Homemade butter from cream

Where to buy & price

Just examples of where to look and roughly what to expect to pay, get everything from wherever works for you, at whatever price you find.

Fresh cream, Naivas/Quickmart dairy section, ~KSh 150–250/250ml.

Cold storage / timing

The cream should be slightly chilled (fridge, ~30 minutes before starting), this is a real requirement, as cream that's too warm won't separate properly; the finished butter should then be refrigerated to firm up.

Reagents & materials required

Procedure, step by step

1. 1

   Chill fresh heavy or whipping cream in the fridge for about 30 minutes before starting.

2. 2

   Pour the cold cream into a clean jar with a tight-fitting lid, filling it no more than halfway to leave room for movement.

3. 3

   Seal the jar tightly and shake vigorously and continuously, this typically takes 10–20 minutes by hand, or just a few minutes with an electric mixer.

4. 4

   Watch the texture change in order: first it thickens into whipped cream, then it turns grainy and starts to separate.

5. 5

   Keep shaking until you see solid yellow clumps of butter clearly separating from a thin, milky liquid, the buttermilk.

6. 6

   Pour off and keep the buttermilk (it's genuinely useful for baking), then press the solid butter clump gently to squeeze out any remaining liquid.

7. 7

   Rinse the butter briefly under cold water while pressing it, to remove residual buttermilk and help it keep longer.

8. 8

   Refrigerate the finished butter to firm it up before use.