Why bother making your own butter? I have never had a reason to make butter but last week I asked my Dad to pick up a tub of fresh cream for some left-over mince pies and he got the cream – all the cream. The only cream left in the local shop, a glorious two-litre carton. The pies were so good and the leftover cream gave me an excuse to have a go at making butter!

I split the butter into two batches and flavoured with ingredients I could cook with; basil and garlic (for bread, mushrooms, steak) and the second with a citrus blend of lime, lemon and orange rind (great for fish, risotto and stirfries) and used the buttermilk for some other tasty recipes.

I would love to give butter making another go and make a smoked butter using liquid smoke, or a dill/tarragon butter for fish or maybe make a sweeter butter with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for scones or apple crumble.

Homemade Butter

Ingredients

1.8L fresh cream

Flaky sea salt

Other herbs/spices/flavourings

Method

Using an electric mixer set on medium-high, whisk the cream until the liquid and fat start to separate. Keep a close eye on it as liquid will start to splash out as more of the fat separates.

Drain the liquid using a strainer and keep it for other recipes. See here for a buttermilk bread recipe.

Salt the butter before pressing into the strainer using a spatula to remove any excess buttermilk. Mix in any herbs/spices before wrapping in greaseproof paper and storing in the fridge or freezer.

Here’s the citrus butter… and I’ll post a recipe for citrus-glazed root vegetables here soon.

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SculleryMade is a Belfast project to share recipes using quality, locally sourced ingredients. Our main recipes include methods for cooking, baking, brewing and curing.

SculleryMade – Ormeau Rd, Belfast                                                      Contact: Caoimhe@scullery-made.com