How to Make Homemade Butter

How to Make Homemade Butter from heavy whipping cream. If you've ever wanted to try making DIY homemade butter from scratch, here's your recipe!

Prep Time 15

Inactive Time 7

Total Time 7 15

Servings servings

Ripen the cream by letting it stand at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours. It will thicken and become mildly sour. This helps to give the butter a mild, good taste. Cool cream again in the refrigerator for about an hour.
2 pints heavy cream
Pour cream into large electric mixer bowl. Add a few drops of yellow food coloring, if desired.
4 drops yellow food coloring
Beat at high speed until flecks of butter begin to form. This will begin to happen once the cream has passed the "whipped cream" stage.
Then turn to low speed until butter separates from milk. Watch to keep the spattering to a minimum. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as the cream whips.
Pour off the buttermilk.
Now, “wash” the butter either by hand under cold, running water or in the mixer. If washing by hand, gather the butter into a mass in your hands and “knead” it gently under running water until the water runs clear. If using the mixer, place the butter back in the bowl and add cold water, about as much as there was buttermilk. Let beater run at lowest speed. Pour off water; repeat.
Add a scant tablespoon of salt. Let beater mix it into the butter. Remove the beaters, scrape off the butter with a spatula and work out any remaining water with a spatula by pressing the butter against the side of the bowl. Be sure to work out all of the water.
1 tablespoon salt
Mold the butter in a butter press or empty it into a container with a tightly fitting lid. Store in the refrigerator.

One quart of cream makes about 1 pound of butter, although it depends on how heavy (fat) the cream is.
Please refer to the post for very detailed information regarding the individual steps of the process.