CHAPTER 5: Beyond Basic Butter
CHAPTER 5: Beyond Basic Butter
Once you have mastered the technique of churning simple butter, you can begin to explore the complexities this wonderful substance can offer. In this chapter, you will learn how to make variations of butter and learn a few recipes that will incorporate the butter you have made. Also included in this chapter are a number of simple recipes that will produce creamery items from many of the same basic ingredients used to make butter — cream and a little salt or another simple ingredient. You will find that once you take the simple step just beyond butter, a world of creamery products will open up before you.
Cultured Butter
This is really your first step on your way to making cheese. Adding a culture to a dairy product is the basic idea behind yogurt, cheese, and many other foods that you will learn about in this book. You will begin by culturing butter because, like making basic butter, it is the simplest of recipes. Cultured butter is used in much the same manner as regular butter. The use of cultured butter, like salted butter, is a matter of taste preference.
A culture is a lactic acid culture that is added to dairy products such as milk and cream for the development of particular flavors and to aid in the curdling of the milk or cream. Cultures work to change the milk sugar to lactic acid in a process that is referred to as ripening.
For this recipe, you can use plain yogurt as your culture. Try to use yogurt that has no additives; the ingredients on the yogurt should read “cultured milk.”
The cultures in yogurt are Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidus, Lactobacillus bulgaris, and sometimes others.
Ingredients
1 quart fresh heavy cream
A culture
Directions
1. Add 1/3 cup yogurt to 1 quart of heavy cream in a clean glass or stainless steel bowl. Whisk the mixture and cover it with a tight-fitting lid.
2. Let the mixture sit at room temperature (about 72°) for about 12 hours. It will look a little thicker than when you began by this point.
3. At this point, you can follow either of the basic butter recipes in the previous chapter.
If you made this cultured butter after you made basic butter, you will find the difference in taste quite interesting. Also, you will notice a difference in the taste of the buttermilk by-product. The tastes will differ from regular butter in that they will be stronger and a bit more sour. The word best used to describe the taste might be “ripe.”
This recipe will be slightly different depending on what you used to culture the cream. You can try to culture the cream with cultured buttermilk (there is a recipe for this later in this chapter), or you can experiment with other cultures. There is a short list of cultures you might use in Chapter 7 on yogurt.
A particularly interesting culture you can try is called piima (pronounced pee-ma). Piima is the extract from an herb called butterwort and is native to Northern Europe, particularly Scandinavian countries. Piima is quite similar in nature to buttermilk and kefir cultures. You probably will not find piima is your neighborhood grocery store, but you can find it online. Look in the Resource directory in the back of the book for locations.
If you choose to make cultured butter with a buttermilk culture, piima, or just about any other culture you might try, the directions are the same as the basic directions given for cultured butter. You may find in your experimentation that you have to let some cultures ripen longer or shorter periods of time than others. The best way to test how ripe your cream has grown is to smell and taste it because the product will develop a sour or acidic tartness that will increase as the product ripens.
If your cultured butter tastes “off” or somewhat too cheesy, you may have let it ripen a bit too long, or your utensils may not have been properly sterilized. Next time, keep a sharp eye on the ripening time and the cleanliness of your equipment.
There is a slight misconception about the next two recipes, clarified butter and ghee. It is sometimes thought that ghee is another word for clarified butter, but that is not the case. Clarified butter, also called drawn butter, is butter that contains only butterfat. In other words, the milk solids and water have been removed from the butter. Ghee is clarified butter that goes through the additional process of extra cooking to remove even more moisture. This extra cooking works to brown, or caramelize, the solids that are then strained out of the product.
There are many uses for both clarified butter and ghee. The first thing you might think of when you think about what to do with clarified butter is to enjoy it with lobster or any other shellfish.
Clarified butter is thought to be preferred for sautéing because it has a higher smoke point; that is, it will withstand higher temperatures before it starts to smoke. When you sauté with regular butter, what causes the smoke is the solid in butter, so when the solid is removed, you can cook at higher temperatures. This is beneficial for foods that you might want to sauté hot and fast, like shrimp.
