If you are lucky enough to be able to get raw milk and cream as we are then this fresh homemade butter is very easy to make and tastes so good. You can make butter with regular cream as well.This is where the cows that make the cream for our butter live. On the left are the grass fields where the cows live and on the right is the Tasman sea, in the distance are the Nelson ranges topped with snow. I think they are very happy cows.Our raw milk farm is Ratabank farm in the Glen, Nelson. In New Zealand raw milk has to be purchased at the farm gate, which I don’t mind at all, it’s just a ten minute drive and if I get there at milking time I get to say hello the cows and watch the milking. I normally get about 1 litre of cream to make butter but you can use much less.These bottles are 300ml each so here I will be using 900ml.Put all the cream into a food processor. You can see how thick and rich the cream is.

Process but watch it carefully, after less than a minute you will see the butter start to form. Now just pulse until the butter has come together and the butter milk is clearly visible in the bottom of the processor.

Then you need some old fashioned butter pats, they have ridges down them that allow you to press the butter to release the butter milk which runs down the ridges. We want to collect the butter milk as it is useful for pancakes or smoothies. Press the butter between the pats a bit at a time until you feel you have released most of the butter milk.

Finally you need to wash the butter in cold water to remove all the last traces of buttermilk, it’s actually not all that critical, it just affects the keeping quality of the butter if it still has some buttermilk in it. But in our house the butter gets scoffed pretty quick so it’s not an issue. To wash it just squish it between the pats under running cold water or you can use your hands to do it but you have to be careful not to let it get too warm as it can get very soft. If that happens just pop it in the refrigerator for half an hour to chill. At this point you can add salt if you like, a scant 1/4 teaspoon for each 300ml of cream then press the butter into suitable containers, I use ramekins.

I got a small jug of butter milk and two lovely pots of butter. I usually put at bit of grease proof bake paper on the top of the butter to keep the air off. Then chill and slather on vegetables or on flax crackers or if you eat wheat on hot toast or crumpets. No carbs in butter.