How to make cultured butter while you sleep

Your homemade butter will last longer and get a good dose of good bacteria.

Talk about a toast upgrade. Source: Camellia Aebischer

No, cultured butter isn't butter that took a trip overseas and has been enlightened by different ways of living. It’s butter made from cream that has been inoculated by bacteria cultures before churning. This gives the butter a more complex flavour and helps it last longer as it’s been fermented.

Making butter at home is definitely more work than simply buying it, but cultured butter is a little more complex as a product and rewarding to do at home. The quick overnight fermentation process makes it low-commitment and you’ll be rewarded with half a kilo of fresh butter, and half a kilo of buttermilk.

You can also use sour cream, creme fraiche or buttermilk if it has live cultures. Source: Camellia Aebischer

How to make cultured butter

Take a litre of cream and add it to a jar/jug/deep bowl with a tablespoon of plain yoghurt. You just want the bacteria here so Greek is fine, just as long as it’s not sweet. Stir well to combine and cover with a cloth. Set on the bench out of direct sunlight for 24 hours.

The next day, it should be firm and much thicker. This may take a little longer if it’s cold out.

This is what mine looked like ontop. Source: Camellia Aebischer

Put the cultured cream into a bowl and beat with a mixer (hand or stand) til the cream splits and clumps of butter start to form.

Strain away as much buttermilk as possible (save this though), then rinse the butter with ice-cold water a few times (could take up to five) til the water runs clear, patting the butter to extract any extra buttermilk.

Then, push the butter into a ball and press against the side of the bowl with a wooden paddle or spoon to squeeze out as much water as possible.

Season with ½ tsp of salt (for lightly salted or ¾ for regular) and mix through well.

Shape it as you like or just dump into a container and keep it in the fridge. You can use the buttermilk for fried chicken, biscuits, chocolate cake, sorbet, panna cotta or pancakes!

Quinelle with some flaky salt for garnish if you're feeling extra fancy. Source: Camellia Aebischer

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