Clarified Butter
Ingredients
Unsalted butter (1 pound of butter will yield 1 ½ cups of clarified butter)
You can use a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, but a double boiler is suggested so as not to burn the butter. A double boiler is also safer for this operation.
Directions
1. Melt the butter over a low heat. Continue cooking after the butter has melted.
2. As the butter cooks, you will notice it will separate into three layers. The top layer is water that will cook off; the middle layer is the butterfat; and the bottom layer is the milk solids.
3. After about 30 minutes, most of the water on the top will have cooked off. You will notice the color of the product has become a golden yellow, and it is a bit more transparent than it was earlier in the heating process.
4. Remove from heat and let sit for ten minutes to allow more of the solids to sink to the bottom.
5. The solids are removed at this point. You can strain the hot butter through a doubled piece of cheesecloth. Another way to remove the solids is to pour the product into a dish and chill it. After it solidifies, you can scrape the solids from the bottom of the solidified mass.
Ghee
Ghee is a clarified butter that is cooked longer than a regular clarified butter. The extra cooking gives ghee a somewhat nutty flavor. The process of making ghee is the same as for clarified butter, but you will continue to cook the butter until the solids turn light brown. After this additional cooking, you can proceed to strain the butter.
Ghee is often associated with Indian cooking. Ghee, like clarified butter, is wonderful to use for a sauté. For example:
Ghee Vegetable Sauté
Ingredients
6 tbsp ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp ground black pepper
4 crushed cardamom pods
¼ tsp coarse kosher salt
Small, diced red onion
Crushed garlic cloves to taste
This is the basic sauté. Into this you can add a combination of seasonal vegetables, such as broccoli, sugar peas, potatoes, or thinly sliced summer squash.
Directions
1. In a sauté pan, heat the ghee over medium heat.
2. Add mustard seeds and cover the pan as the seeds pop (about 30 seconds).
3. Add the rest of the sauté ingredients in order of recipe.
4. When the onions start to become translucent and the garlic just begins to brown, add vegetables. If you are using broccoli, add it last, as you only want to lightly heat it.
5. Keep the vegetables moving in the pan so as not to burn them and to evenly coat them with the sauté.
6. Heat to taste.
Buttermilk
In this chapter, there have been several mentions of “true buttermilk,” which is the liquid that remains after the solids have formed as cream is churned into butter. However, there is not really a consensus as to what true buttermilk is. Some will say the liquid described here is not “true buttermilk,” as it is not ripened or cultured.
This true buttermilk is a product you will probably never find in a store, and you can use this liquid for drinking, baking, and cooking. You will be pleased with its taste and what it does to your baked goods, as it acts like a dough conditioner, making your breads and cakes more tender. Try buttermilk pancakes, chocolate cake, or even chocolate buttermilk beet cake.
If you would like cultured buttermilk, you need to obtain a culture (or starter) that you add to milk to help the milk ripen. You can buy cultured buttermilk in many grocery stores, but if you are a purist, you will want to make your own. Look at the ingredients on a carton of cultured buttermilk and you may be convinced you should make your own because there are probably many ingredients in that carton that you do not need.
One of the greatest benefits of culturing your own buttermilk is once you do it, you will never have to buy buttermilk again. Buttermilk is ripened by a serial culture, which means you can continue to reculture milk using a little of your previous batch. You can do this with cultured products such as buttermilk, yogurt, and kefir.
You can get buttermilk cultures through creamery and cheese supply stores. Some online resources for these items can be found in the Resource section of this book. When you purchase a buttermilk starter, you will have several options available to you. The various buttermilk starters differ in the amount of lactic acid that they produce, and some starters will give you a slightly stronger tasting and thicker buttermilk than others. No matter which culture you purchase, you will be happy with the final product if you prepare your culture correctly.
