Extracting butter directly from yogurt isn't a standard process; typically, butter is made by churning cream. However, you can use yogurt to create cultured cream, which is then churned into cultured butter. The provided reference outlines the initial steps for transforming natural yogurt into cultured cream.
This process involves culturing the yogurt further to separate whey and thicken the cream component. Once you have this cultured cream, you can proceed with the traditional method of churning to extract the butterfat, which forms butter.
Steps to Obtain Cultured Cream from Yogurt
Based on the provided reference, here are the steps to prepare cultured cream from natural yogurt, which serves as the base for making cultured butter:
- Prepare the Jar: Place natural yogurt into the base of a large jar. The reference suggests using a 1000 ml jar for this recipe.
- Culture at Room Temperature: Place the lid onto the jar and set it aside in a relatively warm location for 24 hours. During this time, the yogurt will transform.
- Resulting Cream: After 24 hours, you will observe that you have a jar containing thick, cultured cream.
- Chill Before Churning: Place the jar (with the lid still on) into the fridge for another 24 hours. This chilling step is crucial before the cream is ready for churning into butter.
From Cultured Cream to Butter
Once you have successfully followed the steps above to create cultured cream from your yogurt, the next phase is to churn this cream to extract the butterfat. While the provided reference details getting to the cultured cream stage, the standard process for making butter from cream involves vigorous agitation.
- Churning: The chilled cultured cream is typically churned using a butter churn, a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, or even vigorously shaken in a jar.
- Separation: As you churn, the fat globules in the cream clump together, separating from the liquid buttermilk.
- Washing: The resulting butter mass is then usually washed with cold water to remove residual buttermilk, which helps prolong the butter's shelf life.
- Salting (Optional): Finally, the butter can be kneaded to remove excess water and salted if desired.
By following the steps to create cultured cream from yogurt and then churning that cream, you can make delicious cultured butter.
