For this recipe, some of us probably imagined that we would be churning butter in a large barrel on our front porch like our ancestors did. Instead of using a barrel as our container, all we need is a mason jar! It's a great activity for kids as well because they not only get to see the milk transformed, but they also get to expel some energy by shaking the jar.

Here’s all you need:

• Canning jar
• Heavy cream
• Someone to shake the jar
• Cold water to rinse the butter
• Small marble (optional)

Canning or other jar

You’ll want to find a jar that holds twice the amount of cream that you’ll be shaking. If you’re just making a small amount, you can use a large baby food jar.

Heavy cream

The higher the fat content, the easier it’ll be to make butter with.

According to TheKitchn, different creams have these fat percentages on average:

• Half-and-Half: 12% fat
• Light Cream: 20% fat
• Light Whipping Cream: 30% fat
• Whipping Cream: 35% fat
• Heavy Cream and Heavy Whipping Cream: 38% fat

I personally like to use heavy whipping cream.

Cold water to rinse the butter

You’ll need a little water to rinse the butter when it’s ready. Cold water keeps it firm.

What are the steps and stages of the butter-making process?

The first thing you do is just fill the jar about half-way with cream.

Then you just close the light tightly and start shaking. You’ll want to shake it from lid to bottom and not side to side or rocking it like a rattle. You want the cream to start on one end and get slammed into the other end, over and over again. If you add a marble to the cream, it’ll go faster. Just be careful that you don’t break the glass.

After about two minutes of shaking, you’ll hear the sloshing get pretty quiet. Congratulations, you just made whipped cream.

In fact, you could just add a tablespoon of sugar and a half teaspoon of vanilla per cup of heavy cream and you’ll have some dandy whipped cream.

If you’re not making whipped cream, keep shaking. About 3-5 minutes or so later, you’ll start hearing it thump and slosh in the jar. Once you hear it change, give it another 30 seconds to a minute of shaking to get it to set.

You’ve now separated the milk fat from the buttermilk.

Have you been able to create homemade butter like this? Let us know if you have any suggestions when making it!

Article and Photo Source: Gray Wolf Survival