Breastmilk Butter Recipes

HOMEMADE BUTTER AND BUTTERMILK

Steps:

• Pour the cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk. Tightly cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and start mixer on medium-high speed. The cream will go through the whipped stage, thicken further and then change color from off-white to pale yellow; this will take at least 5 to 8 minutes. When it starts to look pebbly, it's almost done. After another minute the butter will separate, causing the liquid to splash against the plastic wrap. At this point stop the mixer.
• Set a strainer over a bowl. Pour the contents of the mixer into the strainer and let the buttermilk drain through. Strain the buttermilk again, this time through a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl; set aside.
• Keeping the butter in the strainer set over the first bowl, knead it to consolidate the remaining liquid and fat and expel the rest of the buttermilk. Knead until the texture is dense and creamy, about 5 minutes. Strain the excess liquid into the buttermilk. Refrigerate the buttermilk.
• Mix salt into the butter, if you want. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate.

HOMEMADE BUTTERMILK

Steps:

• Pour milk into a bowl; add lemon juice and stir to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes. Use immediately.

BREASTMILK BUTTER

Steps:

• In a freshly cleaned jar, preferably sterile, add the breastmilk.
• Screw the lid on tight and shake furiously until you have butter.

BREASTMILK YOGHURT FOR BABIES

Steps:

• Sterilize milk by heating it in a pan (not in microwave, though this can cause"hot spots" and cold spots where bacteria survive) until small bubbles form and is *almost* boiling, around 180-185°F.
• Cool to about 112°F.
• Meanwhile, if using purchased yogurt as starter, set it out at room temp to warm up.
• Add yogurt starter.
• You can buy the powder at a health foods store, or use 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt with live and active cultures.
• Look for some "fresher" yogurt with a very distant expiration date for stronger cultures.
• Pour milk mix into a *warmed* quart jar, Pyrex bowl, custard cups, etc--preferably something with a lid!
• Incubate it for 4-8 hours, depending on how tart you like it, by putting the container of milk mix into a picnic cooler and pouring very warm water in around it.
• Or if you have a big cooler, set the yogurt container into a big pot of hot water, inside the cooler.
• Don't cover the top of the container with water!
• You need to keep the water between 90-120 F, as close to 112 as possible.
• You really don't have to check it or change water much--you'd be surprised how well it holds the temperature, and the more you open it, the more heat you lose.
• Lower temps or shorter time make milder, sweeter yogurt.
• Temps closer to 120 or longer times make tarter, firmer yogurt.
• Also it gets firmer the longer you let it incubate--can go up to 12 hours or so.
• Remove a small amount as starter for your next batch, and add any flavorings or anything to the rest of the batch *after* incubating.
• Refrigerate.