When you do that 'make your own butter in a mason jar' thing...

[NanceXToo]

Is a marble REALLY necessary...?

[Miss Peregrine]

I remember making it in school and we just shook it.

[kalphs]

We just shake it.

[In The Great White North]

We used a wooden ball. I think a marble might break the jar if the child shook it too vigorously. It just makes it go a bit faster.

[Carol in Cal.]

It is not crucial, but it makes it much more efficient.

 

Another trick that is probably safer for the jar is to put in a tiny bit of lemon juice. 1/4 tsp per cup of cream is about right. You don't taste it, but it helps the cream to separate faster.

 

The leftover whey is GREAT in soups. I have also heard that it's pretty nutritious.

[woolybear]

Actually, I remember hearing that what the marble did was let the kids know by the sound when it had become butter-because it no longer rattles around. Also, it may just make it more fun for some kids.

 

But no, it's not necessary.:)

[tuckabella]

We just shake it.

 

 

Here too.

[Faithseed]

The marble may make it set up faster, but we just shake it.

 

Or rather, the children do. Child labor, you know....:D

[NanceXToo]

LOL, Faithseed.

 

Great, thanks, all! I'm not sure I can find a marble so we'll just do it without. I'll try that lemon juice thing! Thanks for the tip!

[Dawn in OH]

We just shake it. I never knew about adding a marble.

[JoyfulMama]

I've never added a marble either. Probably my thing about putting things in food, though. :ack2:

[REv1053]

DONT ADD A MARBLE! Maybe I have over zealous boys, but they broke the jar shaking it with a marble inside. :D

 

I found that the butter making process goes a lot faster if the milk is room temperature.

[In the Rain]

 

I found that the butter making process goes a lot faster if the milk is room temperature.

 

:iagree: This is my #1 tip too. I used a marble once, and then heard warnings about shards of glass ending up in the butter. After that, we just used straight cream.

[Susan in KY]

We used a wooden ball. I think a marble might break the jar if the child shook it too vigorously. It just makes it go a bit faster.

 

This happened once to our scout troop. The marble broke the jar. In our family, we just shake it without a marble. It works, but takes longer.

[kristavws]

I make butter every week. Unless you are wanting to experience making it in a jar, I would recommend using a blender, as it is much easier and faster. I would let the cream warm up to room temperature as well.

 

Krista

[bigdogs29906]

This sounds like fun!

 

Can you tell me how to set this up?

[mom2myboys]

:bigear:

 

My guys would love this! I woulld be nervous of a marble too as they are over-zealous. :tongue_smilie:

[NanceXToo]

This sounds like fun!

 

Can you tell me how to set this up?

 

Well, we did it, and it came out fine!

 

I put a pint of heavy whipping cream into a glass mason jar and we spent 15 minutes shaking it pretty vigorously (my daughter and I took turns).

 

When the 15 minutes was up, I opened it and it was sort of thickened to like a paste, and we added a bit of salt. Then I decided I wanted to transfer it into something a bit bigger as the mason jar I was using was full like to the top (I didn't have a bigger one), so I poured it into a quart sized chinese soup container with a lid, and we went back to shaking it in that.

 

It said to shake for another 15-30 minutes from that point on, we did about 20 more minutes and it looked pretty done to me!

 

We then strained it so that the liquid all drained out and we were left with the butter.

 

I rinsed the butter a few times, then sort of smooshed and stirred it with a wooden cooking spoon to get as much of the rest of the liquid out as I could, adding a bit more salt, too, then we put the butter into a small dish and refrigerated it for a bit to chill it.

 

It came out great, we really enjoyed it on the loaf of rye bread I bought today. :)