Making butter is easy with a food processor, and it produces a light, fresh taste.

What You Need:

1-2 cups heavy whipping cream, or double cream (1/3 liter)
(preferably without carrageenan or other stabilizers)

What You Do:

• Fit your food processor with a plastic blade, whisk or normal chopping blade.
• Fill the food processor about 1/4-1/2 full.
• Blend. The cream will go through the following stages: Sloshy, frothy, soft whipped cream, firm whipped cream, coarse whipped cream. Then, suddenly, the cream will seize, its smooth shape will collapse and the whirring will change to sloshing. The butter is now fine-grained bits of butter in buttermilk. In a few seconds, a glob of yellowish butter will separate from the buttermilk.
• Drain the buttermilk. You can eat the butter now — it has a light taste — though it will store better if you wash and work it.
• Add 1/2 cup (100 mL) of ice-cold water, and blend further.
• Discard wash water and repeat until the wash water is clear.
• Work butter to remove suspended water. Either place damp butter into a cool bowl and knead with a potato masher or two forks; or put in a large covered jar and shake or tumble. Continue working, pouring out the water occasionally, until most of the water is removed. The butter is now ready.
• Put butter in a butter crock or ramekin, or roll it in waxy freezer paper.

Yield: About half as much butter as the amount of cream you started with.

What You Can Do:

• Salt to taste before working. (A few pinches’ worth should do it.)
• Get the cream to around 60°F/15°C before churning. (55°F/13°C for goat milk).
• Shake in a jar instead of mixing in a food processor. Shake about once a second. Add a marble to speed things up. This is fun for kids, but expect it to take between 5-30 minutes, depending on the shaking.
• Instead of a food processor use a blender or mixer, and turn the speed down to the slowest setting. This is important! If you mix too fast, you'll end up with whipped cream!
• Culture the cream before churning. To do this, add a few tablespoons (50 mL) of store-bought cultured yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream, clabbered cream or crème fraiche, and then let sit for about 12 hours at room temperature (75°F/24°C is ideal). This will thicken and ferment the cream before you churn it. It should taste delicious, slightly sour, with no aftertaste. If it is bubbly, or smells yeasty or gassy, discard.
• Use some butter-making tools, such as a churn, paddle for working or molds for forming the finished butter.