Butter

Thank you to Georgie asking for the butter 'recipe' - this is the Sumptuous Butter article, hope it gets you churning....

As the weather cools and pastures green, I’m drawn to butter. That irreplaceable melt-in-your-mouth flavour thickly spread onto crusty bread, melting into baked potatoes or a creamy risotto, butter makes the dish. Cooks love butter for the natural flavour, texture, and shine. And that wonderful alchemy of butter creamed with sugar, essential for a delicate cake crumb.

Though thankful for convenient commercial butter at the supermarket, whenever I find treasures of artisan butter in dairy regions I’m reminded this is worth the hunt. These small batches show seasonal differences in texture, taste and colour from the creamy white winter to the yellows of spring.

One of the finest pairings is that of butter with garlic. For a sensational Garlic Bread start with locally grown, organic, new season’s garlic thinly sliced and mixed into fresh butter, add chopped herbs, a dash of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Spread thickly between slices of crusty baguette, wrap in alfoil, and bake in a medium oven until the crust is browned and the aroma irresistible.

For making butter using the ancient technique of hand whipping, all you need is cream. You could use a whisk, but you would miss the miraculous feeling of cream turning to butter in your hand.

HAND-MADE COW’S MILK BUTTER
Ingredients
Cream

· Visit a dairy region or Farmers Market to source a good quality pure cream with high flavoursome fat content, 30 per cent or more.

· For a tangy ‘cultured’ butter leave the cream at room temperature for a day to sour slightly, if you prefer a sweet butter use fresh cream.

Equipment
Two bowls, colander, cloth, grease proof paper and cling wrap, whisk if using.

Process

· Line a colander with cheese cloth (a folded clean ‘chux’ works well) and set inside one of the bowls.

· Pour the cream into the other bowl and whip with your hand, keep fingers spread and wrist relaxed (or use a whisk).

· Firstly you will make whipped cream (the speed of your whipping will determine how quickly the butterfat reaches peak stage).

· After five to ten minutes the butterfat forms small lumps as it separates from the buttermilk (liquid portion of cream); continue whipping until the butterfat comes together as large yellow lumps.

· Pour the entire contents of the bowl into the cloth-lined strainer and let the mixture drain for several minutes.

· Squeeze the butter in its cloth to extract as much liquid as possible, then unwrap the butter from the cloth (save the buttermilk for making biscuits, cakes, scones and pancakes).

· Pour cool water over the butter and rinse, squeezing and folding the lump of butter until the water runs clear. Make sure it runs really clear or your butter will go rancid quickly.

· Knead the butter mass on a cold surface (marble is ideal) for a few minutes to aerate creating a smooth texture, (if you are adding salt or flavourings this is the time to add them) some additional liquid will seep out as you knead.

· Finally place the butter onto grease-proof paper and roll into a log; or make a brick, or wrap into individual serves. Wrap the butter in its grease-proof paper with a layer of cling wrap.

· Storage – Refrigerated, your butter will last for about three weeks, frozen it will keep for a few months.

· To Use - Slice off butter pats from your frozen log and leave at room temperature if using that day, or refrigerate for later.

· Salt - We make unsalted butter as it is most versatile for pastries, cakes and sauces, adding salt separately to the dishes. When we want salted butter for the table we roll the butter in salt to serve.