Butter!

Lest I give a false impression with the title of this post, let me just make plain that I have a slight fear of butter. It is the same fear I have of bacon, but idiosyncratically not of things like whipped cream or summer sausage. I use butter as little as possible in my cooking, despite that fact that it makes all things better. I think I simply fear that if I were to really let go with it, because I cook so much, I would quickly condemn myself and those I feed to a life of clogged arteries and excess cellulite. With that being said however, I feel that if one if going to use butter, better that it is in its rawest form--fresh butter on warm bread for instance, which is what this post is about.

I love making butter from scratch. It is so easy and so satisfying and SO GOOD. There is a great demonstration of how to do it from Saveur Magazine's web site (which is my reigning favorite food site btw). Basically, you just whip heavy cream until the solids separate from the liquid (buttermilk), wring out in cheesecloth, wash it, and then mash in some salt. Voila. You can do it with a mixer but it really is nice to do it by hand with a whisk...if you like that kind of thing.

I made two kinds: one with unhomogenized, grass-fed, organic cream and one with plain organic cream. The grass-fed cream smelled quite ripe and I worried that the butter wouldn't taste that great, but the whipping process mellowed it and it came out well. I have yet to do a side-by-side taste test as promised in an earlier post, but I really am curious so I will soon. The grass-fed cream butter was slightly yellower than the other--a by product of the grass, rather than grain diet of the obliging cows.

If you are a fan of the butter you get with good bread at good restaurants, you must give this a try as it blows even those away.

-VEW