Butter [General]
2012 Mar 31
Piggy Market carries Stirling Brand butter
The Piggy Market
www.stirlingcreamery.com/
I think that is the best you'll find in Ottawa.
The Piggy Market
www.stirlingcreamery.com/
I think that is the best you'll find in Ottawa.
2012 Apr 1
I would imagine that most butter is high fat, but who knows? Maybe scientists have found a way to make low fat butter. When you say 'high end' I guess you mean of high quality?
It would seem to me that the organic butters in the stores are going to be of high quality, (and expensive), and the local butters while not exactly organic will also be of a very good quality, and probably of a lower price.
As for unpasteurized butter, you will have a hard time finding that in stores! There are sources out there, but the stuff is like gold, (and priced that way too) so it may in fact be easier to do as Mooonkey suggests and find yourself a cow! ;-)
Should your own cow not be a suitable option, (it isn't for most folks) I'd try some of the local farmers markets, there are a few who have vendors who bring butter from time to time, or look into a farm that offers cow shares.
And it wouldn't hurt to drop your local MP and the Dairy Farmers of Ontario a line stating that you would like access to high quality raw butter. ;-)
It would seem to me that the organic butters in the stores are going to be of high quality, (and expensive), and the local butters while not exactly organic will also be of a very good quality, and probably of a lower price.
As for unpasteurized butter, you will have a hard time finding that in stores! There are sources out there, but the stuff is like gold, (and priced that way too) so it may in fact be easier to do as Mooonkey suggests and find yourself a cow! ;-)
Should your own cow not be a suitable option, (it isn't for most folks) I'd try some of the local farmers markets, there are a few who have vendors who bring butter from time to time, or look into a farm that offers cow shares.
And it wouldn't hurt to drop your local MP and the Dairy Farmers of Ontario a line stating that you would like access to high quality raw butter. ;-)
2012 Apr 1
I make butter once a week to cover my kids insane rate of butter consumption. It's a big job, especially when you factor in the effort of keeping cows!
It can be as simple as shaking cream in a jar, or using an old fashioned hand crank churn (my two year old LOVES that option!!), or using an electric butter churn.
You can also use cream from the store to do this, but I've only ever used fresh or cultured cream from either a cow share or our own two milking cows. So, can't vouch for the end product when using store bought cream.
The method I do NOT recommend is using your blender or mixer. It is fast, but you end up cutting the fat particle, so the butter will not keep nearly as long, the texture will not be as nice, and the taste doesn't seem to be the same either.
I find one of the most important things to get good butter (aside from excellent quality cream, and clean equipment) is rinsing the butter grains to make sure all the buttermilk is gone.
If any one is interested, I might have a few pictures of some parts of the process, but a person could probably find what they want on youtube just as fast!
It can be as simple as shaking cream in a jar, or using an old fashioned hand crank churn (my two year old LOVES that option!!), or using an electric butter churn.
You can also use cream from the store to do this, but I've only ever used fresh or cultured cream from either a cow share or our own two milking cows. So, can't vouch for the end product when using store bought cream.
The method I do NOT recommend is using your blender or mixer. It is fast, but you end up cutting the fat particle, so the butter will not keep nearly as long, the texture will not be as nice, and the taste doesn't seem to be the same either.
I find one of the most important things to get good butter (aside from excellent quality cream, and clean equipment) is rinsing the butter grains to make sure all the buttermilk is gone.
If any one is interested, I might have a few pictures of some parts of the process, but a person could probably find what they want on youtube just as fast!
2012 Apr 1
I used to make my own butter in university and as organicgirl says, it is as simple as shaking cream in a jar. I'd just put the cream in the jar and shake it until you feel the 'thud' that the butter has formed.
2012 Apr 1
That's a good basic tutorial! Butter can be that easy, especially on a small scale. Takes me a bit longer, but I usually make about 4 pounds at a time. A few things to note though:
- the paddle on her mixer looks similar to what you'd find on a butter churn. Avoid metal beaters, blades, or whisk type attachments. You want to 'hit' the butter, not 'cut' it.
