There are some days in homeschool when we take a break from our regular lessons. Often that day falls on Friday and we use it to catch up on anything we’ve missed or go out exploring or do something fun. But on weekends that are so full of busy that I’m left spinning on Monday morning, we do Homeschool Lite. (The spelling “lite” has always bothered me, but it’s a key word here. You’ll see why in just a sec.)
This past weekend I was in Dallas, TX for the BlissDom Conference. There’s so much to say about finding my bliss with some of my favorite ladies, but I just can’t get caught up with all that there is to be done! By the time I got home Sunday, I was ready to collapse. Then the wave of pollen attacked me and I’ve been watery-eyed and sniffly since. So Monday morning was just too much for me to handle. I declared it a Homeschool Lite day and we started getting a few things done around here. I needed to do laundry, make a grocery list, go to the store, wash dishes, and a hundred other little things. And I decided that instead of Homeschool Lite, we’d have a Homeschool Life day. I’d teach them the things they really need to know, like how to plan your meals and shop effectively and make healthy choices. They helped me sort, wash, fold, and put away laundry. They started dinner in the slow cooker. They made bread. They dyed Easter eggs. They were on the ball! We make a pretty great team once we get rolling!
But one of the coolest things we did was make butter. When the decided to make bread, I figured we might as well make butter, too. I’d heard it was easy, but I thought it was one of those things that people tell you is easy, but then it really isn’t. But this? This making butter? Super easy (but maybe a little tough on the arms).
Get heavy whipping cream and pour it into a container with a screw on lid. You want the screw on lid so that it doesn’t accidentally pop open! I’d recently made pimento cheese and had two small pimento jars, so we used those. We also used a small jelly jar. Fill the jar 2/3 of the way full of heavy whipping cream. Close it up tight and shake. And shake. And shake.
For a small container*:
After shaking for about 3 minutes, it’ll start to thicken up a little and be the consistency of pudding.
After 3ish more minutes, it’ll be looking like whipped cream. If you want a little whipped cream, just add a dash of sugar.
After 4ish more minutes of shaking, you’ll see it start to separate into butter and buttermilk.
It’s wild how all of a sudden it happens! You’re shaking along and then BOOM! It’s a solid!
Drain the buttermilk off (and save it if you’d like) and then add seasonings.
I used a little salt and a little bit of Italian seasoning. Imagine how good it’ll be with fresh herbs this spring!
Let it get firm in the refrigerator and then try not to eat it all at once!
That’s it! Homemade butter in less than 15 minutes! AND you get an arm workout.
I call that a win-win!
*You do the same thing for larger containers, but the times are longer.
