making butter

Our produce share for the week. Such bounty and color at this point in the season - it's beautiful. And so bittersweet, too, as I know it's a sign of the end. Among our greens and oranges and reds - in the center - is some raw milk. Ezra, in particular, is a fan of the idea of raw milk, as much as I'm in love with the idea of knowing the name of the cow from which our milk comes. This milk comes from Dulsie, the Mama cow we see each week. We talk a lot on the ride to and fro the farm about Dulsie and the milk she gives. And all the many things that her milk becomes.

After we made cheese at the farm earlier in the summer, Ezra was most interested in making some butter. From Dulsie's milk. And finally - finally, today we did.

We got some instructions from the farm, but checked here online too. Really, though, it was pretty simple - skim the cream off the top, shake (a lot), drain, shake (a lot more), rinse, form into a shape. So simple that I've been wondering all day how it is that I've made it 30 years in this life without making my own butter. I'm so glad we did so today.

Once we started and I knew how much Ezra was loving the whole thing, I realized we needed something really special to put this butter upon. So out to our blueberry bushes we went, and returned in to the kitchen for some blueberry muffin making.

So good. So very, very good. So good that it prompted one of my near-daily visits to the real estate websites to search for Maine farms for sale (I can't help myself). Nothing quite right for us, though - not yet, anyway. And so, for the time being, I'll gladly take our local milk when we can get it, make it into whatever my little ones prefer (yogurt next?), and treasure the whole thing. And of course, give our thanks to Dulsie, the cow.

Comments

[charlotte]

wonderful when all the loves converge at the same point...adventure, food, children, education, inspiration, pleasure. and so yummy!

[camerashymomma]

what a wonderful, wonderful post. so simple and sweet. that's the good life!

[jean]

perfect. that little farm is out there, soulemama. just waiting for you to find it. which, when the time is right, you will. (Just not toooooo far away, please?)

[Diane]

Ah, isn't it amazing to realize how easy these things are? Let me encourage you to try yogurt right away -- it's so easy you'll be wondering again how you got so far without doing it ever. I thought yogurt was some sort of difficult and mysterious process -- my husband started making it when I was pregnant and too sick to go in the kitchen -- and I had it in my mind that it involved something tricky and scientific. Ha. Wait'll you see! And then you can strain the yogurt to make soft cheese...

Hurray for Dulsie! Hurray for you and the kids!

[Sarah]

Do you know this little phrase:

"Come butter come
Come butter come
Johnny's sitting at the gate
Waiting for his butter cake
Come butter come"

I used to use this when working with children on a churn. It kept a nice rhythm and helped pass the time.

[Alicia A.]

I can TOTALLY see you guys on a farm, you wandering in and out of a studio that's in an an old barn, and your kids chasing around the chickens and climbing on tractors. It's a vision like a picture book.

[Eren]

What a wonderful post. I remember making butter this way with my grandmother...and I remember ALOT of shaking. But so rewarding in the end. Cows are wonderful animals indeed.

[Libby]

Yogurt is even easier...and so much tastier than the store baught brands. Yummy adventures!

[Sarah]

Wonder what would happen if we tried that at our house with soy milk? Would we make tofu?

Oh, a farm. I look forward to living vicariously through yours someday.

[Jessica]

Ah! Dulsie! That's so wonderful! Love this post.

[Qalballah]

It's so nice to give children nourishment of the soul as well as body in the things we eat. So many children think we get milk from the market ...

I spy a knight's dressing up tabbard! My son plays in the same one!

Did you boil the milk before using it?

[anna]

Lucky you guys! We love raw milk around here. Making butter is fun.

[Angela]

Raw milk is wonderful! We are lucky enough to have a co-op to buy it from - the taste is delicious. Have you ever tried making kefir?

[Melissa]

I used to be able to get fresh goats milk and fresh eggs from a friend of mine until I moved. She is raising a cow this year and I wish I lived closer so I could snag some of the meat. Have you ever had home grown meat? I have had ham that was taken off the pig a couple days before it was served and it was heavenly!

I cant wait to have another farm! Maybe in a few more years. My degree has to come first.

[Jade]

Wonderful post. Your kids are learning so much from these experiences. Nice job!

[Rachel]

Raised on raw milk! Never pasteurized. I have no allergies to this day and am overall extremely healthy. My husband raised by a germophobe, on the other hand, has asthma and was a rather sickly child. I think he's recovered nicely, though.

