Making butter is just about the simplest thing you can do in the kitchen, but really impressive and so much fun for the little ones to do.
You'll need some heavy cream, a jar with a tight fitting lid and a couple of marbles. (The marbles are optional, but definitely add to the fun factor!)
Put your cream into the jar, making sure not to fill it all the way (I find about half too two thirds is plenty full).
Add your marbles and put the lid on, making sure it's tightly crewed on.
Then shake it!
Yep - that's it! Sometimes it's done in just a couple of minutes, and other times it can take a while. But just keep shaking.
If you added marbles to your jar, you'll be able to hear them clanking around as you shake. And then, suddenly you won't be able to hear them anymore, as the cream gets thicker. And then all of sudden, usually just when you think that this may not be working, you can hear the marbles again, and you realize that you have a jar with a large lump of butter in it, swimming in buttermilk.
Drain off the buttermilk (and save it for pancakes or biscuits - yum!) and there you have it - a lump of freshly made butter!
I like to add some flavorings to mine, depending on how I might use it. Sometimes it will just be a little salt, but you can also add a little vanilla, allspice or honey, if you want a sweet butter - double yum!
Nothing quite like fresh bread from the oven, served with homemade butter.
What is your favorite oh-so-simple recipe? Feel free to share in the comments below; I'd love to hear from you!
