Homemade Cultured Butter Recipe - Savory Simple (2024)

FAQs

What makes cultured butter? ›

Cultured butter is made from pasteurized cream that's been exposed to live bacterial cultures (much like the cultures used to make yogurt and cheese). The bacterial cultures jumpstart a fermentation process, which thickens the cream and gives it a tangier, more complex flavor.

After making the butter, put it in a large bowl and add honey. Once the butter has solidified and been rinsed in ice water, place it in a large bowl to mix in added flavors with a spoon. I used 1 ½ tablespoons of honey, but feel free to use more or less depending on your personal tastes.

Butter making was obviously a little more involved in the 18th century. First, cow's milk was set aside so that cream would form on top. The cream was then churned, usually in a plunge churn in which a stick (the “dasher”) was moved up and down inside a wooden or earthenware container.

Also known as roll butter for its log-shaped packaging, Amish butter is a slow-churned butter that is typically richer and creamier than regular stick butter. This flavorful butter has been produced for generations by family-owned and operated farms, but we're just beginning to see it pop up in local grocery stores.

They would milk the family's cow and let the milk sit in a shallow pan overnight in order for the cream to rise to the top. The next morning they skim the cream layer with a wooden ladle and leave it out to sour. The cream was them poured into the butter churn (see right).

Refrigerate until ready to use. The butter will last about a month in the refrigerator.

The starter cultures for butter and sour cream are highly concentrated mesophilic cultures. They offer convenience and flexibility in the production of mesophilic products. Starter cultures are available as cultures for direct inoculation (DVS®) in form of both frozen pellets and lyophilized (freeze-dried) granules.

French butter is indeed higher in fat than American butter – about 82 percent minimum, as opposed to the 80 percent required in the U.S. But in addition to being higher in fat, French butter is also cultured, a process whereby live active cultures are added to the cream before the butter is churned.

Butter isn't that expensive — it's about $3 per pound at the wholesale level. Cream costs roughly $3.50 for 16 ounces, or less if you buy a larger carton. That means the price of making your own butter isn't much more than buying it in the store, and often you can get organic cream cheaper than organic butter.

Why does homemade butter taste bitter? ›

The cream might be very old, because if it is the taste of butter turns a bit bitter. Add some fresh cream or hung curd to it salt to taste . It might help to remove the bitter taste. But first try with just a spoon and see the difference.

The texture of homemade butter is softer, creamier, and fluffier than regular stick butter. The flavor of the plain butter differs on the type of heavy cream you use.

While in the 1900s, people would make their own butter. This process is called churning1. A butter churn is a device that would be used to make butter. People would fill the butter churn with heavy cream from cows.

In the 1700s, the most common method of making butter was to keep milk in an earthenware container until the cream separated and floated to the top. When the cream was set, it was scooped off with a plate or timber disc. A splash churn was used to convert the cream into butter.

Churning, or violently agitating the cream brings its fat globules together and causes them to clump. Cream goes through stages on its way to become butter. First it gets frothy like whipped cream. Then the foam settles into a thick pudding like state.