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Cultured Butter in 3 Fabulous Flavours

Old-fashioned cultured butter is easier to make at home than you think. Ours comes in three fabulous, all-natural flavours: garlic & herb, vanilla bean and cafe de Paris. 

Homemade Cultured Butter and Flavouring Ideas

For the past few weeks I’ve been encouraging the kids to think, probably more than usual, about where their food comes from.

We have been researching and quizzing each other with questions like how certain foods are made and what goes into the making of them. It has been so much fun! And a great way to teach kids about clean food.  We’ve realised that if it can be made from scratch at home, in the same way our Grandparents made their food, then for the most part it should be good for us. A mantra I’m sure many of you are familiar with from Michael Pollan’s food rules.

Homemade Cultured Butter Flavour Ideas

Short of renaming the blog to Homemade Food, we have continued our infatuation with everything homemade. We’ve canned a few batches of crisp fermented Polish dill pickles, strained our own cream cheese, made juicy fish fingers,  burgers and, of course, produced gummy bears galore. 

I was driving the kids to school the other day when a new homemade thought crossed my mind: I wonder if the kids know where butter comes from. I asked the question. “From cows!”, they exclaimed in unison. “Yes, but do you know how it’s made?” was followed by a short spell of uhmms before Zac said it was made out of milk in some way or another. Pleased with the answer I suggested we made some at home.

What is Cultured Butter?

Cultured butter is made using creme fraiche, which is fresh cream fermented with cultures – in a similar way to yoghurt. It lends the butter a slight tang. You can use fresh cream just as well, but in that case the butter will have a more sweet, creamy flavour. Both are prepared the same way.

Homemade Cultured Butter Flavour Ideas

Our Method

While we used a stick blender’s whisk attachment to churn our butter in minutes, my Mum mentioned the more traditional method of… shaking cream in a jar until there was a distinct “sloshing and thudding” sound — the point at which the fat solids had separated from the whey.

The 3 Classic Flavours 

Garlic and Herb is one of our favourites to go on a toasted baguette. I’ve found the ingredient list on store-bought garlic butter spread filled with too many fake ingredients to bother. It’s also a simple pleasure under some jam. Since trying Cafe deParis butter at Rockpool a while back, we have both fallen in love with the salty, curried concoction of flavours that goes fantastically well with beef. You can find the full recipe hereAlthough I think Vanilla Bean Butter might seem a little ususual, it is perfect, however, for drizzling over grilled prawns, scampi and lobster. 

Homemade Cultured Butter Flavour Ideas

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5 from 3 votes

Cultured Butter in 3 Fabulous Flavours

Cultured butter is made using creme fraiche, which is fresh cream fermented with cultures – in a similar way to yoghurt. It lends the butter a slight tang. You can use fresh cream just as well, but in that case the butter will have a more sweet, creamy flavour. Both are prepared the same way. Our metod: While we used a stick blender's whisk attachment to churn our butter in minutes, my Mum mentioned the more traditional method of... shaking cream in a jar until there was a distinct "sloshing and thudding" sound — the point at which the fat solids had separated from the whey. Yield: 200ml creme fraiche makes around 100g cultured butter. Storage: wrap butter in cling film or wax paper and store in the fridge in accordance with your cream's use by date. Otherwise, you can freeze the log and cut chunks off as needed.
Prep Time10 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients

For Cultured Butter:

  • 200 ml creme fraiche

For Vanilla Bean Butter:

  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla powder or vanilla bean paste

For Garlic and Herb Butter:

  • 1 teaspoon freshly crushed garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh chives
  • 4 basil leaves finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian herb mix

Instructions

To make Cultured Butter:

  • Place creme fraiche into a 2-cup capacity jug or bowl and whisk using an electric mixer or a stick blender with a whisk attachment for 2-3 minutes. As you're processing, the cream will first resemble whipped cream in consistency. Continue whisking until you hear a "sloshing" sound and the fat solids begin to separate from the whey. Continue to work the butter for another minute.
  • Transfer butter and whey into a cheesecloth-lined sieve placed over another bowl. Wrap into a ball and squeeze out the whey - you can use the whey to add to smoothies or use in baking. Add flavourings of choice and mix well.
  • Wrap the butter tightly in a sheet of cling film or wax paper and store in the fridge or freezer.
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12 comments

Mel A April 8, 2014 at 10:01 am

Oh! I’ve been loving your homamde posts, please don’t stop. Cooking and making things from scratch is one of the most basic pleasures. That vanilla butter sounds divine.

Reply
Rockpool’s Cafe de Paris Butter Sauce for Steaks | Wholesome Cook April 8, 2014 at 10:13 am

[…] The secret to a good Cafe De Paris Butter sauce, lies in quality butter and a perfect balance of fragrant herbs and curry powder. The following recipe is not just any loose interpretation of the sauce, it is inspired by one of Australia’s best, Neil Perry of Rockpool Bar and Grill. For homemade cultured butter see this post. […]

Reply
Gaby April 8, 2014 at 10:43 am

Rockpool’s Cafe de Paris butter is amazing! I’m very keen on trying your versions, too, never thought of using creme fraiche as the starting point, sounds interesting.

Reply
Pam April 8, 2014 at 3:30 pm

Sounds fantastic
Just wondering though, where do I find creme fraiche? I’m thinking in the yogurt section at supermarket, but maybe not?
Thanks.

Reply
Martyna @ Wholesome Cook April 8, 2014 at 4:05 pm

Hi Pam, It’s sold right near where you’d find sour cream. Bulla makes it in a tub or you can find other brands in pouches (at Harris Farm for instance).

Reply
Annabelle Taylor April 9, 2014 at 11:19 am

Wow, your kids are so lucky to have you! Even I didn’t realise how easy butter was to make. Thanks for the lesson in homemade. Another fantastic idea.

Reply
Janet Catesby April 9, 2014 at 2:22 pm

Fantastic blog I so love cultured butter. I want to make my own creme fraiche but on searching for recipes there seems to be a couple of versions: one says to use buttermilk and cream and another says to use a bit of a bought creme fraiche with cream adding it as you would making yogurt. What are your views on this?

Reply
Martyna @ Wholesome Cook April 9, 2014 at 2:57 pm

Hi Janet, I think either would be fine. If you had use for the buttermilk (they are great in these muffins) then I’d say go with that version. By the way I love drinking buttermilk on its own or mixing it with cucumber and garlic for a chilled “soup”. I was also just wonering whether adding probiotic cultures to sour cream or fresh cream would turn it into creme fraiche. Potentially, but I haven’t yet tried or read about it anywhere.

Reply
Martin K April 9, 2014 at 3:16 pm

We tried your cafe de paris butter last night with tbone steaks and it was superb! We did not make the butter base from scratch but at least you brought the sauce to our attention. Given how easy it is to make I think we will make it next time.

Reply
Macky Blaise April 11, 2014 at 8:07 pm

Making cultured butter is amusing.. It was fun and exciting. I tried it at home.

Reply
Steph April 13, 2014 at 7:33 pm

Fab fab fab! We loved our new herb and garlic bread tonight and will keep the other portion of our butter to drizzle over steamed veges this week. Thanks for raising the point of the fake stuff.

Reply
Lizzy (Good Things) April 27, 2014 at 8:34 pm

Such a beautiful recipe, Martyna. Love the new look of your site too!

Reply

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