SOME BEURRE WITH THAT MANNA?

Butta anyone? I finally found my source for raw dairy products; a small organic farm a couple of hours away. I am thrilled to have found their products in Tulsa. And so the process began.

Notice that I churned the butter in a food processor?

The liquid is buttermilk, a by-product of the butter making process. Yes, I used the buttermilk too, in the yeast rolls. It turns white in the frig, but is not thickened like the kind bought at the store. I think they add glues and/or gums to it.

After squeezing all the buttermilk out, you rinse the butter in water until the water runs clear.

I wish I could say that only superwomen or men are able to make butter. This process was surprisingly easy. Yes, it is superior to store bought butter and I plan on using old molds to form the butter for the holidays. This recipe made the standard sweet cream butter with a little sea salt added. The fun starts when you begin to culture the butter. One way in which you can influence the flavor, or culture, is by letting the cream ripen or sit out for days or a week. The flavor intensifies and I guess you could make different butters infinitum. I can't wait to try different methods. One of the earliest recipes for a savory butter is from 1615 when rosemary was added to butter. Even the flavor of the grasses and the time of year the cream is produced, is a factor in flavor. I also found out more about goat cream. The molecules in goat milk are smaller and therefore, the cream does not rise to the top like cow's cream. A separator has to be used to get goat cream, which makes the best butter. I hope I can find some. Also, pasteurized cream can be used to make butter, but won't taste like butter from raw cream.

PS ~ I am so tickled when I get new followers. So, Lynn and Joycee, I'm proud to meet ya!

Baking Bread

Each day, it becomes more and more evident that fall is already here. I should be making lists of things I need to do: clean out the garage, clean up the barn, throw old clothes etc. away. I could fill a binder with things I need to do but don't want to do. Instead, I think of things I'd like to do. Bake bread, make butter; real chores from days of yore. I want to try different kinds of flour - flour from kernels of red wheat, fresh if possible, and pearls of barley, oats and other grains. I've saved recipes for decades that I haven't yet tried. So, what am I waiting for? I've also been reading up on butter making. I need to find a source of raw cream where the cows are feeding on green grass or pastures. Seems this makes the most delectable butter. It is illegal to sell unpasteurized milk in the stores in our state, so I'll have to find a small dairy that still operates somewhere. Hopefully, with Jersey cows, as their milk and cream are superior in butter making. I would also love to use goat cream if I can find it. It makes the best butter ever. So, we'll see what the coming days and weeks bring. Possibly, a pilgrim Thanksgiving, only I'm not killing a turkey!

Scones

I had this Garvey's scone mix that I picked up from Williams Sonoma. So instead of a recipe, I'll give a product review. I added some lemon zest and blueberries to the mix. They were pretty tasty. I used a small biscuit cutter so they are dainty. I thought they would rise more than they did, but that could have been the way I rolled them out. So, I'd give them a B. I like my scones round with lots of soft center instead of triangular and crusty. I have a Scottish Oat Scones recipe I'll share another time that is to die for. The little basket container with the blue checkered paper contains a knob of butter. I bought it at the Dragonmoon Tea Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Isn't it the cutest?

Butter Love

Just a tip for those of you not watching their cholesterol -

Run don't walk to your nearest Whole Foods Market and pick up a block of Meyenberg's Goat Butter. I know. At first I thought GOAT BUTTER! Almost sounds like camel butter or something like that. Not very appetizing was my first reaction. Then, I thought what the heck and bought it. It was love at first bite. Let me tell you, if you like real butter, you will never have any better. It ruined every other butter I have ever tasted for me. I haven't used margarine or the like in centuries and only cook with butter. Alas, this butter is too expensive for me to bake with. I heard Martha Stewart say on one of her shows that they only use goat butter for baking now so I guess she tasted Meyenberg's too. Anyway, it is wonderful to savor on a cracker or toast points. It's like, butta.