Butter is made from the fat of milk by churning. A small hand churn with a wooden dash is good. A small amount can also be made by shaking the cream in a sealed quart jar. The easiest way to make a cup or so butter, is to churn it in the blender. Small amounts of cream such as skimmed off milk to make cottage cheese can be churned in this way.

Add a little cold water if the quantity is very small. The cream in any of these methods will collect into granular masses. It is then removed from the container and worked with a wooden spoon or paddle until it remains in smooth masses. The buttermilk is drained off, the butter is washed in cold water, reworked to remove extra water, and slightly salted. Either sweet or sour cream may be used. Sweet cream has a delicate flavor, but does not keep as well as butter made from sour cream.

However, if cream is rancid the butter will not be good. If the cream is too warm, it will take longer to churn and the butter will be hard to separate from the milk. Add a few ice cubes. The remaining buttermilk is good to drink and has about the same food value as skim milk