’s really cultured well, a slightly sour smell (think yogurt or buttermilk). Trust your instincts; if you think it smells or tastes very funky or off, throw it out to be safe (for the record, this happened to me once in about a dozen tests). If it’s not there yet, re-cover the jar with the cloth and let it sit some more. One of my batches took 48 hours to properly thicken.
Step 7 COOL IT
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Once the cream is thick, put the lid on the jar and put it in the refrigerator for a bit, maybe an hour or two. It will churn best when it’s slightly cool, in the ballpark of 60 degrees. You can leave the cultured cream in the refrigerator several days if you aren’t ready to churn it, but then you will need to let it sit out to warm up before churning.
Step 8 SET UP
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There are a few things to get set up before you put the cream in the bowl and start making butter. First, you’ll need a fine-mesh strainer, lined with cheesecloth and set in a large bowl, which you will use to strain the buttermilk from the butter. You will also need about 4 cups of ice water. You can get the ice water ready to go and just put it in the refrigerator until it’s time to use it.
Step 9 TRANSFER IT
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You can churn butter using several methods. I tried both the food processor and the stand mixer with the whisk attachment and tend to favor the latter (partly because I hate cleaning a food processor, but also because I felt the butter from the food processor required more rounds of cleaning in the later steps). I’m sure a hand mixer would also work; it might just be a little messier. Whatever way you choose, transfer your thickened cream to a large work bowl.
Step 10 PROTECT IT
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Eventually the cream is going to separate into butter and buttermilk, which means you are going to have some buttermilk splattering around toward the end. I kept things tidy by covering the open space between the mixer head and work bowl with plastic wrap.
Step 11 CHURN IT
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Turn your mixer on high. The cream will go through several stages, and if it’s properly thick, the whole thing will take less than 5 minutes (I’ve read it can take 10 minutes, but I never found that to be the case). At first it will just look like whipped cream.
Step 12 CHURN MORE
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Keep going. Pretty soon the color will turn more yellow and it will begin to look a little chunky and like, well, overwhipped cream.
Step 13 CHURN EVEN MORE
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Keep going. When you start seeing buttermilk splatters on the plastic wrap, you are probably done. Stop the mixer and take a look. You are finished when you see yellow curds sitting in white liquid. Voila, that’s your butter and your buttermilk.
Step 14 DRAIN IT
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It’s time to drain off the buttermilk. Using the cheesecloth-lined strainer, pour off as much buttermilk from the butter as you can, letting it run through the strainer and into the bowl below.
Step 15 PLOP IT
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Next plop all the butter into the strainer. Let it sit for a minute to allow it to drain on its own.
Step 16 SQUEEZE IT
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At this point there’s still a fair bit of buttermilk left in the butter. Gather the edges of cheesecloth up and around the butter, then push the butter down into the bottom of the cloth into a ball and start squeezing. You want to squeeze out as much buttermilk as you possibly can. Not only because you want as much buttermilk as you can get (for making waffles, pancakes, pies, dressing, not to mention drinking on its own), but because buttermilk left in the butter will cause it to go rancid more quickly. I also push on the sides of the butter toward the end.
Step 17 MILK IT
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I typically end up with about 400 ml of buttermilk. What you are getting here is the thick, old-fashioned buttermilk that you hear your mother and grandmother talk about. It’s so good, it is almost a better outcome for me than the butter itself.
Step 18 ANTICIPATE IT
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What you have left in the cheesecloth is a lovely butterball. But you aren’t finished yet.
Step 19 WASH IT
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There’s still buttermilk lurking, so you have to wash the butter several times with the ice water. Place the butter in a clean large bowl, then pour about ⅓ cup ice water over the butter.
Step 20 SMASH IT
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Now start smashing the butter and folding it over onto itself to squeeze out the buttermilk. Tilt the bowl if it helps cover the butter with a little more water. At this point, the butter is fairly soft, and I found it easiest to do the folding/smashing with a spatula.
