Homemade Spreadable Butter

Home Made Spreadable Butter

1L of whipping cream (the highest fat content you can get - the highest I've found was at Goats on the Roof at 36% fat)

1 1/2 tsp salt (optional - you can use no salt or you can use as much or as little as you like, for me this is the perfect amount)

7 tbsp very cold water

1C vegetable oil (I use canola oil because I find it doesn't alter the butter taste but you can use any oil except coconut oil)

1. pour the whipping cream into a bowl (you can use a stand mixer, hand mixer or food processor) and cover the opening of the bowl with a tea towel (this is VERY important - I didn't do this and wound up scraping butter our of my ceiling light fixtures) and mix the ever loving hell out of it on high speed.  Keep mixing until it separates, it will turn yellowish and lumpy and there will be liquid (buttermilk) in the bowl

2. pour in the water (I measure it and put it in the freezer just after starting my stand mixer). This helps further separate the buttermilk.

3. strain out the buttermilk (you can save it to use in other recipes I give a tablespoon of it to my rats, they love it as a treat) using a strainer.

*you can line the strainer with cheesecloth (available at Walmart for like a buck) to prevent butter chunks from falling into the buttermilk

4. with your hands squeeze the hell out of the butter to get all of the buttermilk out, after mine is the consistency of play doh I put it on a silicon mat and roll it up like a taco then hold it lengthwise over my strainer and squeeze out even more buttermilk

5. take a moment to catch your breath and clean the butter off your hands.

6. put the butter back in the mixing bowl and add the salt if you want.  Start mixing and gradually add your oil.  I find the butter gets caught in the spokes of the mixer so I spend a lot of time prying it out with a spatula, as the oil mixes it will become the consistency of cake batter and life will be good again.  Keep mixing until it's smooth then pour it into containers. Don't fill the container all the way to the top, it expands as it settles.

7. put the container(s) in the fridge over night where the butter will harden.  Take it out in the morning, and use it as you wish.  Keep it at room temperature to use.

I use small canning jars.  I used to use plastic Rubbermaid Take Along containers but the dog kept stealing them off the counter and eating the butter and the container.  I use 8 of the smallest ones per batch.  The butter only lasts about a week so I put the containers in the freezer and take them out one at a time, I find the smallest size lasts about 4 days for my family.

Most recipes tell you that it takes 5 minutes for the butter to separate.  I find it takes a minimum of 15 minutes.

You'll find that it has tiny little lumps in it.  I think they're little fat lumps and I have no clue how to get rid of them.  They don't alter the taste at all but they do add a certain bubbly quality to the texture.

Original recipe from: Genius Kitchen and Bigger Bolder Baking