The mitbachon (teaching kitchen) recipe for October is homemade butter! In the mitbachon, we emphasize the use of fresh and homemade ingredients. One of the goals of the program is to push campers outside of their comfort zones in the kitchen – to show them that with a few simple ingredients they can make their own butter, bread, pasta, cakes, and more, all completely from scratch! Nearly every aidah that signed up for mitbachon made butter in their first couple days, which we then used for baking, sautéing, and enjoying with our fresh baked bread throughout the reva. -Anna Glassman-Kaufman, Rosh Mitbachon 2018
Homemade Butter
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• Optional: 2 tsp salt
1. Pour 1 cup heavy cream into the bowl of a stand mixer or a metal bowl with a hand mixer. It is important to only fill the bowl halfway so it does not overflow as air is whipped into the cream.
2. Turn mixer on low to medium-low at first to prevent splashing. Once the cream begins to thicken you can turn it up to medium.
3. Mix for 10-15 minutes. As the cream thickens, it will first take the texture of whipped cream. After the whipped cream stage, it will begin to deflate and break down. When this begins to happen, stay close. The change to butter can happen very quickly.
4. When you see the butter begin to clump and stick to your whisk, it is done mixing.
5. Place a strainer over a bowl and pour the contents of your mixing bowl into the strainer. The solids that collect in the strainer are the butter and the liquid that collects in the bowl is buttermilk, which can saved and used in pancakes, scones, etc.
6. Now you need to “rinse” the butter. It is important to remove as much buttermilk as possible. Put the butter back in your mixing bowl and cover with clean, cold water.
7. With the back of a wide spoon, begin pressing the butter into the side of the bowl. The water will get cloudy as the buttermilk is “cleaned” out of the butter. Pour the water off and add more cold water.
8. Repeat this process 4-5 times or until the water stays clear. Done! Store in refrigerator or at room temperature if you will use it within a week or two.