Preparing Buttermilk from a Starter Culture
Depending on where you obtain your starter, you will get your culture in a premeasured packet or in a jar of culture. When you receive your culture, you should put it directly into the freezer. If the culture arrives in a jar, you will need to use about ¹⁄₈ tsp for each quart to ½ gallon of milk you plan to culture.
Ingredients
1 quart or ½ gallon of milk (You can use any kind of whole, low-fat, or skim milk as long as it is not ultra-pasteurized)
1 packet or 1/8 tsp of buttermilk culture (If you are using a premeasured packet, follow packet direction regarding the amount of milk to use)
¼ to ½ cup dry non-fat milk powder (optional)
Directions
1. In a double-boiler, heat milk to 185° and keep it at that temperature for at least 30 minutes.
2. If you are using the dry milk, you can whisk it in as you heat the milk. The milk powder is made up of milk solids that will give your buttermilk more body while not adding any fat.
3. Let the milk cool to about 78°. You can do this quickly by putting the pot of milk into a sink full of cool water.
4. Add buttermilk starter culture and stir the milk gently to dissolve.
5. Pour product into quart jar and cover loosely.
6. Allow to ripen at room temperature for 16 to 18 hours.
7. After the ripening process, you will notice the milk has gotten much thicker. If you added the dry milk, the milk (now buttermilk) has become the consistency of yogurt.
8. Refrigerate for up to two weeks.
Reculturing Buttermilk from Cultured Buttermilk
As mentioned earlier, buttermilk is a serial culture. Once you have cultured an amount of buttermilk, you can keep it going indefinitely. To reculture buttermilk:
1. Warm a quart of milk to 86°.
2. Whisk in ¾ cup cultured buttermilk.
3. Allow to ripen at room temperature for about 12 hours.
4. Refrigerate.
“Quick” Buttermilk
This method of making buttermilk (not “real” buttermilk or truly cultured buttermilk) has been used by cooks for generations. This “quick” buttermilk is good if you need a fast batch of buttermilk to cook with and do not have any cultured buttermilk on hand.
Ingredients
1 pint whole milk
2 tbsp lemon juice (You can substitute 4 tbsp cream of tartar or 2 tbsp white vinegar)
Directions
1. Mix milk and lemon juice in a large, stainless-steel or glass bowl.
2. Let mixture stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.
3. Stir well before using.
4. If you do not intend on using the mixture immediately, you can keep it in a jar with a tight lid in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Lemon Cheese
This is a recipe that is very similar in nature to the “quick” buttermilk recipe, with a couple of extra easy steps thrown in. It will produce a delightful lemon cheese spread you can enjoy on poppy seed bagels or as a base for a great lemon cheesecake.
Ingredients
½ gallon whole milk
Approximately ¼ cup lemon juice
Coarse kosher non-iodized salt (optional)
Herbs (optional herbs might be chives, dill, or mint)
Directions
1. Directly heat the milk to 185° in a stainless steel pot.
2. Add all but 1 tbsp of the lemon juice and stir well.
3. Cover the pot and let sit for 15 to 20 minutes.
4. If curds have clearly formed, move on to the next step. If you have not yet developed a definite curd (the curds and whey have not fully separated), add the remaining lemon juice and let mixture sit another ten minutes.
5. Line a colander with a large, doubled piece of cheesecloth. Make sure the cloth is large enough that you will be able to bring the corners together in a bag for the cheese to drain.
6. Pour the curds into the cloth-lined colander to drain the whey off.
7. Tie the corners of the cloth and hang the bagged cheese to drain for about two hours.
8. Remove the cheese from the cloth and place in a glass bowl.
9. Add optional salt and herbs to taste.
10. Refrigerate in a closed container for up to two weeks.
Crème Fraiche
Another delicious dish you can make that is quite simple and will always be popular is crème fraiche, which is similar to whipped cream — only much more versatile. One of the fun things about crème fraiche is the variety of ways you can use it. You can top soups with it; use it on pancakes, bagels, and muffins; top grilled vegetables with it; or use it on fresh fruit. You will be surprised at how long its list of uses can be.
Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
2 tbsp cultured buttermilk
Directions
1. In a double boiler, whisk cream and buttermilk together.
2. Slowly bring cream and buttermilk to about 85°.
3. Pour mixture into a glass pint jar.
4. Cover loosely and let ripen at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours or until thickened.
5. Stir and refrigerate for up to two weeks.
Mascarpone
This is a creamery product that is very similar to crème fraiche. It is commonly known as that wonderful, creamy filling that makes tiramisu.
Ingredients
1 quart light cream
¼ tsp tartaric acid (you may not need to use it all)
Directions
1. In a double boiler, heat cream to 185°.
2. Add 1/8 tsp tartaric acid and stir well to ensure it dissolves and distributes evenly throughout the mixture.
3. The mixture should begin to coagulate as the curd forms into a rice pudding-like consistency.
4. If the coagulation does not occur, add half of the remaining tartaric acid. You want to avoid adding too much tartaric acid.
5. Line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth. Be sure the piece is big enough so when you drain the mascarpone, you will be able to tie up the corners of the cloth.
6. Use a ladle to move the curds to the cheesecloth-lined colander.
7. Drain for about an hour.
8. Place in a covered container and refrigerate for up to two weeks.
Sour Cream
Now that you have made buttermilk, you can make sour cream in a more controlled manner. Note the slight difference in ingredients between sour cream and crème fraiche. In the past, letting fresh cream sit out at room temperature was the way sour cream was made at home. The bacteria that are naturally present in the cream thickened and produced the sour taste. If you have access to farm-fresh cream, you can make sour cream in this manner.
Ingredients
2 cups light cream at room temperature
2 tbsp buttermilk at room temperature
Directions
1. Mix cream and buttermilk in a glass jar.
2. Cover tightly.
3. Allow mixture to sit at room temperature for 24 hours or until it gets thick.
4. Stir and refrigerate for 24 hours prior to use.
5. The mixture may be refrigerated for up to four weeks.
Sour Cream II
This sour cream will result in a thicker and slightly richer product than the first recipe.
Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream at room temperature
1 ¼ cups of whole milk at room temperature (not ultra-pasteurized)
½ cup cultured buttermilk at room temperature
Directions
1. Whisk the ingredients together in a stainless steel or glass bowl. Set bowl in a pan of hot water and bring the temperature of the ingredients to 80°.
2. Pour ingredients into a quart jar and cover.
3. Allow product to sit at room temperature for 16 to 24 hours until it is thick. The longer you allow it to sit at room temperature, the more sour it will become.
4. Refrigerate up to four weeks.
Quark
You may have never heard of, let alone tasted, quark. Quark is a cheese that is unknown in the United States, so you will probably not be able to find it in your supermarket.
After making quark, you will likely become a quark devotee. You will also make your first cheese, as quark is considered to be a soft cheese and involves a process you will employ in nearly every other cheese you will learn to make in this book — draining your product in a cheesecloth bag. Once you learn to make quark, you will be confident enough in your cheese making to proceed to cream cheese, yogurt cheese, cottage cheese, and more.
You can enjoy quark as you would enjoy cream cheese or yogurt. It is great on bagels, fruit, vegetables, and in cooking.
Ingredients
1 gallon pasteurized milk (You can also use a four-to-one mixture of milk and heavy cream or you can use low-fat milk, though skim is not recommended)
2 tbsp of cultured buttermilk
Directions
1. In a double boiler or in a pot of hot water, heat milk to 88°.
2. Add buttermilk and stir in gently.
3. Cover milk and let it ripen at room temperature for 24 hours. The milk will be the consistency of yogurt.
4. Line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth. Be sure the piece is big enough so when you drain the milk, you will be able to tie up the corners of the cloth.
5. Place the colander over a large, stainless-steel pot and pour the liquid into the cloth-lined colander. You can save the liquid that pours into the pot and use it to bake with. It is great for bread.
