Hoegger Goat Supply: Making Great Butter from Goat Milk

MAKING GREAT BUTTER

Butter making can be a fun family project. Children especially enjoy this activity because it requires a only minimal amount of supervision. Some basic guidelines will help to insure success every time. Goats milk is naturally homogenized so you will need a cream separator to separate the cream from the milk. The cream will not naturally rise well to the top the way cows milk does.

To make fresh cream butter begin the process as follows:

Heat the milk (55°F for goats milk, 60°F for cows milk).
Fill the churning jar one-third to one-half full of the heated cream.
Add butter color if desired. (Goat milk butter is very very white. You may want to add some vegetable coloring just for eye appeal.)
Churn the cream till butter forms. For plain jar churning simply shake the the half full jar until the cream makes butter.
Drain off the buttermilk. This is not cultured buttermilk but it does have a nice sweet butter taste for drinking.
Rinse with ice water until the rinse water is clear. Buttermilk left in the butter will make the butter sour.
Salt to taste and press out all the liquid.
Wrap and store in the refrigerator or freezer.

To make "cultured" butter begin the process as follows:

Mix 1/4 cup of cultured buttermilk with a quart of milk (to use larger quantities increase proportionately, 1:4).
Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for about 12 hours (overnight) to thicken the cream.
Refrigerate the cultured cream for a couple of hours until it reaches around 60°F.
Churn or shake until butter forms.
Drain off the buttermilk. This is not cultured buttermilk but it does have a nice sweet butter taste for drinking.
Rinse with ice water until the rinse water is clear. Buttermilk left in the butter will make the butter sour.
Salt to taste and press out all the liquid.
Wrap and store in the refrigerator or freezer.

You'll feel like a real pioneer as you serve up your very own butter and it is much more rich and flavorful.

Some basic buttermaking equipment that will make you a real pro:

Small cream separator
Butter churn
Butter paddle for working out all of the buttermilk (this paddle works sooooo much better than anything else).
Butter molds for forming the butter into attractive serving sizes and shapes.

MAILING ADDRESS:
HOEGGER SUPPLY COMPANY
P.O. Box 331
Fayetteville, GA 30214

PHONE: 770-461-6926 FAX: 770-461-7334

ONLINE: TheGoatStore.com