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House-Cultured Butter

A tangy cultured butter made by fermenting heavy cream with buttermilk, then whipping, kneading and salting it.

By Tørst

buttercultureddairycondiment
Illustration of House-Cultured Butter
Illustration

Ingredients

  • 5 l heavy cream
  • 1 l cultured buttermilk
  • sea salt, 1.8% of the final weight of pressed butter

Steps

1Two to three days ahead: culture the cream

  1. Sanitize a 22-liter food grade plastic or glass container.
  2. Fill the container with 5 l heavy cream.
  3. Add 1 l cultured buttermilk.
  4. Mix well with a whisk.
  5. Cover the mixture with cheesecloth secured with kitchen twine.
  6. Leave the container in an area that has adequate ventilation but isn't too drafty.
  7. Culture the mixture for around 48 to 72 hours, depending on ambient temperature and desired level of sourness, stirring once a day.

2Chill the crème fraîche

  1. Once the desired flavor of the crème fraîche is achieved, stir the mixture.
  2. Place the entire container in the refrigerator so the mixture stiffens and sets up nicely.
  3. Let the mixture chill down to fridge temperature before whipping.

3Whip the butter

  1. Set up a stand mixer with a whisk attachment.
  2. Working in batches, fill the bowl with the chilled crème fraîche.
  3. Whip on high speed. For the first few minutes of whipping it will seem like nothing is happening. Soon after, the butter fat will begin to separate from the buttermilk and get messy and sloshy; stop there.
  4. Strain the butter solids, saving the buttermilk for future use.
  5. Place the butter solids in a chilled bowl.

4Knead and salt the butter

  1. Using gloved hands, take a small portion of the whipped butter and knead well to remove any drops of extra buttermilk that might linger.
  2. Weigh the pressed butter.
  3. Measure 1.8% sea salt based on the final weight of pressed butter.
  4. Place the butter and the salt into the bowl of a stand mixer.
  5. Whip for 2 minutes on low speed until the salt is fully incorporated.
  6. Taste and season with more salt as desired.