This simple cultured butter is made by slowly fermenting heavy cream and buttermilk at room temperature until thickened, then chilling and whipping the mixture until it separates into creamy butter and fresh buttermilk. The butter is then “washed” with ice water for longer preservation, flecked with sea salt, and ready for serving. In a blind taste test, this recipe beat out the expensive store-bought varieties, thanks to its rich, almost “cheesy” flavor and silky texture.
Peruse the dairy section of any American grocery store, and you’ll find an assortment of butter products from sweet cream to “European-style” to whipped varieties. I’ve tried them all, and while the store-bought cultured butter is by far the best, my homemade version takes it even further. Made from cultured cream, this acidified butter has a mild yet pronounced tang.
Despite seeming rather fancy, this recipe requires just 2 ingredients and very little hands-on work. All you need is a bit of time and a stand mixer or food processor (you can do it by hand too!). Spread on a warm brioche dinner roll with a bit of salt, my whole-wheat Dutch oven bread, or some buckwheat crepes; it’s truly heaven.
What is Cultured Butter?
Cultured butter is made from fermented cream by way of lactic acid bacteria. Traditionally, cows had to be milked several times to produce enough cream to make butter. As a result, the fresh cream sat out at room temperature, naturally fermenting as it waited to be churned.
Cultured butter occurs in a 2-step process. In step 1, you’ll culture cream (this is the same process as my homemade crème fraiche) and chill it in the fridge. Step 2 involves whipping the mixture until the butterfat separates from the whey, forming butter and buttermilk. You’ll “wash” the butter, then it’s ready to enjoy!
Sweet cream butter, aka most regular butter at the grocery store, is made from unfermented cream to retain a clean, milky flavor. Cultured butter, conversely, has a subtle, tangy, funky, almost cheesy taste. Most European butter is cultured and has a slightly higher butterfat percentage, which is why it tastes so lovely!
👩🏽🍳 Chef’s Tips
- Your cream will thicken and ferment within 18 – 24 hours, but you can leave it out longer for a funkier flavor. Do not leave out for more than 48 hours, or the consistency of the butter will suffer.
- No buttermilk? Try ¼ cup plain yogurt (yields a cleaner flavor) or 2 tablespoons kefir (yields a more complex, savory flavor) for a unique twist!
- Do not whip the cream without chilling first, or it won’t separate properly.
- Make your own compound butter with your favorite herbs or seasonings.
P.S. Need ideas for using up that leftover buttermilk? Serve as a refreshing drink with ice, fry up some lemon blueberry pancakes (be sure to top them with a good pat of that salted homemade butter!), or roast a juicy buttermilk chicken.
Ingredient & Equipment Tips
- Heavy Cream: For best results, use a non-ultra-pasteurized (UP) heavy cream, as these creams tend to include additional preservatives that can prevent the butter from culturing properly. That said, I have had success with UP heavy creams with only gellan gum as an additive. You can check out the Testing Notes section in my crème fraîche recipe for more details.
- Buttermilk: Look for buttermilk labeled as ‘cultured buttermilk‘ or with active, live cultures; if the cultures are dead, the cream won’t ferment! You can also use plain yogurt (again, with active cultures) or skyr.
For a full list of ingredients and their quantities, please refer to the recipe card.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1 – In a large jar, combine cream and buttermilk. Mix with a spatula until well-combined. Cover with a loose-fitting lid (or a piece of cheesecloth and a rubber band like I did).
Step 2 – Leave in a warm spot in your kitchen, at minimum 70°F (21°C), until the cream has thickened slightly and smells tangy. This will likely take around 24 hours, though you can leave it up to 48 hours for a slightly funkier, tangier flavor.
TIP: If you have a ‘bread proofing’ option in your oven, you can turn it on for a couple of minutes until it’s around 80°F (27°C) then turn it off before it finishes preheating. Keep the oven light on and store the jar in the oven.
Step 3 – Transfer the jar to the fridge for at least 2 hours up to 24 hours, or until the temperature of the cream is between 55°F (13°C) and 65°F (18°C). This step ensures the liquid has chilled enough to properly separate.
Step 4 – In a stand mixer, whip the cream in a at medium speed until soft peaks form. Increase to high speed, and watch as the mixture transforms from silky whipped cream to curdled to clumps. Once it begins to start clumping, you’ll want to reduce the speed to prevent splattering. You’re done when you can see yellow clumps of butter suspended in a pool of milky liquid.
You can also do this in a food processor!
Step 5 – Transfer butter mixture to a cheesecloth in a fine-mesh sieve set over a large mixing bowl. Gather the ends of the cheesecloth into a pouch, and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. That liquid is homemade buttermilk! Reserve and store it in the fridge for another use.
Step 6 – Now it’s time to wash the butter. Wipe the mixing bowl clean, and add the butter with a cup or two of ice cold water. Using your hands (or a spatula), knead and press the butter against the sides of the bowl to remove any excess liquid. Discard the water, and repeat, until the liquid runs clear.
Step 7 – If desired, you can whip the butter in your stand mixer with a bit of sea salt.
