Cultured cream - notice how thick & yellow!! Yes, it's a recycled picture. Sue me.
This past Sunday I conducted a Creme tutorial at the OEFFA conference. Thank you everyone who came out! I was afraid maybe no one would come, but it was standing room only! There were people there from every corner of the state, and it was really interesting to see so many different people on so many different sides of the local food coin. Someone even asked me what sort of cow would be the best for butter making! I love that there were people there who even had that choice.
I also met so many cool people - including a few from Clintonville who are perma-gardening in their yards (they were neighbors - how cool is that?!). We are thinking of doing that as soon as we get the most out of the grass we planted a few years ago. This is a total side note, but when we bought our house, the yard was shaded by our neighbor's trees. Well, one of those trees fell down in a storm (no homes or people were hurt), and the other tree was chopped down by the new homeowners. I'm not one for chopping down trees, but it's interesting that now our yard is pretty sunny.
At any rate, since I ramble a lot when I speak, here is a (hopefully) more organized tutorial on the things I talked about in my class.
We will talk about making sweet cream salted butter, flavored butter, cultured butter, creme fraiche, and salad dressing.
First up, a few basics: start with a good product. Local, non-homogenized and lightly pasteurized cream. Whenever possible, steer clear of ultra-pasteurized cream. Make sure your utensils, hands, jars, and bowls are very clean.
Sweet Cream Butter: All you need is a mixer, jar, blender, or food processor. Mix until the fat separates from the buttermilk, which will begin to fly. One attendee recommended placing your mixing bowl in the sink (if you are using a hand-held mixer) to avoid getting buttermilk all over the kitchen. Drain off the buttermilk and mix again, and then drain the buttermilk again. I usually do this three times with a fine-mesh sieve, pressing the butter with a spatula to be sure to get as much buttermilk out as possible. (read about the first time I made butter
here)
Once you have as much buttermilk separated as possible, rinse the butter, which will keep it fresher longer. One attendee at my class said she remembers her mother kneading the butter with her hands while rinsing the butter. This is the time to add salt or other flavorings. I don't usually measure, but I suppose you should start with a teaspoon of salt and then mix and taste the butter. Stop adding salt when it's as salty as you like it. I like to salt my butter with kosher salt or a nice crunchy sea salt, such as fleur du sel (which I used in the class) or Maldon. You do not have to salt your butter, however the salt will help it last longer.
At this point, you can also add various flavorings to make compound butter. If you are going to serve the butter on meat, you might want to flavor your butter with smoked paprika, smoked salt, Montreal steak seasoning, etc. For fish, you might want cracked pepper and lemon zest. Chives and other fresh herbs are also great additives. Compound butter is a super-easy alternative to sauce when you are cooking; roll it into a log after mixing, wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge to harden. When you are ready to use it, just slice of a pat and place on top of whatever you're cooking!
A great way to get your kids involved in the dinner-making process is to have them shake fresh cream in a jar until butter forms - about 10 minutes of shaking. One attendee advised placing a marble in the jar as a way to help the butter form faster. The butter will separate from the buttermilk, just as though you were using a mixer; just unscrew the lid and strain off the buttermilk. The jar method makes a nice, soft butter, which I like to serve at the dinner table.
You can make butter using the food processor, however I find this method extracts too much buttermilk for my personal tastes, making the butter hard and unspreadable no matter how warm it is at room temperature. This probably makes it more stable for baking, however.
Cultured butter: In European countries, cultured butter is in high favor. We Americans seem not to appreciate its complex flavor, but I think as we begin making it, we might find a taste for it. Cultured butter must be started a few days before the butter will be consumed. I think it is easier to make in the summer time, when the cream can be left in a hot room to culture, but you can also make it in a commercial yogurt maker, in the kitchen, or in a dehydrator with a door. (I previously made cultured butter
here)
Basically, cultured butter is made from cream which has been inoculated with some form of bacteria; the bacteria is allowed to grow for a certain amount of time, and then the cream is whipped into butter. This makes a more complex, slightly tart butter which is perfect for spreading on muffins or basically eating in general. It is so tasty on its own I can't imaging cooking with it or anything, just spreading it on something tasty like an English muffin.
I culture my cream by basically turning it into the most fattening yogurt ever, and then whipping that into butter. As we learned at the conference, it takes a little longer to whip cultured cream into butter.
Heat 4 cups of heavy cream until it's just about to simmer (about 180 degrees); remove from heat and allow it to cool to room temperature, then stir in about 3/4 cup of plain yogurt - I like to use Fage Greek yogurt but it's really up to you as long as it's plain. Cover and place the bowl in a warm place - on top of a stove with the pilot light on, a yogurt maker, a hot room, etc. Allow the cream to work as long as you'd like - anywhere from 12 - 60 hours. I have found the longer it sits, the tastier the resulting butter.
You can also whip the butter this way without culturing it but with the yogurt in. This gives a higher yield and a (very) slightly lower fat level. The yogurt also helps keep the butter smooth and spreadable as well as giving it a flavor lift.
Creme Fraiche - Creme Fraiche is the French equivalent of sour cream; the texture is smoother and thinner. When made with raw milk, nothing needs to be added - naturally-occurring bacteria will thicken the cream. Unfortunately raw milk is hard to find here in the US. To make your own creme fraiche, add a tbsp each buttermilk (use the cultured buttermilk from the recipe above) and lemon juice to a cup of heavy cream (in a jar) and give it a shake. Leave it undisturbed at room temperature for 24 hours; if any water has separate out, pour it off. If you would like your creme fraiche a little thicker, you can give it a whip. Creme fraiche is a great counterpoint for rich chocolate desserts, and it is also great with fresh fruit. It's also yummy with smoked salmon and trout, baked potatoes, etc.
This recipe calls for heating the milk, which might help the cream sour more quickly, but it isn't necessary.
Salad Dressing - homemade buttermilk - especially cultured buttermilk - makes that yummiest salad dressing and veggie dip. Mix equal parts buttermilk and mayo (you know I love
Kewpie brand Japanese mayo) and add flavorings. For the easiest dressing, simply add a packet of ranch flavoring. Otherwise, add salt and pepper, powdered garlic, fresh herbs, capers, lemon zest, anchovies - all sorts of yummy things. You can also add an equal part Greek yogurt or creme fraiche, to make the dressing thicker for a dip. Always allow the dressing sit in the fridge for an hour to allow the flavors to mellow and improve.
