Butter

I love butter. Always have. When I was a child, it was all sunflower margarine at home, for reasons of health (huh) and economy, but whatever chance I got I would devour butter. My grandmother would not allow margarine in the house, and used to slip me morsels of butter in the kitchen, and slather it thick on my bread. During my semi-vegan years, of course, butter was scarce, relegated to the occasional binge-treat. These days I use it with a liberal hand. Cooking, and melted onto just about anything. Sometimes I even eat it with a spoon.

Of course, there's butter and butter. Generally we're pretty spoilt for butter in the UK - grass fed is easy to come by, even the cheap varieties. I like it salted, and I like the whey cream sort, and the cultured cream kind that's common on mainland Europe.

Out of curiosity, I decided to have a go at making some. All it takes is cream and a food processor, creme fraiche for cultured butter. Just bung the cream in and fire it up. A whisk attachment would be ideal, but my bargain basement food processor doesn't have one, so I used the blade.

I was surprised at how quickly it turned. Within half a minute it looked like whipped cream, then a few seconds after that it turned grainy, and a few seconds after that it was yellow solids collecting and liquid. Everything I'd read advised draining the liquid out periodically, so I dutifully did so; it gets very splashy very quickly, even with the lid on. This was, of course, the buttermilk, something I'd never tried, and which was surprisingly delicious - I'd expected something thin and whey-like, but it was rich and creamy, with a tangy, but not sour, flavour.

As soon as the solids start appearing, the butter is more or less done. You don't want to keep beating it until it's creamed, as if for a sponge cake, or starts melting. The next step is to wash it - turn it into a bowl, pour in a little iced water, and mash it with a fork. I would guess you could do this in the processor, using pulse. Drain and repeat. You could throw away the rinsing water, or you could do as I did, enthused by the buttermilk, and drink it. Repeat three or four times. Then carry on mashing the butter to get any remaining water out, add some salt if required, and either pat or roll into shape on greaseproof paper, or press into a pot or bowl.

Good lord, it was delicious. I shall certainly be eating this one with a spoon.