If you've been with me, you've found very little here lately. (And no, the cabinet's not ready yet!)
Life is busy and I've been proof-reading a very close friend's book, (you could definitely call her a 'kindred spirit'). It's not that I haven't thought about The Nourished Nana, because I have...frequently! Every time I think of this spot, however, other spots have been begging for my attention first.
Today, however, I'm Home Alone. The chickens are fed, the garden watered, the kitchen tidied. I've had all grandchildren here at different times this week, so they got their "Nana Fix" and I got my "Grand-kids Fix". The kitties are even happily slumbering. We have a couple new birds in the coop and we're weaning them together with our others. Had to separate one meanie until I saw her trying to jump up through the closed door of the nesting box. Went out to put her in and she's even content at the moment, laying her golden egg. I wish the two we just got that supposedly lay blue/green eggs would just go ahead and lay, already! I think I goofed. So far we got a WHITE egg and not even sure the other is laying at all...her comb is itty-bitty, and don't ask me how I didn't catch that when I picked her out. I think perhaps I was trying too hard to squeeze in some 'normal' (hen-picking) time into a muddled sort of really off-kilter summer.
I realize my intro is off-subject, but I did feel I needed to catch you guys up at least a little.
So...Have you ever wondered just how much cream makes just how much butter?
Someone asked me recently and I couldn't answer because I never measure. I just shape it and put it in the fridge and rejoice that the job's done. But really, it's not a job I dislike. In fact, I rather marvel at the making of butter, as long as I have electricity and a food processor, that is.
SEE HOW TO MAKE BUTTER HERE.
I use raw cream from grass-fed cows for my butter making. Otherwise, I wouldn't make it at all. I can buy pasteurized butter at the store. For the record, you CAN get grass-fed cow butter, but it's still pasteurized so you're still missing out on the inherent goodness contained in the milk, but still, traditional grass-fed butter is better than conventional whatever-it-is-they-feed-their-cows butter.
Here's a run down on butter quality, 0 being contemptible, 11 being the BEST.
0-Margarine and Spreads. They are not butter, even if they say they can't believe it's not. And no matter what advertisement has ingrained into our thinking, this stuff is not good for you. It's MAN-made, not GOD-made. It should be illegal for the things it does to people.Don't even feed it to the chickens. If you're at a friend's house and that's all they're offering, eat your toast plain and swear you like it that way as you silently ask God for forgiveness for the lie.( Do NOT get into a rant about the failings of margarine...mind your manners!)
1- rBGH or rBST butter. Boo on those added hormones! Moo on hormone-free!
2- Butter in a store-brand package. No real reason except that it scares me a little and it's probably not even fair for me to write that here because it makes this extremely subjective. If you don't agree with this one, mark the next one as your #2.
2-Butter that has no rBGH or rBST.
3-Butter that has no rBGH or rBST, and nothing else but cream, either...except salt. Salt's okay if you're not limiting salt. Sea salt's better. If you want something else in your butter, it's better to put it there yourself. You know, like honey, or garlic or basil or ...
4- Butter that has no rBGH or rBST from grass-fed cows. Readily available, find Kerrygold in stores.There are two types. If you get the spreadable, just remember, something's been done to it to make it spreadable. Cold butter that's spreadable is altered butter and should give one cause to wonder.
5- No rBGH or rBST, unpasteurized butter made from the cream of grass-fed cows from a reputable farmer. (Now, we're really getting somewhere!)
6- No rBGH or rBST, unpasteurized butter made from the cream of non-hormone supplemented, grass-fed cows from a reputable farmer.
7-- No rBGH or rBST, unpasteurized butter made from the cream of non-soy supplemented, organically grass-fed cows from a reputable farmer.
8- No rBGH or rBST, unpasteurized butter made from the cream of non-soy, non-GMO supplemented, organically grass-fed cows from a reputable farmer.
9- No rBGH or rBST, unpasteurized butter made from the cream of non-soy, non-GMO supplemented, organically and non-GMO grass-fed cows from a reputable farmer.
10- No rBGH or rBST, unpasteurized butter made from the cream of GOOD TASTING milk from non-soy, non-GMO supplemented, organically and non-GMO grass-fed cows from a reputable farmer.
11. ALL of the above, plus, you're the farmer and it's all coming from your own sweet cow. Check HERE for great dairy breeds!
rBGH or rBST is a hormone that stimulates lactation. Soy in it's original state is a thyroid inhibitor. GMO's are modified genes. If cows eat pesticide-ridden or genetically altered grass...well, you know. You are what you eat.
#10 is of great importance. If something is making the milk taste consistently off, (there are several reasons that don't affect anything but the taste), then you will be paying good money for milk for the chickens...or to use as a medicine. (I don't want to share my milk with the chickens. They already get non-soy, fermented feed from Country-side Organics. Geez, I get to draw the line somewhere, don't I?)
If you're in a 'cow share' state, get REFERENCES, go to the farm, ask tons of questions and don't be shy about it, before buying into a contract. I added that don't be shy part for a reason. A lot of us, like me, are less shy writing than speaking. But you must bolster your courage, comrades. Ask the hard, even embarrassing questions. The truth will keep you free.
So. HOW much butter comes from a quart of cream?
About a Cup. That's with using a rubber spatula to get every last morsel.
AND, you get about a pint of the liquid, 'leftovers', too. It's living buttermilk, and some folks like drinking it straight up...My dad was one of them. I wish he were still alive to taste this. (But I'm sure where he is, he can have as much as he wants whenever he wants it, if he even thinks about wanting it!)
If you aren't a buttermilk drinker, use it in pancakes, waffles, batters and don't forget the biscuits!! Smear a little of your home-made butter on top and you're set.
And BY THE WAY, did I mention it's SUMMER?!? This is the absolute best time to raid some cream from the top of your raw milk to use for butter. For one thing, there's usually more cream in the summer. For another thing, this is the time of 'fast growing grass'. This milk and therefore its butter, hold exceptional health benefits because fast growing grass imparts a 'magical', mysterious vitamin, now known as Vitamin K2. This vitamin is a healer! If you can 'stock-pile' butter in the freezer, you can have this vitamin in your diet even during those months when cows are being supplemented with lesser feeds. Find out about vitamin K2 HERE.
Did this post butter you up a bit? ~Here's hoping so!
Love & Hugs,
Clee
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