Do you see this lovely object before you? It was handmade for me by my Texan daughter-in-law. This, my friends, is a dasher. It's a tool needed for making butter the old-fashioned way.
This is my beloved butter churn, given to me by my beloved husband. The only thing that was missing was a dasher. And the proper lid, which was also supplied by the aforementioned beloved daughter-in-law.
Does it look like I'm hugging my butter churn? Because I am! I love butter in a Julia Child sort of way. And I love making my own butter. Want to join me?
First we'll need to scald the churn and dasher with boiling water.
Next, we add some heavy cream which we've allowed to reach room temperature. Cold cream won't work. Not sure why, but it doesn't. There is a scientific answer, but do we care? Meh!
By the way, I used a pint of cream. We're going to move the dasher up and down like a plunger, keeping a steady pace. Now you know why pioneer women were buff...
It's going to take thirty to forty-five minutes, so we'll kill time reading a book about beekeeping, which is our soon-to-be next adventure. Woot!
We know we're ready for the next step when a soft mass of butter begins to form on the dasher. The sound in the churn will be less splashy and more thunky. Holding a strainer over the bowl, pour the butter out.
Did you ever wonder how buttermilk was made? There you go. The white liquid remaining is buttermilk. Pour it into a jar and save it for some baking.
This is my ever-so-cool antique butter paddle. I don't like antiques you have to dust, I like antiques you have to use. And what is more...oh, let's just move on
Place the buttery blob in a bigger bowl and use the paddle to squeeze out the excess buttermilk while rinsing the butter with cold water. This prevents the butter from turning sour. You press it against the sides of the bowl until all the buttermilk comes out. When you rinse, the water will come clean. Then pour all of the rinse water off and discard.
Next, add a pinch or two of salt and mix in.
Lastly, I wrap the butter in a lightly greased piece of parchment paper.
Refrigerate until firm. I'm on the hunt for an affordable antique butter stamp. I passed one up in Texas, and I'm kicking myself now because I found after some investigating that the one I'd seen had a really reasonable price compared to what they go for here.
Well, we don't have to have a press to enjoy what we've made. Bon appetit!
381 - For meeting Jeff Eckel of We Bee Brothers who provided me with the bees he raised and the equipment I needed. You should visit him here. These guys are so cool.
382 - my hive packed up and waiting to go home with their new mama
383 - We Bee Brothers inspirational and amazing urban farm gardens
384 - my frame-filled supers
385 - bringing my Russian/Carniolan babies home
386 - random backyard beauty
387 - bees' new neighborhood
388 - there's veggies to pollenate
389 - flowers to visit
390 - home sweet home
