Getting Sidetracked in the Kitchen

Two nights ago, I used my Bosch to whip my whipping cream while I chopped strawberries to make Strawberry Shortcakes. Apparently, that process takes much less time that I had anticipated, because when I went to check on the cream, it was chunky! Thankfully I had more whipping cream in the fridge and the second time around I watched the Bosch more carefully and we did manage to have dessert. I put the ruined whipping cream in the fridge thinking that it would be good on top of waffles or french toast for breakfast.

Unfortunately, the combination of the kids being sick and my pregnancy has left me without energy in the morning so we have eaten cereal and oatmeal. This afternoon I was planning to make some Banana Bread with the brown banana's I bought yesterday for 10 cents a pound and the recipe I love uses buttermilk. I didn't have any in the fridge, but when making butter from cream, you also get buttermilk as a side product! At last I had figured out how to use up my mistake!

I put the whipping cream back into the Bosch and let it whip for another few minutes until there was a clear separation of the solids from the liquids. People have said you can hear a change in your motor at this point... I just waited till a lot of the solids where sticking to the wire whisks.





At that point I poured as much of the liquid off into a separate bowl as I could. Then gathered up the solids in my hand and squeezed them over the bowl, after all you don't want to waste your buttermilk! You could also use a fine colander for this step if you are incline to dirty another dish. Your buttermilk is now ready for use.






Now you will need to rinse and work your butter in cold water a few (3-5) times, until the water runs clear. I highly recommend using ice water for this step or your butter will get too soft to work with successfully.
At first I started doing this with a large wooden paddle, to work the water into the butter, but after trying that, I figured my hands worked much more efficiently.




To make my butter presentable I put saran wrap inside of a muffin tin before stuffing the butter into it. I then put it in the fridge to harden it for a few minutes before unwrapping and plating :) Ready to eat with the hot fresh Banana Bread. Now, wasn't that fun?