Saturday, February 27, 2010

A history lesson for Mom

We made butter today.

I'd love to say that this was a homeschool lesson in history. In fact, I claimed that it was a homeschool lesson in history. But really? I just wanted to make butter. I thought it sounded like fun.

We bought a gallon of non-homogenized whole milk at the health food store. (Non-homogenized means the cream is not mixed into the rest of the milk. It separates and the cream is on top, just like fresh milk would be. To drink it, you'd have to shake it up really well before pouring it.)

We poured off the cream into a pint-sized mason jar, sprinkled in some unrefined organic sea salt, and put the lid on tightly.

And then we rolled it a bit.



And shook it a bit more.



And after about fifteen minutes, we had this:



We strained the buttermilk out, and, hey look! It's butter!

Chloe decided buttermilk is really yummy, and that homemade butter tastes just like store-bought, which means we were successful.

Homemade butter on homemade bread. That makes me smile.

Now if only I had access to half a gallon of cream every week, we could make all of our own butter. I wonder what the city ordinances are for cows...




7 comments:

Mama Kautz said...

this project has been on my to-do list forever! Very cool!

Just Me said...

A friend of mine knows a woman who raises cows and goat and sells raw, whole milk from both. If you want, I can probably get her number for you. I need it anyway, because until I can get my milk to come back in, I am thinking of putting Oscar on raw goat's milk. It's better than formula.

Julie said...

Apryl, I'd love a contact number. We're looking into raw milk sources now. Do you know the woman's name? I'm wondering if it's someone we already know.

Katey - me too :o) It was easy, you guys should give it a go!

Julie said...

And YES for raw goat's milk for baby! Great idea. :o) If I can help at all with suggestions for your supply troubles, give me a call.

Just Me said...

I think her name is Leah. But I will have to double check with my friend Tia. She gets raw goat's milk from her every week and uses it for her son, and to make kefir.

Julie said...

Yep, Leah Burnam (not sure of the spelling.) She's the most well-known raw milk supplier around here. I've got her number, and another if you're interested in other possible sources!

Just Me said...

I would love the other number, too!

Now that Micah and I aren't sharing a house with my dad anymore, I really want to start using more "real" food anyway. It's getting to be the time of year that soon I will be able to stock up on good produce. I want to start canning, too. I used to help my mom do it all the time as a kid, but have never done it totally myself.

I want my family to start having healthier eating habits, and get the nutritional benefits of real, natural food.