Step 21 WASH MORE
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Pour off the milky-white liquid, then repeat the washing step—pouring water over the butter, folding and smashing the butter and pouring off the liquid—until the water stays clear. It should take about 6 washes. It should firm up as you go since the ice water will chill it, at which point it will probably be easier for you to just use your hands to do the folding.
Step 22 SALT IT
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After you’ve drained off the last of the water, and maybe given it one last good squeeze and smash to get rid of any last bits of liquid, it’s time to add salt if you want salted butter (you don’t have to). I found that ¼ teaspoon kosher or sea salt was plenty. After sprinkling on the salt, incorporate it into the butter with the same folding and smashing technique.
Step 23 DROP IT
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Now you’re ready to make logs of butter. I have been dividing the batch in half, but you can make your logs—or whatever shape you want (a cow, perhaps, if you are feeling clever?)—however big or small you like. So take a hunk of the butter from the bowl and drop it onto the top third of a piece of wax paper or parchment.
Step 25 ROLL IT
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Then fold the paper over the top of the log and start rolling it into a tidy, smooth form. One way: Simply using your hand to roll it back and forth.
Step 26 FORM IT
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Another way: After folding the paper over the rough log, use a straight edge and push into the bottom of the log, then inch back the top piece of paper with a downward pushing motion (sounds hard but actually feels natural once you get started). This will push the butter into a smooth log.
Step 27 WRAP IT
You can tape over the edges and keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it (it will keep about a month or so, and I’m still testing the freezing lifespan), or better yet, dig in. Slather it onto a hunk of bread, or follow my lead and just grab a chunk straight off the knife. Homemade butter is pretty remarkable stuff.
About the Author: Louise Emerick
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This is my new favorite article.
i love this! when can we make cheese?
Great recipe. I love butter! I can’t wait to try and make this.
I can’t wait to try this! Can you use powdered yogurt culture (e.g. Yogourmet) to inoculate the cream?
Hi kinsley7, I don’t see why you couldn’t use a powdered yogurt culture. I almost went that route myself (and have seen it used in cultured butter recipes elsewhere) but decided to go with simply adding yogurt since I had it on hand and felt like that was a more accessible route for most people. But the Yogourmet should work just fine; let me know how it goes!
Made this last night and I’m pretty sure I can’t eat store-bought butter now. It is so creamy and flavorful. I love it. Just finished my ham and butter sandwich for breakfast, too. Goes great with everything!
When you add salt, do you recommend to use fine sea salt or coarse sea salt?
I would use fine sea salt for better distribution. Hope the butter making goes well.
uh oh. I just read that the butter will only keep for a week. I was planning on making several batches and pairing it with mini bread loaves for presents next week. Do I have to make it all the day before to let my friends have enough time to enjoy it at home?
Hi Maggie, That’s a very unfortunate error in the caption (which we will fix ASAP); you’ll notice the recipe and the recipe headnote say it will keep refrigerated for 1 month, assuming you use fresh cream and wash it well (the washing part is crucial). Or you can freeze it and it will keep even longer. I hope this hasn’t held you up on your gift project (which is a great idea by the way!).
yay! I did keep going with the project. The test batch was so good I ate half a stick myself. I now have two more batches culturing away right now! Thank you so much for this great recipe!
Oh. My. Gosh! And now I have a weekend project!
I can’t wait to do this with my grandchildren
Do you by chance remember how much butter and buttermilk (approx) is made from the 4 cups of cream?
THANK YOU!!!!! First I thank for the plastic wrap over the mixer bowl. (You know why
) Second I thank for the culture instructions. I did it first time with the cream/yogurt in mixer bowl without the warm rest. I have been trying to replicate the flavour of “**Maggiano’s**(restaurant) butter – for 2+ years. This restaurant butter is soooooo good that when everyone else is dipping their warm bread in the olive oil — I am slathering that sour/fermented flavour butter on my bread. I now have the restaurant butter (but better) at home. BTW I use ice cold distilled water because my municipal water has an ‘off’ taste and is very hard. THANK YOU again!!!
