Are you wondering how butter is made from raw milk ? In this blog post we will dwell into the benefits of raw milk butter and how easy it is to make butter at home. I will also show you Swiss Farmhouse method on how to separate cream from fresh raw milk.
Ayurveda places great importance to cow milk and cow milk products like Yogurt, ghee and butter milk made from yogurt. Milk is used as a medicine to nourish and heal the body since olden times. Ghee in Ayurveda is revered as liquid gold, the best form of fat for our body.
WHAT MAKES RAW COW MILK SO HEALTHY ?
Clean raw milk from pastured cows is a complete and properly balanced food. Unlike the processed UHT or homogenized and pasteurized milk devoid of any life, raw milk has all the enzymes and nutrients intact. These processed milks actually disturb our Kapha dosha or also known as the mucous humor according to Ayurveda.
Raw cow milk from grass fed cows are rich in proteins. Raw cow milk has 8 essential amino acids. “CLA short for conjugated linoleic acid, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, cholesterol and beneficial bacteria. CLA, short for conjugated linoleic acid and abundant in milk from grass-fed cows, is a heavily studied, polyunsaturated Omega-6 fatty acid with promising health benefits. “
Now I am no health practitioner, but I will leave a few sites for you to do your own research.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF BUTTER FROM GRASS FED COW MILK
While the health benefits of grass fed cow milk is so much, then what about the butter made from raw cow milk. We get the essence of raw milk with the cream which settles on top of the milk. When you churn this cream you get butter that is separated from the buttermilk.
Raw milk butter, from grass fed cows, is one of the richest and most absorbable source of Vitamin A. It is anti-inflammatory due to Butyric acid, good for heart health, energy boosting, rich in vital cholesterol, important for a healthy thyroid and adrenal gland health. The rich yellow butter is also full of Vitamins E and K.
Raw milk butter contains CLA, conjugated Linoleic Acid, which is good for fighting cancer and has immune system benefits.
To make this butter last longer without refrigeration, I usually cook the butter into ghee. Now Ghee is another topic and I will soon post a tutorial on how to make ghee.
I don’t want to cram this blog post with so much information, so I will leave links for you to explore.
HOW TO MAKE RAW MILK BUTTER?
STEP 1 – SEPARATE CREAM FROM RAW MILK
( SWISS FARMHOUSE METHOD )
Since I moved to Switzerland, I have been buying raw milk directly from Swiss farmers selling milk from grass fed cows. For some years we lived just within walking distance of the farmer from our home. My husband’s family were Swiss farmers till about 50 years back before they gave up farming. My mother-in-law (late) still had some traditional farm utensils in her storage. Seeing my enthusiasm for separating cream from raw milk and struggling with it. She gave me a simple bowl which does this process with ease.
This bowl has a small grove and a removable lock attachment to be fixed on the grove. This removable lock will hold back the cream and let the milk pass through the grove. What I usually do is, I pour in all the raw milk into this shallow bowl and leave it to set in the fridge overnight. The next morning, the cream would have settled on the top layer of the milk. All I have to do is pour the milk into a pot and separate the cream. The thick dense cream stays behind in the pot once the lower dense milk devoid of cream is poured into the pot. I collect the cream and freeze it for a period of few weeks and then churn it into butter.
If you want to watch the video straight away then click on the link below.
STEP 2 – CHURNING FRESH CREAM INTO BUTTER
After you have collected enough cream say about 1 liter, its time to make this into butter. First thaw the frozen cream overnight. I use the kitchen aid stand mixer for this purpose. With this mixer, its so easy to make butter within 10 minutes. If you overload the machine with too much cream, it will take longer.
TIP
Try to churn the butter in the early morning or late evening when the room temperature is cooler especially in the summer months. If its unavoidable that you find time to do this only during midday, then add some ice water middle in the process.
STEP 3 – SEPARATE BUTTER FROM THE BUTTER MILK
After you have churned the cream, you will hear the sound of the mixer changing. It will sound like water splashing. This is an indication that the butter has separated from the cream. You will see that butter will separate and latch on to the whisk attachment. This is easier to take out.
You can separate the butter left in the bowl by passing the buttermilk into a thin muslin cloth and then wash the butter with fresh cold water by running it again in the mixer till you get a clear water.
Use this buttermilk in recipes which need buttermilk. My motto “Waste not want not”. I usually pour buttermilk into our plants in the garden during the summer months. Butter milk is especially nourishing for curry leaf plants and we have a couple of them at home.
TIP
If you want this butter to last longer than a week in the fridge. Squeeze out most of the water. Add salt and herbs if needed. I usually make this raw milk butter into ghee. This butter produces the best tasting ghee and its all made from scratch. There is a lot of satisfaction in making your own food.
PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD
Attach the splash guard and cover with a kitchen towel as much as you can. Whisk on a maximum setting. After about 5 minutes, the cream will turn to whipped cream. Continue to whisk longer. You will hear the sound of the butter separating from the buttermilk. Switch of the mixer. Now to rinse of the butter milk from the butter, use the stand mixer again add the butter with a little water and whisk at a low setting. Continue the process till the water turns clear of any butter milk. 
Ingredients
Instructions
PIN IT FOR LATER
