Churn on Thursday

 Hey Guys! It Thursday and you know what that means? Churning! Some of you are probably like what is she talking about? Well I am glad that you asked. Churning is the process of taking cream and turning it into butter. Back then people used something called a butter churn. It was a tall, wooden cylinder that had a lid with a hole in the top and you would put the lid over this big wooden stick that had a dome at the bottom. After they would separate the milk from the cream they would then pour the cream into the churn and they would all take turns moving the stick up and down. Overtime the cream would get thicker and thicker. And it would go through three stages: Cream, whipped cream and butter. Once the cream reached the butter stage, they would take out the butter and at the bottom of the churn would be the good ol' buttermilk. They  would use this for buttermilk pies, biscuits and they would  even drink it. Once the butter was out they would then take it and rinse it to get all the buttermilk residue off. After the butter was rinsed they then would use these tools called butter paddles which were used to squeeze out any excess water. When all the water was squeezed out they would season the butter with salt or herbs. Then once seasoned they would put the butter in a butter mold and flip it out and they would have a pat of butter with beautiful patterns and designs. Fun Fact: When Ma Ingalls would make butter in the winter time the cows didn't eat nothing but hay so the cream wasn't naturally a yellow color. So before churning ma would set the churn full of cream on the stove and while the cream warmed she washed and grated some carrot. Once the cream was warm enough Ma added the carrot and let it sit for a few minutes. After the cream turned yellow she then poured the cream and carrot into a cheese cloth. Next she squeezed the bag of carrot into the churn again and let it cool. While Ma was taking the first turn at churning Laura and Mary got to eat the good bits of carrots covered in cream. Today I will be giving you some tips and recipes for how to make your own butter. Let's get started!

Make Your Own Butter

You will need:

- Cream, enough to fill your jar 3/4 of the way

- A mason jar with a lid

- A glass marble

- Salt, optional

Instructions

Take your jar and fill it up 3/4 of the way with cream. Next add in the marble and salt and Get Shakin'! There is no real time for how long you have to shake. It really just depends on how much cream you put in your jar. Once you see a ball of butter and the buttermilk in the jar you will want  out the butter and rinse it. If you don't have butter paddles you can skip this step. Next you can put the butter in a container and store in the fridge for 1-1 1/2 weeks. Enjoy!

Trick #1-

This trick is probably my favorite because even though I am a vegan, I still love butter. And if you have ever baked in your life then you know what it feels like to only have half the amount of butter that you need. Well this trick will get you not just one sticks worth nut two sticks worth of butter. You will need:

- 1 stick of butter

- 1/2 cup of water

- A mixer of some kind

- A mason jar or any container

-First add the butter to your mixer and add half of the water. Gradually increase the speed to prevent splashing. You should see the amount of butter increase. Next add the rest of your water and continue mixing until you see no more milky water. Then add to your container and enjoy!