Either way, you’ll then want to use a flexible spatula to scrape everything onto a piece of wax paper and shape into a solid mass. Wrap tightly and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to several weeks.
Cleanup Tip!
Making butter is a very fun (!) but greasy, messy process.
- During the butter-washing process, you can wipe your hands on the cheesecloth to help keep them clean.
- Use a flexible spatula to scrape as much out of the bowl as possible, making clean up easier.
- Wipe the bowls with a paper towel to remove excess grease, then scrub and soak with very soapy hot water for a few minutes before rinsing.
Recipe FAQs
Whipping cream usually contains a lower fat percentage, leading to a lower yield. For best results, look for a minimum of 36% fat, ideally 38% to 40%.
Absolutely! Do note that the shelf life will diminish significantly, but this is a great way to take your butter to the next level. I’d recommend whipping it in your stand mixer with whatever seasonings you’d like (I recommend this bone marrow butter!) before packaging in wax paper.
No, unfortunately you must use real buttermilk with live cultures for this recipe!
Technically, you can also use an immersion blender or a good old-fashioned shake (or whisk by hand!) Just keep in mind that the latter two methods will take closer to 15 – 30 minutes and are rather labor intensive!
Did you try this recipe?
I would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to rate the recipe and leave a comment below.
Cultured Butter Recipe
Equipment
- Stand Mixer, or Food Processor
- Instant Read Thermometer, optional
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream, non-ultra-pasteurized*
- 2 tablespoons cultured buttermilk, or ¼ cup plain yogurt with live cultures
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon kosher salt, optional
Instructions
- Ferment the cream: In a large mason jar, mix 2 cups heavy cream and 2 tablespoons cultured buttermilk with a spoon until well combined (do not shake). Cover the jar with a loose-fitting lid (or a bit of cheesecloth tied with a rubber band). Place in a warm spot, ideally between 70℉ – 80℉ (21℃ – 27℃), for a minimum of 18 hours up to 48 hours, or until the cream has thickened slightly and smells tangy. Note: The longer you ferment the cream, the more pronounced the flavor. If the cream is already a bit tangy at 18 hours, you can let it continue to sit for an even funkier taste.
- Chill: Chill in the fridge until the milk is no warmer than 65℉, about 2 hours (or up to 24 hours if desired).
- Whip: Line 2 – 3 layers of cheesecloth in a fine-mesh sieve set over a large bowl. Add cream to the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor. Stand mixer: Attach the whisk attachment, and whip mixture on high speed until it begins to separate, about 7 minutes.Food processor: Process mixture on high speed until it begins to separate, about 3 – 5 minutes.When ready, you should clearly be able to see yellow-ish clumps of butter suspended in a milky liquid.
- Squeeze: Pour mixture into the cheesecloth. Gather up the ends to form a pouch, and squeeze the pouch to remove as much liquid as possible. Reserve and store the liquid in the fridge (that's buttermilk!) as desired. I yielded about 8 ounces buttermilk.
- Wash: Now we're going to wash the butter with ice water to remove any excess buttermilk and lengthen the shelf-life. In the large bowl, pour 1 – 2 cups of ice water over the butter. Using a spatula, or your hands, spread or knead the butter against the bowl to remove excess liquid. The liquid will appear cloudy. Discard the liquid, and repeat washing the butter about 4 – 8 times, or until the liquid is completely clear. If desired, mix in ¼ – ½ teaspoon kosher salt for a salted butter variation.
- Whip (optional): Voila, you've got butter! If you'd like to whip it for an airier texture before storing, transfer it back into the bowl of the stand mixer and whip for 30 seconds until nice and fluffy.
- Store: Transfer butter to a sheet of wax paper or parchment, and smooth out with a knife into a rectangular shape. Seal, then store in the fridge for a month or freeze for several months.Fresh buttermilk will last up to 1 week in the fridge stored in an airtight jar.
Video
Notes
- During the butter-washing process, you can wipe your hands on the cheesecloth to help keep them clean.
- Use a flexible spatula to scrape as much out of the bowl as possible, making clean up easier.
- Wipe the bowls with a paper towel to remove excess grease, then scrub and soak with very soapy hot water for a few minutes before rinsing.
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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References
I used the following resources to research and develop my recipe:
Clarifying Butter – Conrad Hilton Library
Cultured Butter – Brod and Taylor
Homemade Cultured Butter – NYTimes
How important is chilling the cultured cream before whipping? I used a different recipe and they didn’t say anything about chilling the cultured cream before whipping and mine is just not getting to the ‘butter separation’ point. It looked like it started to separate, but then came back together. It looks like soft whipped butter, but hasn’t separated like it should. Can I now put that in the fridge for a while and try whipping it again?
Hi Jeanette – yes, everything I researched (and my own experimentation) indicates the cream really needs to chill so that it can separate when whipping. I think it should be fine to chill in the fridge for a few hours and try it again!
Owner’s Review: It’s such a cool process learning how to make butter, and the result is delicious! Creamy, savory, with a hint of salt — we’ve been enjoying this with bread almost every day.