There are many ways to turn cream into fresh butter, but this is the fastest and easiest I've found, so I thought share it with you. All it takes is 10 minutes and utensils you likely already have in your kitchen.
This (and something to store your finished product in) is really all you need. Of course, we have a steady supply of fresh, raw cream. But, any store-bought cream will work just as well. Here, I'm using a 16 oz. carton of store-bought cream for demonstration purposes.
Pour your cream into the mixer and cover with a dishtowel. Turn the mixer on low speed at first. The dishtowel is there to protect you (and the rest of the kitchen) in case you start it off too fast. I begin with about a 4 on my Kitchenaid mixer.
As the cream begins to thicken, you can gradually turn the speed up. I usually top it out at about a 7.
The above pic is about 4 minutes in.
6 minutes . . .
And, about 8 minutes in, I've got butter! When you begin to hear the ker-plunk sound as the beater throws around the solid mass, turn the mixer back down to about a 4 and allow to beat another few seconds. You'll be thankful for the dishtowel again at this point because the excess liquid will be sloshing around everywhere.
Turn off the mixer and pour off the buttermilk (reserve it for your chickens or hogs, if you have any).
* Yes, the excess liquid obtained by beating cream into butter is the original "buttermilk." However, we tend to culture our buttermilk today, so this liquid will not have the same taste as buttermilk purchased in store.
Using your hands, knead the butter under a stream of cool water.
Once the liquid coming off the butter runs clear, you may squeeze it out and press it into a container. You can, of course, get very fancy here if you'd like, by using all manner of adorable butter molds.
Once pressed into your container, pour off any excess liquid that may have accumulated during your squishing.
And, voila! You've got butter.
The 1 lb. carton yields right at 1/2 pound of butter. It's best eaten right away because it's so smooth and spreadable. But, once you've had your fill, cover and refrigerate for future use.
How easy is this?
Even if this isn't something you'd be interested in doing all of the time, it could certainly make a fun activity to do with your kiddos. In 10 minutes' time, you could completely amaze them and toast some bread to eat with your creation for snack time!
(Thank you to Girl 1 for snapping the pics of parts of the process that required both my hands.)