HOME MADE BUTTER

     Origin of Butter dates back to more than 10,000 years and it has been in the lifestyle of civilizations from the time animals were domesticated and reared for dairy products. Butter by its nature has been enhancing the flavours and textures with its versatility to be compatible in various dishes converting them into a delicacy. Not only as a food, it is also valued cosmetically and also highly esteemed for its healing properties.
     Butter can be prepared by churning fresh cream or yogurt/curd.  Mostly butter is prepared from Cow's Milk, but it can also be prepared with Buffalo/Sheep/Goat/Yak Milk. Churning process produces small grains of solidified butter separating the whey or butter milk from it.
     Imagine the old fashioned churning method, sitting all the way and churning butter from a large pot of cream or curd with a butter churn, the swirling and swooshing splish-splash, splish-splash sound.  Though reminiscent of stories of Gopikas' churning butter and Krishna stealing it from the pots, sounds quite good.  But the idea really makes me wince a bit.  For one reason, you need a lot of cream or butter and another reason the time and labour it takes.  But this was the method my grandmother and almost for years, my MOM had followed.  There was a big herd of cows and buffaloes in my grandmother's house that preparing Curd, Butter, Buttermilk and Ghee was a part of their daily routine.
     But with small batches of milk, we buy these days, it is easy and fast to churn it up in a blender or a food processor. Even Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer can be used for the purpose.  The idea behind the method is to separate the fat from the milk/cream/yogurt.  I usually use my blender for the purpose and use the whipping option available in it. If you do not have the whipping option you can just agitate the milk by switching on the lowest speed button for few seconds, switch it off and again continue with the process until fat globules start to coagulates over the milk.
     Butter can be made by collecting :
         - the thick layer of cream from Curd
         - heavy sheet of cream from Milk
     Homemade butter is one routine in our kitchen.  My MOM and my MIL both prepare it so frequently that we never buy butter or ghee from the market. We usually prepare Butter from thick layer of cream from Curd. Or just collect the heavy sheet of cream from milk which floats over it. Collect it in a bottle, close the lid tightly and store it in the freezer until use.  When there is enough cream may be around three to four cups then we can go ahead with the process of making Butter.  Thaw the cream before the process.
      The options and uses with this home-made Butter is vast enough. But the highlight of home made butter is that it has no additives, preservatives or colouring agents.

HOW TO MAKE BUTTER :

Ingredients :

Fresh Cream - 3-4 Cups
Ice Water - 2 Cups

Method :

• Pour the fresh cream into the jar of your blender.
• Add Ice Water to the above and close the lid of the jar.
• Turn on the whipping option in your blender or turn on to the lowest speed for few second i.e for about 10 - 20 seconds.
• Switch off and again do the above process until small fat globules solidify above the milk.
• The total process may take about 3-5 minutes.
• When you feel that all the fat from the milk has solidified, pour it out through a strainer.
• Or simply remove it using a slotted spoon or with your hands.
• Collect all the solidified butter into a wide bowl.
• Rinse the Butter in ice water and remove any remaining butter milk out of it.
• Repeat the process and rinse the butter with ice water until the water runs clear.
• Can store the butter in airtight containers.
• For Salted Butter - Can add a dash of salt and mix it well into the butter before storing. 
• Can spread this fresh butter over Toasts, or serve hot rotis or parathas with a blob of butter over it.
• Can use this butter to prepare cakes, cookies and pastries or while baking potatoes, for basting chicken or meat.
• Or simply heat it up to make Ghee/Clarified Butter.
• Can flavour the butter to your fancy like Garlic Butter, Lemon/Lime Butter, Herb flavoured Butter or mix it up with some spices like Cayenne or Pepper to it.
• Mix along with some Preserved Fruits or Honey/Maple for a sweeter flavour.
• Home-made Flavoured Butter can be stored in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for about two months.

NOTES :

• Store the collected cream in the freezer and thaw it up before making butter.
• Ice cold water will help in solidifying the butter soon. 
• If using a hand mixer or stand mixer the butter will stick on to the beater. 
• Rinse and store the Solidified Butter in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 
• Do not throw the whey or otherwise called Butter milk.
• Season it up with shallots, green chillies, ginger, lemon juice and curry leaves to make Sambharam/Moru or simply add a dash of salt into it.
• This makes a very good drink on a sunny day.

*TIPS & TRICKS :

     Cleaning the blender jar is one mess of a thing in the process of making Butter. Pour slightly hot water (not boiling water, which can spoil the blender jar) into the jar, close and beat it up on low speed for few seconds in the blender. Can add few drops of dish wash liquid and beat it up again. Pour out the warm water and wash it as usual.

     Pour hot water into the bowls used for making butter and leave them aside for few minutes. Then wash it up as usual. Hot water helps to remove the grease from nook and corner making the process easy and clean.