6. Tie the corners of the cheesecloth together. The mixture in the cloth will be a sort of ball. Hang the bag to drain overnight over a bowl in your refrigerator. You can also place the bag in a colander over a bowl and place a closed container of water on top of the bag to press additional liquid out of the cheese.
7. After the mixture has drained (about eight hours), transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate up to two weeks.
Buttermilk Cheese
The buttermilk you used in making quark was cultured buttermilk. For this recipe, you can use the “real” buttermilk that you made when you churned cream into butter. Because there is only one necessary ingredient in this process, you can use any amount.
Ingredients
½ gallon of fresh, true buttermilk (this will yield ¾ pound of buttermilk cheese)
Salt (optional)
Directions
1. Let the buttermilk sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
2. In a stainless-steel pot, heat the buttermilk to between 160° and 180°. You will notice the curds and whey will separate as the buttermilk gets to about 160°.
3. Line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth, making sure the cloth is large enough to tie up the corners.
4. Pour the curded buttermilk through the cheesecloth.
5. Tie the corners of the cheesecloth so you can hang the bagged curds to drain at room temperature for about four hours.
6. When the cheese has reached a consistency you desire, put it in a bowl and add salt to taste, though salt is not a necessary ingredient.
7. The cheese can be refrigerated for up to two weeks.
You will note that many of the recipes above are very similar in nature. Crème fraiche, mascarpone, cream cheese, quark, and buttermilk cheese are all very closely connected. As you become comfortable making these items, you may become adventurous and begin experimenting with different ways to make them. Other creamery items you might explore are clotted cream, cup cheese, or pashka. These are all wonderful creamery items that can be made with cream or milk.
Kefir
Kefir is a dairy product that is produced in much the same manner as buttermilk and yogurt, as it is milk cultured with a mesophilic starter. It has many health benefits because it contains beneficial bacteria and yeasts, and it is said to be the healthiest of dairy foods. In fact, the word “kefir” is believed to derive from the Turkish word “keif,” which translates to “good feeling.”
There are several ways to make kefir. Like buttermilk, you need to begin with a starter. You can get kefir starter as a powder or in granular form. The granular form is preferred if you would like to continue making kefir indefinitely. You can reculture kefir from the powdered form, but it has a limit of about six or seven generations. Kefir grains can be used indefinitely if you take good care of them.
If kefir is new to you, enjoy it slowly at first. Start by slowly drinking about 4 ounces a day for a couple of days and work your way up to 10 to 12 ounces over a week or two. It is a drink full of beneficial bacteria that work to help your digestive system function regularly. Do not insist on drinking a big glass quickly before you are used to it; you may experience unpleasant intestinal distress.
Kefir Made With Powdered Culture
Ingredients
1 quart of milk
½ tsp kefir powder
Directions
1. To make kefir from a powdered culture, warm a quart of milk (whole, low-fat, or skim; not ultrapasteurized) to about 90°.
2. Add ½ tsp of powder (or follow directions on package).
3. Allow to ripen at room temperature for 12 hours.
4. Refrigerate.
If you make kefir this way, you can reculture your kefir for about six or seven generations. To reculture this product, simply add 2 tbsp of your kefir to 1 quart of warm milk (80° to 90°), allow it to ripen at room temperature for eight to 12 hours, then refrigerate.
Kefir Made with Kefir Grains
Ingredients
1 quart of milk
1 to 2 tbsp kefir grains (Kefir grains are solid granules formed by lactic bacteria, yeast, protein, and lactose. These granules resemble cauliflower in their appearance)
Directions
1. Place the kefir grains into a quart jar.
2. Pour 1 quart of milk over the kefir grains.
3. Loosely cover the jar. Do not tighten the lid, as the kefir needs to breathe. A good way to cover the mixture while ripening is to cover with a triple layer of cheesecloth.
