Hand-Pressed Butter

I was looking at ways to churn butter in my food processor, but the boys insisted, "Mom, let us do. We're going to shake it in a jar." Sounds fine. Apparently, they've done this with my mom several times. And while I know there is a more simple - and less messy - way to accomplish turning cream into butter, I never turn down a chance to let the Kitchen Elves do their thing.

Ingredients

• 2 C whipping cream
• salt and fresh herbs are optional (I wanted them, they vetoed)
• Also needed: quart mason jar with lid, mesh strainer, cheesecloth

Procedure
Pour cream into a lidded jar, filling it up about 2/3 full. We repeated the process to finish the entire pint. Next time I'll get a bigger jar. Shake. I'm not kidding. Just shake. We put on some good music and shook that jar like a maraca.

Once the cream is to the point where it's holding peaks, place a mesh strainer and cheesecloth over a mixing bowl and compress the cream with a spoon. Or your hands...

They really enjoyed pressing out the whey, or what they called "buttermilk."

They pressed the liquid out twice before the solids came together and turned a brighter yellow.

After running the cream through the mesh twice, the solids came together and the butter turned a brighter yellow. Reserve the liquid! They drank some of it straight and I added it to our banana pancakes the next morning.

While the butter is still soft, fold in salt and herbs, if desired. They kept theirs plain. Place it in the fridge till desired consistency.

You'll see this in a recipe for a challenge later this week. Stay tuned.