How to Make Kefir Cultured Butter

If you are yet to try cultured butter, dive in for a mouthwatering, creamy, and probiotic treat.

Ingredients:

• Cream (any amount and variety of organic raw or ultra-pasteurized cream will do)
• Kefir grains (1 tbsp. to 1-4 cups of cream)
• Salt to taste

Note: If you’re using raw cream, there’s no need to inoculate it with extra culture (that is, fermenting the cream using kefir grains), but if you want to, fine.

If what you’ve got is pasteurized cream, you need to ferment/culture it using kefir grains. When you want to add your kefir grains into the cream, loosely tie up the grains in a piece of muslin cloth before dropping the bundle into the cream.

If some pieces of grains are left behind after culturing, don’t worry, you can eat them, they are probiotics (body-friendly bacteria) which are good for the gut.

Instructions

1. Place cream into a clean jar, add the kefir grains into the jar and secure with a rubber band. Let the jar sit at room temperature for 16-24 hours.

2. Remove the kefir grains, close the jar with its lid, and keep in the fridge until it becomes thick and solid like the consistency of tart or sour cream.

3. Place the cultured cream into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on medium speed until you see a grainy texture. Switch to low speed and stop when your mixture takes on the look of whipped cream or butter. Reducing the speed is to prevent splatter as the cream separates into liquid and butter. For small amounts, leave your cream in the jar and whisk with a hand mixer until you get a big blob of butter.

4. Once the butter appears, strain well with a sieve and bowl. Don’t throw away the white liquid, as it’s the equivalent of buttermilk. You can use this liquid in sauce and pancake recipes.

5. Gently rinse your butter, squeeze out the extra liquid in the butter, and return into the fridge to chill. Once your butter is cold, sprinkle some salt on it and store in an airtight jar before returning into the fridge.