4. Allow to sit at room temperature for 12 to 72 hours. The large time variation depends on how tart you like your kefir. If you enjoy a kefir that is more tart, allow it to ripen for a longer period of time.
5. Strain the kefir into a glass jar with a non-metal strainer. This is important because metal will react with the kefir and taint it. A good choice is to use a plastic strainer.
6. Do not rinse the kefir grains in the strainer.
7. Place the grains in a jar and you are ready to make more kefir with them. The grains will last indefinitely.
If you do not plan on making another batch of kefir right away, you can simply pour a small amount of milk over the grains to moisten them and then place them in the refrigerator. If you do not make kefir for a couple of weeks, you should strain the grains and pour fresh milk over them.
You will notice as you continue to make kefir that you have a greater amount of kefir grains as they grow. Perhaps the best way to drink kefir, if you would rather not drink it on its own, is to mix it with fruit. You can simply add fresh fruit to a glass before pouring kefir, or you can use it in a smoothie.
Kefir Smoothie
Ingredients
1 frozen sliced banana
12 ounces mixed frozen berries
1 fresh sliced peach
6 to 8 ounces kefir
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp wheat germ
8 to 12 ounces cold berry juice
Directions
1. Place all frozen fruit in a blender with the bananas at
the bottom.
2. Place fresh peach on top of frozen fruit.
3. Pour kefir and berry juice over the fruit.
4. Begin blending on high.
5. As the blender is running, add honey and wheat germ.
Recipes
Take a bit of a break now from making creamery items and put a few of the items to use. Here are a few more recipes in which you can use some of the great creamery products you have already learned to make.
The list of delightful dishes that can be made with butter, sour cream, crème fraiche, mascarpone, and buttermilk is endless. Here are some familiar dishes you may have tasted but have never tried to make yourself. The recipes included here are only a sampling of the multitude of dishes you can make with some of your homemade creamery items. Included are main courses; side dishes; and bread, breakfast, and dessert dishes. Family, friends, and neighbors have tried these recipes and raved about them; yours are sure to do the same.
Alfredo sauce
This recipe utilizes heavy cream and some of the wonderful butter you made. It is simple but not for those watching their waistline. This alfredo sauce is the classic style that is traditionally served over fettuccine. You might consider adding sautéed shrimp or scallops to this as well. You can add the vegetable sauté noted earlier in this chapter as a side dish.
Ingredients
8 tbsp homemade butter
1 pint heavy cream
2 cups finely grated Parmesan cheese (You will learn to make this in Chapter 12; in several months, you can add your own homemade Parmesan to this recipe. For now, use a high-quality cheese)
1 pound pasta
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. In a double boiler, melt the butter in the cream, stirring occasionally with a whisk.
2. When the cream and butter reach about 185°, whisk in the Parmesan cheese.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cook pasta in separate pot according to package directions until al dente (cooked, yet firm).
5. Stir pasta into sauce.
Sweet potatoes and cream
Here is a great spin on candied yams or sweet potatoes for a holiday meal. These will disappear in a flash.
Ingredients
12 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
1 cup homemade sour cream
¼ cup light brown sugar
1 tbsp grated, fresh ginger (You can substitute maple syrup here, or use both maple syrup and ginger)
¼ cup homemade crème fraiche
¼ cup homemade unsalted butter, melted
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. In a large stock pan, boil sweet potatoes until tender.
2. Pour off water.
3. Mash potatoes using electric mixer.
4. Add crème fraiche and butter.
5. Using a large, wooden spoon, fold in sour cream, brown sugar, and ginger.
6. Salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve immediately, or put in a casserole dish and reheat when ready to serve.
Butter pie crust
The trick to making great pies is making a flaky and tasty crust. Once you get the hang of it, you will be able to turn out incredible pies with homemade crusts filled with your favorite fruit.
