A few times a year, usually in the spring, we make butter. It is a fun project for the boys as they love to shake those marbles in the jar as well as see the results of their efforts!
We used about 2 cups of cream from our 'cream on top' milk (or use store bought heavy cream). The cream went into a canning jar along with 3 marbles. Tighten lid. Then shake, shake, shake!
And shake, shake, shake. Take a break.
More shake, shake, shake. Shake, shake, shake. Shake, shake, shake (keep shaking! don't stop until that butter separates!).
And, ta-da! Butter! Spoon it out (save that buttermilk - mmm scones!) onto a wooden cutting board, fish out the marbles, and smear it around with a wood spoon, getting out all that liquid. Rinse with cool water, then smear it around some more. It is ready when liquid no longer comes out when you smear it. Scoop into a container.
Then spread some on fresh home made bread and you have yourself a delicious snack!
24 comments:
You're the best Denise!
We are going to have to try this for sure! Xxx
I can't believe we've never tried this. It looks like a great way to get out some of that extra energy!
I love home-made butter...it is the best...and way too much fun!
I use to do this all the time in the kindergarten classroom...where the kids thought butter was in a tub...ha :) Boy were they surprised. WE would make fry bread to spread the butter on...yummers.
Nothing beats a piece of fresh hot bread and home-made bread. Thanks for sharing visually! You are good mommy!
Wonderful! We must go get more milk, as our smallest house guests drank through our 3 gallons!! ~eyes bulging~
Have you found any success without the marbles? I have heard that some folks don't use the marbles. If you use real milk, is it necessary? I would love to do this -- great energy-focus for those days when there seems to be so much of it! And when we run out of butter!
How cool is that!! I'm guessing the marbles help with the mixing, but I bet they make a nice "chinkling" noise too.
I wanna try it.
Yep - the marbles help mix and make a clinking noise. It is fun in that when you start it is obvious loud clinking, and as the butter begins to separate, it becomes muffled. At the end the marbles are thickly coated in butter so they can definitely hear it is ready.
Sally-we have tried sans marbles, but it seems to take longer without them? Might be just butterfat content/time of year, but faster is good with small people! ;) And they like the clinking!
Fantastic! When I was homeschooling our three older daughters we made butter. We used an electric mixer. Your way was much more fun. Great job!
Oh, and I must add I LOVE a woman who eats butter!
What a great idea! How do you come up with such consistently fabulous activities for the boys?? (acknowledging, of course, that you're a super-creative and fabulous woman) What a great project! I had no idea making butter was so accessible to contemporary people (i.e. the kind without a butter churn or their own cow)
Thanks for the how-to!!
WAY cool Denise!!
Do you know the little butter-making poem?
Come butter come
Come butter com
Johnny's sitting by the gate
waiting for her buttercake
come butter come
I used to make kids say this rhyme while churning for butter so they would keep an even rhythm.
absolutley fabulous! i love it!! i'm off to buy some cream! yum!
Yay Butter! We are always up to something like this now that we have soooooooo much milk. Yesterday homemade mozzarella with our friends!
Oh, we are SO going to do this later this week or next week!
What a fun idea! :)
we absolutely LOVE butter. we are definitely going to try this!
Great project!
Thanks for showing this. It seems silly, but I've always wondered how to get the cream off the top of the milk. And I always thought that inch or two of cream on top wouldn't make enough butter to make it worth it.
Now we'll have to try it, even with just a little bit.
Aha! This has been on my list. It's in a great little Waldorf kindergarten activity book we have. You've inspired me!
This is such a great idea! Do you salt the butter?
I'm a severe special education teacher, and we actually did this this past week, along with reading Dr. Seuss's "The Butter Battle Book." It didn't work for us, but we didn't use the marbles. Maybe they are the magic trick?
pieces - you can salt if you like, we didn't...
michie - We have made butter without the marbles before, but it takes a LOT of shaking - a very long time. The marbles speed it up (a lot!) for sure. It also takes longer if the cream is really cold. :)
Not to sound like a complete moron, but I had no idea making butter was so easy. I can't wait to do this with my kiddos, and surprise my chef-hubby. :) I'll definitely keep an eye on your blog, I'm new here but I love what I've seen so far!
XOXOXO
nikki
So I want to do this with my first graders, but shaking a glass jar around?!? Can I do marbles in a metal bottle like a water bottle or small tea thermos.?
Amy - I like the canning jars only because you can see what is happening. Using a metal thermos would work too. Just fill it about 1/2 way with heavy whipping cream and add the marbles. The cream starts thickening pretty quickly so the marbles clank a bit only for a minute or two. :)
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