Homemade Butter in a Jar {Dairy Diaries}

17

how to make homemade butter in a glass jar

This was so unbelievably easy that I feel so stupid for buying butter from the store all these years! Not only that, but making butter has inspired me to try making all kinds of other dairy products, so stay tuned for those posts!

This all started because during my last grocery shopping trip, I decided to start buying organic butter – our milk and yogurt are the only dairy that’s organic so far – but when I saw the price of organic butter, I had a mini-heart attack and thought, hey we don’t really need butter anyways! That is until I picked up a fresh loaf of dark rye bread and really, really wanted to top it with some… you guessed it, butter!

So here’s what you need:

  1. A tall glass jar with a lid
  2. Heavy whipping cream – at room temperature
    (You don’t really need the measuring cup, so disregard that ;) )

What to do:

  1. Fill the glass jar about halfway with whipping cream and cover it with the lid, nice and tight.
  2. Now comes the fun part – you just shake! …and shake, and shake, and shake! This is a workout so roll up your sleeves, turn on some music, and get to it!
    EDIT: Be careful not to shake too vigorously, otherwise you’ll end up making butter and then turning it back into cream! You want to jolt/whip it back and forth on a 1-2 count, instead of shaking it like a bottle of juice/milk.
  3. After about 1 minute, it will turn into whipped cream and seem impossible to shake because it’s so thick. (Sorry, forgot to take a picture, but you’ll know when it happens because it will feel like nothing is happening anymore.)
  4. Before you know it, it will become shakable again, so keep shaking! Here’s what it looks like after about 2 minutes. Seeing this was motivation enough to keep going.
  5. After 5 minutes, it looks like this – see that big glob? That’s the butter!
  6. After 7-10 minutes, you can take a break, open the jar and slowly pour out the liquid that’s in the jar. Keep it in a bowl to use in recipes – you just made buttermilk!
  7. Keep shaking and emptying the liquid until no more comes out. It’s about 10-15 minutes total shaking time, depending on how fast/hard you shake.

    See my buttermilk in the bowl?

  8. Open the jar and fill it with water to cover the butter. Swirl it around a bit to rinse off the remaining buttermilk from the butter and pour out the water into the sink.
  9. Put the butter into a bowl and whip it around a bit with a fork to get out all the remaining liquid, then dump the liquid. Try to get out as much as you can, so your butter keeps in the fridge longer.
    EDIT: After making it a few times, I’ve just stopped whipping it with the fork and it comes out fine. I just make sure to keep swirling and rinsing it off (step 8) until the water runs clear. And make sure to drain as much of the liquid as you can!

    See that liquid? You want to drain that.

  10. That’s it! Just put it into an air-tight container and pop it in the fridge to chill. If you want to flavor your butter with salt, herbs, etc. now is the time to do so.

    Finally got to enjoy my rye bread :)

    Next morning, it was a little firm but it just melted once it landed on my warm cinnamon raisin bagel!

See? That wasn’t so hard, was it? I’m so excited to start making all kinds of different dairy products, butter is just the beginning! I think sour cream is next on my list, which is perfect because I need buttermilk to make that :)

P.S. Yes, your children/spouse/family will look at you like you’re crazy, dancing around the kitchen, shaking a glass jar, but ask them to join in – it’s a great little science experiment!

Til next time,
Sarah

Sarah UmmYousef

Sarah UmmYousef is a former school teacher turned stay-at-home wife and mama with a passion for all things simple, natural, and homemade. She loves the natural world, and believes the solutions to many of the world’s ailments lie in nature. Her blog, , began as a way to document her family’s journey to a greener home, but has since become a thriving community and resource for those wishing to take small steps towards a more eco-friendly, natural and sustainable lifestyle. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest.

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