Ingredients
For a single-crust pie:
1 ½ cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ cup (8 tbsp) unsalted butter
Cold water
For a double-crust pie:
2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup (10 2/3 tbsp) unsalted butter
Cold water
Directions
1. Sift together flour and salt.
2. Using a pastry blender or two forks, cut the butter into the flour by quickly mixing the butter and flour together with a pastry cutter or fork. Begin by cutting in half the butter, then cut in the other half. The butter-flour mixture should be like small peas at this point.
3. Continue using the pastry blender or forks to cut in the cold water one tablespoon at a time. Each time you add water, cut it in until it is evenly distributed.
4. Add water until you can pick up a small amount of the mixture and it easily forms into a ball without crumbling.
5. Form mixture into one or two balls (depending on which recipe you used) and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until you are ready to make the crust.
Buttermilk pancakes
These pancakes are so good that they do not require any syrup, but feel free to add the syrup anyway. For an even more irresistible treat, top them with your crème fraiche.
Ingredients
2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup whole-wheat flour
3 tbsp sugar (white or brown)
3 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
3 eggs
3 cups buttermilk
¼ cup milk (whole, low-fat, or skim)
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tbsp) butter, melted
Directions
1. Heat a griddle or frying pan until it is hot.
2. Sift dry ingredients together.
3. Beat eggs.
4. Beat buttermilk into eggs.
5. Beat milk into wet mixture.
6. Beat melted butter into wet mixture.
7. Add wet mixture to dry mixture just before you are ready to cook.
8. Stir the two mixtures to combine them. Do not worry about lumps; they will cook out.
9. Spoon batter onto griddle or frying pan, using about 2 tbsp of batter for each pancake. You can make the pancakes larger or smaller, depending on your preference.
10. Flip the pancakes when bubbles start to appear on top.
11. Cook for about two more minutes. You can lift one to check how done the underside is.
12. Serve hot.
13. Pancakes not eaten can be frozen and reheated in the microwave. These are great for quick breakfasts.
Buttermilk oatmeal bread
This bread is a meal in itself, and works great for grilled cheese sandwiches.
Ingredients
2 cups whey
1 cup regular oatmeal (not quick-cooking oats)
4 tbsp butter
½ cup honey
1 package yeast
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
Directions
1. Pour package of yeast into ½ cup of whey warmed to 105° to 115° in a small bowl. Allow to proof (which simply means to allow your yeast to sit in the warm whey until it becomes active). You will notice the yeast begin to “explode” in the warm whey.
2. Bring 1 ½ cups whey to a rapid boil in a saucepan and stir in the oatmeal.
3. Once the whey is boiling again, reduce the heat and cook oats for about three minutes until it starts to thicken.
4. Remove saucepan of whey from heat, stir in the butter and honey, and pour into a large bowl.
5. When mixture has cooled to 105° to 115°, stir in the buttermilk and salt.
6. Add the yeast and beat until smooth. Be sure the mixture is no more than 115° when you add the yeast; it will kill off the yeast, and your bread will not rise.
7. Stir in 2 cups of all-purpose flour and beat until smooth.
8. Add whole-wheat flour and beat until smooth. You can use a mixer fitted with dough hooks at this point if you have one and are inclined to do so.
9. Add more flour ½ cup at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
10. Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead just until the dough is no longer sticky.
11. Knead well until the dough becomes pliable and elastic. Add flour to the surface you are working on as necessary.
12. Spread butter over the inner surface of a large bowl and put the dough in it. Be sure the bowl is large enough to allow the dough to grow to twice its size. Turn the dough to cover the surface with the butter and cover the bowl.
13. Put the bowl in a warm place (room temperature) and allow to rise until doubled in bulk.
14. Punch down and remove the dough to the lightly floured surface.
15. Knead for about one minute.
16. Divide in half and form two equal loaves.
17. Butter two regular bread pans (about 9 by 4 by 3 inches) and put a loaf in each.
18. Cover with a towel and allow the loaves to rise until about 1 inch over the top of the pans.
19. While the bread is rising, preheat your oven to 375°.
20. Put the pans into oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.
a. Check brownness about 25 minutes into the baking. How brown or dark you want your bread to be is a personal preference. If you would like to slow the browning of the bread, you can cover the loaves with aluminum foil.
