I have just made butter...

[CurlewKate]

...and yesterday I made vanilla extract. I have never felt more like a parody of myself.

I've got one of those gadgets. It's amazing. I think it cost me 50p. We've used it once and the product tasted like cream.

I will probably never use it again.

Growing up, we had goats and the job every evening (morning milk just got filtered, shoved in jugs and put in the fridge) was to put the milk separator on to produce cream. Butter involved pouring the cream into the food processor and leaving that on till butter emerged. Yogurt = a bucket of milk in the airing cupboard with starter in. Cottage cheese = bucket of milk with the cheese starter stuff in.
As my mum was way ahead of the times in the wanky food department, I can even make tofu and many, many local, seasonal, waste free meals. I confess that I enjoyed eating this way rather less than I should have.

The day I found out butter can be frozen was a sad one.
No excuse to run to the local shop (and pick up a sneaky Twix while I’m there)…

@CurlewKate @LuciferRising I do strain my yoghurt 😋(>>>steps confidently on to the thread<<<)
I also make my own pickles and in the past have made my own wine .

Anybody wanting to make their own yoghurt buy this , it's dead easy to use ,

.https://www.lakeland.co.uk/31794/lakeland-multi-yogurt-and-soft-cheese-maker

I am seriously thinking about making my own butter if all you have to do is whisk cream until it submits. But I have seen / heard you have to wash it , how is that bit done ?

Photos of the bombproof rabbit burrow please, or it didn't happen... (added rabbits for cuteness accepted) 😁

Can I join please?
I was so annoyed that my local Waitrose stopped selling my tortoises favourite salad mix that I now carefully cultivate my own, under grow lamps, all year round.

"I am seriously thinking about making my own butter if all you have to do is whisk cream until it submits. But I have seen / heard you have to wash it , how is that bit done ?"

That put me off too! But it's easy. Once it's become butter, you strain it and squeeze it, then dunk it into a bowl of cold water. Squeeze again. Fresh cold water. Squeeze. Done. I let mine sit on a clean for a while before I wrapped it in cling film and chilled it. You add the salt between the rinsing and the wrapping.

Ah that sounds easy enough, thank you.

>>puts away the flannel and imperial leather soap <<<

@hamsterchump from Morrisons fresh cream cake section. They sell off whipping cream £1 for 2L . If none on the cake shelf I ask at the counter. Last week I bought 3 bottles and was chugging away with me Kenwood Chef for the rest of the morning

Blocks.of unsalted , blocks of Maldon salted, blocks of smoked salt ones, garlic and herb etc etc. They are superb and the buttermilk gets frozen for pancakes, scones etc

I use my Aunt's butter pats which were my Granny's before her and her mothers etc

You realise your neighbours all think you’re growing cannabis right?

gow much butter did you get for 1.30!of cream?

@Glovesandscarf
"gow much butter did you get for 1.30!of cream?

600ml of cream was £1.30 from Aldi. 300gm of butter. Honestly- it's proper bargainacuous!

at this point I am thinking selling home made butter would be a good business? maybe I can lurk around posh schools at hometime and waitrose car parks and offer to middle class mums? also with potential for foccaccia/mozzarella etc. etc.

I can’t cook at all but have been known to finish the butter on more than one occasion without telling anyone.

does this make me the ultimate wanker?

can I have a prize?

(Googles wooden butter pats...)

Are you putting it into the freezer to keep or just to set?

Does a house cow live inside. Your house?

I do visible mending. Can I join?

@HoliHormonalTigerLillyTheSecond I'm on my own at home at the moment-and I want my butter to be properly appreciated by my ungrateful family. So I'm freezing it so it can make an appearance at an appropriate moment. Otherwise I'd just shove it in the fridge.

Scotch hands! That's a blast from the past. I've bought cream this evening, I can only see this going one way <consults Lakeland website>

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_hands

My Mum had a Bel cream maker too.
Not too wanky, but I lived in a small country village for a while, and felt compelled to make my own bread and jam. Also bottled peaches from a tree in our garden.

Here's your yogurt link.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwidtJ2u0IeBAxWEWEEAHZlFCg4QFnoECA4QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplyrecipes.com%2Frecipes%2Finstant_pot_yogurt%2F&usg=AOvVaw2-L4TCeXHvDRUlPUb-AxWL&opi=89978449

Cut flowers - sunflowers, sweet peas, cosmos, pot marigolds are my main ones.

@DeadButDelicious

They come in the garden but not the house! 😂
A house cow is just the term for a cow kept to provide milk for the house. However they do about 20 litres a day! So much more than I need so we tend to leave their baby with them for the first few months and then use what we can and share the rest with friends / family.
They also go to local shows etc.
we love them.

Oh course, if you just want to make your own Kefir, you buy a bottle of the stuff from the supermarket and then top it up when there's an inch and a half left in the bottle with scalded milk (or a bottle of UHT if you really can't be arsed). Leave it on the counter for a day and then stick it back into the fridge overnight. Bingo - a never ending supply of Kefir, no recipe required.

(I'm from the cheap as Hell School of Wankery).

Other things include making jam - soak bugs out of blackberries, shove in pan with sugar, lemon peel and a bit of lemon juice, add a splash of elderflower cordial and boil until it looks goopy. Top up with frozen blueberries whilst boiling if it looks a bit short on fruit. You'll either have jam or a preserve if it doesn't set properly. Pour into sterilised jar and threaten anybody who even momentarily thinks of putting a buttery knife into it with instant death.

Have also made ricotta, paneer and mozzarella before now. All it takes is water and lemon juice (not a fan of the vinegar version).