Hi depswa, you will get about 12 oz of butter and about 1/2 cups of buttermilk from this recipe. Just make sure to let it drain well before you start the washing process, so that you get as much buttermilk as possible. Enjoy!
Hmm. Ok, about to start this recipe. I notice it’s supposed to sit for 18-24 hours in a warmish spot, ideally around 75 degrees. No way my Northeast Kingdom farmhouse is 75 degrees anywhere on a continuous basis in April. Is this a problem? Do I need to give it a blankie? Carry it around under my armpit? Don’t want to mess this up.
If it’s only slightly cooler, it shouldn’t be a problem. It will move more slowly though, so you might need to leave the cream out for an extra day or so (don’t worry, the culturing bacteria make the cream safe to keep at room temperature for quite a while, even up to three days). If you don’t like the sound of that, yes, wrapping the jar in a towel might help insulate the cream and speed things up. I’ve also had success with sticking the jar in the oven with the light on (although watch it, it can get really warm in there so maybe leave the light on for a while, then shut it off). Above your refrigerator is a good spot as well. And if it smells off, just trust your nose and pitch it if you are unsure.
I finished making cultured butter and buttermilk based on your detailed and clear instructions, and everything turned out great (I haven’t tasted anything yet, though!). I am temporarily living in Italy right now, so I bought heavy cream from a dairy store (un caseificio) where the cream was pure and unadulterated (came from their milk farm). The yogurt was store-bought (I already had some before going to the caseificio), but it didn’t have any unwanted ingredients. After 24 hours, my mixture was not ready, and I was worried and a bit dismayed; however, I remembered you wrote that it took 48 hours for one of your batches to thicken. After 36 hours, I checked the mixture again, and it had thickened!! I was beyond excited.
I did not have a thermometer, so I refrigerated the mixture for 1.5 hours. Next, I blended the mixture with a hand blender and covered the bowl with some plastic wrap. It was a bit unwieldy, and there was a little bit of splattering, but everything worked out fine.
I also did not have cheesecloth, so I just strained the butter in the sieve directly, and I kept moving it around until most of the liquid was out. It worked fine. Then I rinsed it with cold, bottled water (I don’t have ice in my furnished apt…) about 2 or 3 times until the water was clear. Then I dried off the butter and wrapped it in wax paper. I gave a quarter of butter to my boyfriend’s mother and the rest I placed in the freezer. I will be making buttermilk biscuits and cinnamon rolls next!
Thank you again for your clear, bright, detailed photos. I posted photos of my cultured butter/buttermilk on my facebook page and linked back to your site. I already have a friend who is eager to try out this method.
Lucky you with such a great dairy resource (and living in Italy!). So glad it turned out, and good job working with what you have on hand — I bet the biscuits and cinnamon rolls will be fantastic!
Hi Louise,
I love America’s Test Kitchen and have lots of the TV shows on my DVR for referring back to. Anyway, I found your posting here and then located a farm not far from town that sells raw Jersey milk. I’m heading out in the morning to purchase a gallon which she said would yield about a qt. of cream. I can’t wait to make butter, I loved it as a child and use store bought & even expensive European butter just is not the same, now I know why. My mother made her butter but I never know how she did it. Thank you for your step-by-step guide!! My life is about to change….lol
Could you use the resulting buttermilk to culture a new batch so you don’t have to keep buying yogurt, or are there now enough cultures in it?
Hi tbprescott, I’m mortified to admit that I have never saved the buttermilk to do that (I think because I am such a glutton that it goes into waffles, pancakes, and dressing before it could occur to me), but it makes perfect sense. Sometimes the degree of culturing at home varies, so just keep that in mind — a nonissue if it cultures like crazy, but if it’s on the lower end, making a batch from that buttermilk might not deliver the tang you want in batch number 2. Aside from that little detail, I say go for it!