Food Friday: Shake and make butter to celebrate June Dairy Month

(Photo courtesy of Oklahoma Agriculture in the Classroom)

Today marks the first day of a month-long celebration of June Dairy Month in Virginia and across the nation.

Milk is one of the top farm commodities in Virginia, ranking third in 2010 with $332 million in cash receipts.

That’s just for milk; the figure doesn’t include cheese, butter, ice cream, yogurt or other dairy products.

In honor of cows everywhere, I’d like to share an easy and family-friendly butter-making recipe with you. Our Agriculture in the Classroom staff share a variation of this recipe with teachers for use in their classrooms. Teachers use this activity to help children who think butter comes from a plastic tub at the grocery store draw a connection between the milk that comes from dairy cows and the butter that’s spread on their morning toast.

I have mentioned here before that my grandfather was a dairy farmer. He always had farm-fresh milk and butter at home. I didn’t love the milk, but I couldn’t get enough of the butter.

When I ate breakfast at Grandpa’s house, ordinary toast was extraordinary because of the sweet cream butter that was slathered on top. Everyone should get to experience this.

And by following a few simple steps, you can make your own butter at home. Tammy Maxey, AITC senior education programmer, said very cold cream works best.

Butter in a Bag

1 pint heavy cream

1 pinch salt

1 large re-sealable plastic bag

Pour cream and salt into bag, seal the bag and start shaking it. After 15 minutes of shaking, chunks of butter will start to form. Drain excess liquid from the bag and seal. Refrigerate the butter until you're ready to use it.