We’ve recently become entranced by the alchemy of butter making. It’s quick and easy to do, and the result is so much better than the mass-produced stuff, you may never go back. An extra bonus of making your own butter is that, in a pleasing ‘two-fer’, you also end up with buttermilk! Not only is buttermilk the baker’s friend (it adds a wonderful lightness and flavour to cakes, scones and pastry), but you can also whip it into potatoes for a delectable mash, whisk it into salad dressing or churn it into ice creams or sorbets.
We began our butter adventures using double cream, which results in a lovely pale, glossy and fresh-tasting spread – a little softer than commercially produced butter. Then we graduated to using creme fraiche to make cultured butter – which is closer in flavour to the distinctive, faint sourness of good European butters. Homemade crème fraîche butter has a distinctive, lively, sweet tang and a true ‘butter’ flavour; best of all, it costs a fraction of what you’ll pay for upmarket imported European versions.
The process really is incredibly quick and simple, but we’ve taken the trouble to describe it in some detail. Once you’ve done it once, you’ll understand the process exactly.
If creme fraiche is expensive where you live, then you can easily make your own using the method described below.