Homemade Kefir Cultured Butter

Homemade kefir cultured butter is one of my favorite little pleasures – from the beautiful color to the fresh smell and taste that don’t compare to anything else. In fact, when I researched to see if the superior flavor of cultured butter was only in my head, I learned that fermentation produces additional aromatic compounds, including diacetyl. This specific compound produces a more flavorful ‘buttery’ taste in food. Manufacturers use artificial form of diacetyl as butter flavoring in popcorn and add it to some commercial butters.

BUTTER IS GOOD FOR YOU!

I like that ‘butter-phobia’ is becoming the thing of the past. Butter (especially from grass-fed animals) is very rich is fat soluble vitamins, like A, E, and K; CLA and a compound called butyrate, which has strong anti-inflammatory effects on the digestive system. There is a saying in Russia – ‘you cannot spoil porridge with butter’, and my grandma used to say that cooking vegetables with butter makes them healthier.

BUTTER FERMENTATION IN HISTORY

Fermenting butter is an age old practice. Folks would collect cream from several daily milkings, which before refrigeration would sit out and thicken/sour from the lactic bacteria that are naturally present in raw milk.

After gathering a sufficient supply, butter was churned, washed and stored in cold cellars. In my experience, when the moisture is thoroughly squeezed out, it can be stored without spoiling for up to three weeks.

USE A CULTURE TO START FERMENTATION 

If using raw cream, it’s not necessary to inoculate it with additional cultures, like kefir or sour cream, but I like to do it anyway. I put a touch of kefir in my cream, which has a wonderful ability to introduce a variety of additional nutrients to the cream while keeping away any unwanted bacteria.

If you are using pasteurized cream, which is what majority of folks have easier access to, you definitely want to use a culture to trigger fermentation. The color of butter would depend on the season, it is at its brightest yellow in the spring, when the grass grows fast, and during rainy stretches of weather. I really admired the striking color of my butter this June when we had what seems to have been never-ending rain.

DON’T COMPLICATE IT 

If you do a search for ‘how to make cultured butter’, you would see that there are so many over-the-top instructions that include ‘butter culture’, keeping it at certain temperatures, squeezing it with 4 layers of cheese cloth, etc. Personally, if I see ‘cheese cloth’ – I instantly lose interest, it always seems like it would be too much work. All there is to making cultured butter is ferment the cream, chill it, mix it, strain/wash in a sieve, and squeeze out the moisture.

What I found myself doing in the past several months is buying raw butter from my favorite Amish store to make ghee, and buying raw cream to make butter. One more thing I love about butter is this most wonderful washed butter cream that made me give up any other face moisturizers completely.

USE MIXER, BLENDER OR FOOD PROCESSOR – THEY ALL WORK 

I prefer using a stand mixer because I normally make 3 quarts at a time and my KitchenAid fits that amount well. But you can use a blender just as well. Food processor also works but it has a limit to how much liquid it can fit, and after I spilled a bunch of buttermilk once, I decided that stand mixer is my go-to method.

HOW TO MAKE KEFIR CULTURED BUTTER

Ingredients
Cream, any amount
1 tablespoon of kefir per quart of cream (how to make kefir)

Instructions
Place cream into a mason jar, add kefir, cover with a paper towel and a rubber band. Leave at room temperature for 24 hours, or until thickens to the consistency of sour cream. Once it’s thick, cool in the fridge for a couple of hours, or better overnight.
Place cultured cream into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, and mix on medium speed. At first the cream will turn into whipped cream.


Keep mixing on medium speed until you notice grainy texture starting to appear. At this point, turn the mixer on low because the cream is about to separate into butter and liquid (buttermilk), and will splash.


Strain everything through a large, very fine strainer into a bowl. The liquid is real buttermilk, it contains a lot of live cultures and is delicious. Reserve it and use it for baking (try these fluffy buttermilk pancakes!), or just drink it straight.
Rinse the butter until water is no longer milky. You can use a spoon to help squeeze. You won’t be able to get every bit of white liquid out of it but give it a good try.

Once done washing, squeeze out whatever liquid you can. Transfer butter to a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.

Spread the butter using a dough scraper, or a cake spatula. Fold it over itself and spread to squeeze out the remaining liquid. Then pour off the liquid. Repeat a few times.

You can spread the butter and then roll it into a log, or into a ball, or stuff it into half-pint mason jars (which is what I do). Enjoy!

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5 from 2 votes

Kefir Cultured Butter

Wholesome homemade kefir cultured butter made with fermented cream

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Fermentation1 day d

Ingredients

• Cream any amount
• 1 tablespoon kefir per quart of cream

Instructions

• Place cream into a mason jar, add kefir, cover with a paper towel and a rubber band. Leave at room temperature for 24 hours, or until thickens to the consistency of sour cream. Once it's thick, cool in the fridge for a couple of hours, or better overnight.
• Place cultured cream into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, and mix on medium speed. At first the cream will turn into whipped cream.
• Keep mixing on medium speed until you notice grainy texture starting to appear. At this point, turn the mixer on low because the cream is about to separate into butter and liquid (buttermilk), and will splash.
• Strain everything through a large, very fine strainer into a bowl. The liquid is real buttermilk, it contains a lot of live cultures and is delicious. Reserve it and use it for baking pancakes or just drink it straight.
• Rinse the butter until water is no longer milky. You can use a spoon to help squeeze. You won't be able to get every bit of white liquid out of it but give it a good try.
• Once done washing, squeeze out whatever liquid you can. Transfer butter to a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.
• Spread the butter using a dough scraper, or a cake spatula. Fold it over itself and spread to squeeze out the remaining liquid. Then pour off the liquid. Repeat a few times.
• You can spread the butter and then roll it into a log, or into a ball, or stuff it into half-pint mason jars (which is what I do).