I wish more farms had the option to sell raw milk. Here in Mississippi it's tough to get without knowing a farmer.

I second the make your own yogurt thing. I have a yogurt maker, but you don't need one. It's very tasty!

[andrea]

oh my goodness. you are a such an earth momma. i love your posts. even though my kids are all grown now, you make me wish i could go back and do it all over. but instead, guess i'll have to wait for the grandkids.
thank you so much for your blog, i read it every day.

[andrea]

ps. i forgot to mention that my hubby and i want to have a farm someday too. it's never too late, is it?

[heather wilson]

how fabulous that harvest is! I love that you made butter! my grandmother has an antique butter churn, I think shaking it in a mason jar would be much more fun for the little ones though!

I finally found a fabulous tin, inspired by the pictures of your tin collection, I have decided to start my own =) I have posted a picture of it on my blog

www.xanga.com/brezomayo

*do you have any info about the farm where you go to get the produce? I would love to do that next season. Thanks, have a wonderful day with your babes.

[cloth.paper.string]

you're so lucky to have a source for raw milk! when we were able to get the real stuff, we used to make butter this way too -- isn't it amazingly good? enjoy the sweetness of the waning season!

[Beth]

Raw milk? Wow. Where I live, they prosecute farmers for selling or giving it. Please know - I have no issue with y'all using it! I'm just concerned that someone might get in trouble for it ... for all I know, it's perfectly legal in Maine :-)

That said, what a great project! I love reading about the life you provide for your kids. Beautiful.

[tracey]

we started making our own butter about 8 years ago and my girls still love doing it. yogurt making is fun too (without using one of the electric do-dad things). just make sure you get your temps right and you're good to go. soon, you'll be wanting to move onto cheese! :o)

[Pien]

Great making your own butter. My aunt make always here own yoghurt, very tasteful and also not so difficult to make. I wonder if the bleuberry plants are different from here. The plants here are much, much smaller. Do you know the Latin name of yours??
Love.

[cyndi]

yummmmm:p

[Amber]

Great photos and project. I love making things like this---ricotta cheese, yogurt, butter, icecream! I guess I'm admittedly a bit addicted to dairy!

[Alyssa]

Lovely bittersweet end to the summer. Until you find your own farm with room for a cow or two, may I suggest chickens? We live in a small city, with a small backyard, and my husband and I built a sweet little chicken pen and coop for our bantams. They make the most awesome pets, live outside, and give you the freshest and yummiest eggs! There are a lot of resources out there for "bakyard chicken" people, and you can get breeds that tolerate cold weather better.

Hooray for Raw Milk! I second all of the comments about it, changed our lives for the healthier, no question!

[Leah]

I saw a post on Shiso Mama a little while ago about making your own butter.... seems like such a good, wholesome thing to do...
I love your farm posts, I wish we had a setup like that in the place where I live...
xxx

[sarah]

homemade butter is wonderful isn't it? I felt so "little house on the prairie" when we made our own a few years ago. By the way did you get the package I sent you?

[Molly]

Oh Amanda, I just love it! Today is farmers' market day for me, and you've made me want to buy some raw milk of my own. Butter, here I come... xo

[Alisha]

I remember making butter when I was a kid in school. I don't remember what we were studying, but I remember that I loved the butter. Thanks for the recipe!

[Marisa]

OMG, this looks like so much fun. How awesome to make your own butter. I'm getting hungry now.

[SOULEMAMA]

Loving all the raw milk and farm love today!

Beth - totally legal here in Maine! I think in half of the US states you can buy it from a farm. And in a small handful of states (Maine included!) it's legel to sell it in stores. Here's a partial list of places it's available in the US:
http://www.realmilk.com/where1.html

Pien - We call them Highbush Blueberry, but I don't know the latin name. They're quite tall - 6 feet - much different (and bigger berries) than the lowbush, ground variety.

Alyssa - YES! I would love, love, love chickens. I talk about it all the time. Sadly, though, our city has an ordinance against them. So lame, as far as I'm concerned. But hopefully either that will change someday (it has changed in neighboring communities), or we'll find the spot just right for chickens, a cow, a horse (!) and everything else we want. Until now, I feel lucky to be in a spot with so many local organic community farms. Ah...

[amy]

my husband is the resident yogurt maker in our home. I highly highly recommend it... and so so simple (or so he tells me)!

