Homemade and Homegrown, Part 2

So tomato sauce wasn't the only thing going on in my kitchen on Saturday. Friday afternoon Clara and I took a little excursion to a dairy that is less than 10 minutes from our house! They are one of only 11 dairies in the state licensed to sell raw milk and, unlike most dairies, their cows are all grass-fed, no grain at all. When I found out there was organic, grass-fed, raw milk so close by, I had to check it out! The farm is very picturesque.
We were greeted by an adorable little beagle who snoozed in the sun but kept one eye on us during our visit. Clara squawked at the 3 chickens hanging out in the garage (where the refrigerator with milk is) and pointed to the larger flock by the coop and the cows grazing across the valley.

 

The milk is not cheap ($6/gallon), but curiosity got the better of me. We stuck our money in the tupperware container inside the fridge and headed home, one gallon of raw milk and a dozen eggs richer.

If the $6 price tag takes your breath away, join the club. However, this milk is not for drinking (primarily, anyway). When I use it to make yogurt, I make 1/2 gallon at a time. My cost for 1/2 gallon of yogurt: $3 + $0.50 or so for the 1/2 cup of starter (if I buy it, less if I save it from the last batch). Cost for the equivalent amount of Stoneyfield Farm organic cream-top yogurt: $7.18 at my grocery store. Cost for the cheap, non-fat Aldi brand: $3.18. So I'm making organic cream-top yogurt from local, grass-fed cows for the same price as cheap Aldi yogurt. Not bad, in my opinion!

Saturday afternoon, I began divvying up the milk. It had separated overnight - see the gorgeous cream on top?! I couldn't believe how creamy it was. I gave it a couple of good shakes (I want full-fat yogurt for Clara) and poured a half gallon into my crock pot. I've made yogurt a few times now, using this method, and I love it. It's so easy and the yogurt is delicious. A little thinner than store bought, but neither Clara nor I mind that. I turned the crock pot on low and left it for a couple of hours while I was chopping tomatoes for the sauce.

The other half gallon of milk went back in the fridge in a large mixing bowl with a lid and sat until Monday morning. When I took it out, once again it had separated and there was a lovely layer of cream on top. Using a large spoon, I carefully skimmed the cream off and put it in the bowl of my food processor. Use #2 for this milk: homemade butter. Why make butter at home you ask? Because I can. Or at least, I'd heard I could and wanted to try.

The warmed milk.

Back to the crock pot. After 2 hrs. 15 minutes I turned it off. That's all. (We were sitting down to dinner so I didn't leave it the full 2 1/2 hours. It was fine.) Luke gave Clara a bath, I did dishes and then nursed Clara and put her to bed. Since I was out of yogurt, I ran to the store to get starter. 3 hours later, I scooped out 2 cups of the warm milk and mixed them with my 1/2 cup of starter. Then I poured the tempered milk back into the crock pot, whisked it around, and tucked my yogurt in for the night. Like I said before, this yogurt is an easy keeper.

All tucked in!

 While the yogurt's sleeping, we'll go back to the butter. I'll let the pictures tell most of the story.

Here's the cream in the food processor, ready to go.

I pulsed it a few times, then let it run for 15 seconds or so. Whipped cream anyone?

It had a lovely soft set to it. Not quite whipped cream yet.

See how much fluffier it got?

Oh.my.word. Now you're talkin. Heavenly creamy goodness.

I have to say, the whipped cream was amazing. Just pure, whipped cream. As in, from a cow. Not from a green box at the store that says, "whipping cream." But at this point I was getting a little impatient. It was definitely taking longer than I thought and I wondered if somehow, I had done something wrong. I turned the food processor back on, walked away and started doing some dishes. Suddenly, I knew. I had butter! Not because I'm psychic or anything, but because the sound from the processor changed. I ran over, and sure enough, beautiful yellow butter was forming in my very own kitchen!

My first glimpse of homemade butter!

After pouring off the buttermilk...

...real buttermilk!

Luke opened the fridge later that day and said, "What's this little jar in here?" I told him, "Buttermilk!" "Well, yes, but what do you do with it?" Anything you do with regular buttermilk, I told him, wondering to myself how many people never stop to think where buttermilk comes from. No, it's not just milk that's a little sour and makes good pancakes or biscuits. It's the milk left over after you make butter. Really and truly. Amazing!

Pouring the buttermilk off was not the last step by any means. This butter still had to be rinsed. Six times, to be exact. I poured ice cold water in the processor, spun it a bit, then drained the (now cloudy) water off until it finally ran (mostly) clear. 

Rinsing the butter.

Isn't that a gorgeous shade of yellow?!

And that's it! I packed my beautiful butter into a 4oz canning jar (side note: these things are wonderful. If you don't have any, get some! They are so useful for everything from storing small amounts of leftovers to providing the perfect serving size for a toddler. And they're freezer safe! So I can put 1/3 a sweet potato in a jar, pop it in the freezer, and grab it before we head out somewhere if we'll be gone during mealtime. By the time Clara's ready to eat, the food is thawed but not spoiled because it stayed cold. Seriously, these jars are great.) and popped it in the fridge. We had some on homemade bread that night for dinner. It really is as delicious as it looks. As Luke said, "Wow honey, this is good butter!"

Mmmmmmmmmmmm......

These jars are the best. And doesn't that butter look to die for? I'll be honest, it really was.

Now, did you forget about the yogurt? I bet you did. I mean, how could you think about yogurt with all that gorgeous yellow creaminess in front of you, right? Well, the yogurt didn't forget about you. It faithfully and quietly did its job overnight, and in the morning looked like this:

 A little soft, but really a lovely texture. So much better than anything you can get from the store. And the next morning it was both lovely and delicious on top of my oatmeal with a drizzle of maple syrup that was made the next town over. Butter may be flashy, but it's pretty hard to beat a simple, hearty, good-for-you breakfast that also happens to be scrumptious!