21. To test the bread, remove a loaf from the pan and tap on the bottom of it. The loaf should sound hollow when you tap on it.
22. Let the bread cool before slicing.
Mascarpone cheesecake
There are many variations of cheesecake that you can make with the cheese and butter recipes included in this book. When you are done learning and experimenting with all of the recipes included here, you may be able to come up with your own varieties.
Ingredients
For the crust:
1 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted
2/3 cup chocolate wafer crumbs (These are the thin, round chocolate wafers; you can also use a graham cracker or ginger snap crust)
3 tbsp granulated white sugar
1 tbsp homemade unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
16 ounces cream cheese at room temperature (You can buy it, or you can jump ahead to Chapter 11 and make your own, as long as you will be using your homemade mascarpone)
16 ounces homemade mascarpone at room temperature
1 ¼ cups granulated white sugar
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
For the garnish:
Mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries)
Directions
To make the crust:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.
3. Finely grind the almonds, chocolate wafer crumbs, and sugar in a food processor.
4. Add the melted butter to the almond/wafer/sugar mixture and process until moist crumbs form.
5. Press the almond/wafer/sugar mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan (but not on the sides).
6. Bake the crust until it is set and beginning to brown, which should take about 12 minutes.
7. Remove the crust from the oven to a wire rack to cool.
8. Turn the oven temperature down to 325°.
To make the filling:
1. Beat the cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, and sugar in a large bowl just until it is smooth. Do not overbeat, or your cake will be stiff and dry.
2. Add the lemon juice and vanilla to the cream cheese/mascarpone/sugar mixture and beat until just incorporated.
3. Add the eggs to the cream cheese/mascarpone/sugar mixture one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
4. Pour the cheese mixture over the cooled crust.
5. Place the springform pan on an insulated cookie sheet.
6. Bake about one hour, or until the middle of the cheesecake moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken.
7. Remove the cake to a wire rack; cool for one hour or until the cake is cool to the touch.
8. Cover and refrigerate until the cheesecake is cold, at least eight hours or overnight.
9. Serve in slices with a small pool of raspberry sauce and a few berries on the side.
Case Study: Fons Smits
Traders Point Creamery
www.tpforganics.com
“I grew up in a village in the province of Friesland in the northern part of the Netherlands, surrounded by dairy farms. I studied food science and specialized in dairy science. For the past 16 years, I worked in the dairy industry around the world. I have done everything from setting up dairy coops and factories in Tanzania to assisting factories in other African and Asian countries. I worked at Cowgirl Creamery in California and developed some great cheeses for them, like the Mt. Tam. I worked for a Dutch international dairy consultancy company and started with Traders Point Creamery in 2003. At Traders Point, I started the creamery production and developed a unique product line for them in unique packaging,” said Fons Smits.
“I enjoy making cheese and creamery items both commercially and as a hobby. It is my profession; however, I love the work. I like to create new things, and I like to surprise people and show them how dairy products can taste, and change their opinions.”
Because Smits grew up in the Netherlands, he grew up eating Gouda; his favorite kind is the Old Amsterdam. His favorite cheese made in the United States is the Mt. Tam, and not just because he helped make it. He said when the cheese is aged right, the consistency is as soft as butter but not runny.
Smits said the hardest thing about making cheese is that you have to be patient. However, he said the more you work at making cheese, the better you will get. Although people can learn from books, more can be learned from having the curds in your hands.
“Words of wisdom to those who are just getting started in making cheese are to take your time. Also, make sure you have the setup right. Do not think every recipe will work. If you find a recipe, it is more than likely that it needs to be adjusted to your working conditions, including the milk. Keep good records because many times you can only evaluate the product after several weeks, and to make the link of a defect to how it is made is difficult without a record. If possible, ask if you can work with a cheese maker for a couple times before starting yourself.”