[Lori]

mmmmm.....
brings such good memories for us but bittersweet also.
We used to get three gallons every week for at least 4 years of raw milk and make our own yogurt, kefir and butter. by accident one time I made cream cheese and made it into blueberry flavored. :o)
sadly our co-op owners could no longer do it and no-one local wants to tangle with getting licensed grade a raw dairy...I dont blame them.

When I had large amounts of raw cream i put it in the osterizer blender and made my butter that way. ~snicker--much easier for large amounts~

I remember the first time we did butter with a small amount of cream though and shaking it in the jar while watching little house videos. :o)
Lovely produce!!

[julie]

Homeschooling at its finest! This is what its all about. Thanks for the inspiration.

[Beth]

Well, there you go -- we can't get raw milk here, but we can have chickens in the city! I'm leaning very strongly towards getting a few next year.

[Wendy]

Once again, love the tiny little hand sneaking in from the side.

And I look at farm real estate too (probably less seriously than you, though).

[Wendy]

Makes me miss my days of teaching preschool! We made butter in baby food jars! The kids LOVED it!!

[Missy K]

Ah-- what a lovely post. A beautiful way to shorten the distance, physical and spiritual, between you and what you're eating. Delightful!

[Sarah Jackson]

We make our own butter too! I use some technology in mine by using the Kitchenaid mixer. We use the buttermilk and the butter in our homemade cinnamon rolls and banana bread and muffins. Yum!

[Meredith]

That sounds like an idyllic morning...and looks so inviting! Glad Ezra finally got his wish!

[robiewankenobie]

four words: vintage wooden butter molds

[Meredith]

Hi there. Have you ever made cottage cheese? This is one my fondest memories from grade school (7th grade, actually). We had to make it at home and then bring it to class for evaluation -- and eating! You should try it.

[Amanda]

oh I used to make butter when I was little! Our neighbors gave my sister and I a cow for Christmas one year. So much shaking and shaking (the butter, not the cow)... but isn't it satisfying when it finally lumps together?

[Kati]

I love reading about how fabulously simple you make sharing life-skills & real food with your kids. And how fabulously simple you make being a great mom look.

Love all the pictures and the thought that there are these 3 lovely little kids learning about the importance of real, non-homogenized food for their bellies.

[Katy]

Yum.
Do you read the Pocket Farm blog? (It's a Maine farm!) Liz has a great tutorial on EASY yogurt making--we've had great success with that. Her mozzarella making tutorial is also great.

[heather]

You making butter brings back memories. I grew up on a small farm with a Jersey cow. I drank raw milk my whole childhood and thought it was quite normal. These days with the "raw milk" issue, it still seems odd to me that people make such a big deal over it( I realize the issues involved, but....)

We made butter on a regular basis. My mom bought an electric butter churn to save time because we made it so often. We also made homemade icecream and yogurt. My mouth waters thinking about these things.

** I am only 42, so my childhood was not that long ago but we ate from the earth, and made almost everything else homemade as well. Breads, cakes, cookies. Raised our own beef and chickens. Luckily, my mom was able to be a stay-at-home mom so she had the flexibility and time to do these things.

I on the other-hand work four days a week (unfortunately) I am working towards staying home more, that is where my hearts yearns to be and I hope to be back to "my roots" again.

Thank you for your lovely blog. I admire the way you are raising your children. I have a 2 1/2 yr old and also try to do these things with him. Just need more time at home! thanks again.

[ellen]

Every day I read your posts and they make me smile and I just wanted to say "Thanks" because everyone needs a little happy to start their day.

[sascia]

thank you so much for this post! You inspired me to make my own butter for my family. i can´t wait to try it :-)

since? for? a few weeks i found your blog and i enjoy it so much! best wishes from germany!

ps: i hope, my old school english was good enough for these few words :-)))

[Heather]

Amanda,

Have you read this book?

http://www.amazon.com/Maine-Farm-Year-Country-Life/dp/0394584643/ref=sr_1_1/103-6341467-9635047?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188413084&sr=1-1

It is one of my all-time favorites, with lots of gorgeous color photos, recipes, and craft ideas.

It's out of print now, but perhaps you can find it at your local library or thrift.

This book reminds me so much of you and the close-to-nature life you are living with your family.

Sorry if this makes you pine for a farm even more. Someday your farm will come!