-the temperature of the cream will affect how fast the cream breaks. Cold cream = long churning time, Room temperature cream = faster churning time. The acidity of the cream will also have an impact. Cream that has been cultured, or soured will churn much faster.
- as for buttermilk: 'sweet' or 'fresh' cream = sweet/fresh buttermilk. Cultured or soured cream= cultured buttermilk. Both types of buttermilk are excellent for baking!
- and she's totally spot on, the feed of the cows will have a dramatic effect on the colour of the butter! Spring or fall cream from cows that eat grass makes the BEST, most golden butter! But it's important to note that some breeds of cows can eat all the grass in the world, and still make pale butter.
For example, our Jersey cow only converts some of the beta carotene in the grass into Vitamin A, so her milk, cream, and butter will look yellow when she's on grass. Gurnseys and some other traditional breeds are also like this. But our little Dexter cow converts almost all the beta carotene into Vitamin A, so her butter will always look pale, just like Holsteins, or goats for that matter.
- the paddle on her mixer looks similar to what you'd find on a butter churn. Avoid metal beaters, blades, or whisk type attachments. You want to 'hit' the butter, not 'cut' it.
-the temperature of the cream will affect how fast the cream breaks. Cold cream = long churning time, Room temperature cream = faster churning time. The acidity of the cream will also have an impact. Cream that has been cultured, or soured will churn much faster.
- as for buttermilk: 'sweet' or 'fresh' cream = sweet/fresh buttermilk. Cultured or soured cream= cultured buttermilk. Both types of buttermilk are excellent for baking!
- and she's totally spot on, the feed of the cows will have a dramatic effect on the colour of the butter! Spring or fall cream from cows that eat grass makes the BEST, most golden butter! But it's important to note that some breeds of cows can eat all the grass in the world, and still make pale butter.
For example, our Jersey cow only converts some of the beta carotene in the grass into Vitamin A, so her milk, cream, and butter will look yellow when she's on grass. Gurnseys and some other traditional breeds are also like this. But our little Dexter cow converts almost all the beta carotene into Vitamin A, so her butter will always look pale, just like Holsteins, or goats for that matter.
2012 Apr 2
CBC had a radio show on Ontario butter. Basically the best you can get is Stirling brand and it falls under artisinal butters and is 4% higher butter fat than anything else on the shelf. The Stirling brand butter is 84% butter fat.
Here is a link to the show:
www.cbc.ca
Once again, the control boards limit what fat content of butter we can buy. Is there anything they don't moderate?
I assume anyone with a cow can get/make the best butter!
Here is a link to the show:
www.cbc.ca
Once again, the control boards limit what fat content of butter we can buy. Is there anything they don't moderate?
I assume anyone with a cow can get/make the best butter!
2012 Apr 2
fyi This site - www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca - is a good source of (mostly commercial) butter info; they also have info on most dairy products and processes elsewhere on the site.
hff I don't think the marketing board has a maximum limit on butterfat in butter, not that I've ever heard or read. They do have a minimum limit, still at 80% I think, with good reason imo.
My wife used to make butter from unpasteurized milk back when we were milking 32 cows - somehow I think we didn't appreciate it enough at the time. She used an old churn her grandma (and maybe her great grandma) used before electricity.
hff I don't think the marketing board has a maximum limit on butterfat in butter, not that I've ever heard or read. They do have a minimum limit, still at 80% I think, with good reason imo.
My wife used to make butter from unpasteurized milk back when we were milking 32 cows - somehow I think we didn't appreciate it enough at the time. She used an old churn her grandma (and maybe her great grandma) used before electricity.
2012 Apr 2
This article is interesting, I have often heard that Canadian croissants are not the "same" but this perhaps explains why...
www.theglobeandmail.com
www.theglobeandmail.com
Canadian Bacon
CB