The Clow family built one of the biggest barns in Wheatland Township in 1890s. What to put in it? One thing it housed was dairy cows — great for making milk, cream and cheese for the whole family.
By this point, the family knew what they were doing. In 1860, they produced 200 pounds of butter. By 1880, they had a whopping 2,330 pounds! That’s much too much for one family, so what did they do with it? They sent it off to growing cities like Joliet and Chicago.
Butter doesn’t just come straight out of the cow. You need a little science. Follow along to make your own.
Materials
Heavy whipping cream (the same stuff you use to make whipped cream)
A small jar with a leak-proof lid
Muscles!
Instructions
Pour the heavy whipping cream into the jar. Seal tightly.
Shake! Use a firm consistent rhythm. We like chanting, “Shake, shake the cream; make, make the butter” to keep us in time.
It will take longer than you think, around 5 to 10 minutes of shaking depending on how cold the cream is. Tip: Leave the cream out of the refrigerator for an hour or so to warm it up before getting started.
You are getting close when it starts to thicken up and get to a yogurt texture. Keep shaking!
When you start to feel a blob hitting the lid, you might be done. The finished product will have the solid butter and some liquid that separated out (buttermilk).
Pour off the buttermilk. You can drink it or use it in cooking, like in buttermilk pancakes.
Nice job! Enjoy your butter on a cracker. Feel free to add salt, garlic, cinnamon or any other addition that sounds good.
How did it work?
Cream might look just like a liquid, but it is actually a liquid with solid fat molecules floating around, or suspending, in the liquid. By smashing the fat globules against the jar and against each other, they clump in one solid butter mass. You separated the solid (butter) from the liquid (buttermilk).
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