How To Make Cultured Butter At Home

Homemade cultured butter is made by fermenting heavy cream with live cultures before churning it into butter. That extra fermentation step creates a richer, deeper butter flavor with a subtle tang.

It takes very little hands-on time and requires just cream, yogurt and salt. Most of the time is simply waiting for the cream to culture … much like sourdough fermentation! As a bonus, once the butter separates, you’ll also have fresh cultured buttermilk to use in pancakes, cakes and, of course, sourdough bread.

Cultured Butter vs Regular Butter

Cultured butter is made by fermenting cream with beneficial live bacteria before churning it, while regular sweet cream butter is usually made by churning fresh cream without fermentation.

That extra fermentation time gives cultured butter its characteristic rich, slightly tangy and nutty flavor, which is why it tastes so good simply spread over fresh sourdough bread.

Cultured butter is often associated with European-style butter, which generally has a higher butterfat content than standard butter. However, they aren’t exactly the same thing: cultured describes how the butter is made, while European-style generally refers to butter with a higher butterfat content.

Standard butter is usually around 80% butterfat, while European-style butter is often around 82–85%. Homemade cultured butter will vary depending on the cream you start with and how much liquid is removed during churning and washing.

Ingredients

• Heavy Cream – Use a good-quality heavy cream with a minimum fat content of 35%. Ideally, choose one without gums, stabilizers or thickeners. I prefer cream that isn’t ultra-pasteurized because I find it cultures more predictably, but the most important thing is a high milk-fat content. I tested this recipe using cream containing around 38% milk fat, which produced a rich butter and separated easily.
• Yogurt – Use plain, unsweetened yogurt that specifically states it contains live cultures. Full-fat yogurt works beautifully. If you can’t find yogurt with live bacterial cultures, you can use cultured buttermilk, crème fraîche or sour cream as an alternative.
• Salt – Optional, but I like adding a little to the finished butter for flavor. Seriously, I don’t believe in unsalted butter!

And if you’re interested in making cultured butter, you might enjoy making your own homemade ricotta too!

How To Make Cultured Butter

Culture the Cream

Add the yogurt to the cream and stir well so it’s evenly distributed. I like to use a large 1 litre jar for this. Leave the cream at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours, or up to 48 hours if you want a stronger cultured flavor.

Don’t rely only on the clock. The cream is ready when it has thickened noticeably and smells pleasantly tangy. Fermentation will happen more quickly in a warm kitchen and more slowly in a cool one, just like sourdough.

Once cultured, chill the cream in the refrigerator. I like to leave it for 12 to 24 hours, but as long as it has chilled thoroughly for at least 1 hour, it’s ready to churn.

Churn the Butter

Pour the chilled cultured cream into the bowl of a stand mixer and fit the whisk attachment. You can also use a butter-churning jar or simply shake the cream in a tightly sealed jar.

If you’re using a stand mixer, use the splatter guard. I also cover mine loosely with a clean kitchen towel because once the butter separates, the buttermilk can splash everywhere. I learned this the hard way!

Whip the cream well past the whipped cream stage. It will become stiff, then grainy, before suddenly separating into yellow butter solids and cloudy cultured buttermilk. Once you can clearly see yellow butter solids sitting in cloudy buttermilk, stop the mixer.

Pour the buttermilk through cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer into a clean jar. This catches any small pieces of butter so you can add them back to the main batch.

Wash the Cultured Butter

Washing the butter removes leftover buttermilk and helps improve its keeping quality. Start by squeezing as much buttermilk as possible from the butter. You can use your hands for this or wrap the butter in cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel.

Return the butter to the mixer bowl and cover it with very cold water. I use around 1 litre (33 oz). Mix on low-medium speed, gradually increasing until the water turns cloudy. This is the remaining buttermilk being worked out of the butter. Drain the water and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. If there are small pieces of butter floating in the water, pour it through a fine sieve so you don’t lose them.

Repeat the washing process with fresh cold water. I usually wash my cultured butter twice, this is sufficient to ensure the water becomes mostly clear. The more cultured buttermilk you remove from the butter, the better the finished butter will keep.

Salt and Finish the Butter

Clean and dry the mixer bowl, then return the washed butter. Add salt if you’d like salted cultured butter, then whip until the butter is smooth, creamy and paler in color. Whipping is completely optional, but I find it gives the butter a creamier texture and makes it much easier to spread. Transfer to a clean jar, butter dish or butter bell and refrigerate.

Don’t Throw Away the Cultured Buttermilk!

Once you’ve made cultured butter, save some of the cultured buttermilk. You can use it to culture your next batch of cream, which means you won’t need to add yogurt again.

Cultured buttermilk is also incredibly useful in baking. Use it to make sourdough discard pancakes, sourdough discard waffles, homemade ranch dressing or buttermilk sourdough bread.

Using the cream in this recipe, I generally get around 320 g of cultured buttermilk, although your yield will vary depending on the cream and how thoroughly you work the liquid from the butter.

What Does Cultured Butter Taste Like?

Cultured butter doesn’t taste strongly sour. Fermentation gives it a deeper, richer butter flavor with a gentle tang and slightly nutty finish. The difference is especially noticeable when you keep things simple and spread it over freshly baked sourdough bread.

What To Spread Cultured Butter On?

Cultured butter is especially worth using where its flavor can really shine. I love spreading it over Italian herb and cheese sourdough bread, sourdough dinner rolls, flaky sourdough biscuits and sourdough baguettes.

It also makes a lovely addition to a grazing board or a beautiful homemade gift when paired with a loaf of sourdough discard banana bread or sourdough discard pumpkin bread.

Cultured butter also works beautifully as the base for flavored butters such as whipped herb butter, where its deep, nutty flavor pairs really well with the fresh herbs.

How To Store Cultured Butter

Refrigerator – Store homemade cultured butter in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in parchment in the refrigerator. I recommend using it within 2 weeks for the best flavor and freshness, although thoroughly washed butter may keep for longer. Removing as much cultured buttermilk as possible during the washing stage is important for good keeping quality.

Kitchen Counter – You can leave it at room temperature if you like to have your butter easily spreadable. I store mine in a butter dish or butter bell on the counter for up to a week. Salting the butter is essential if you are leaving it on the counter.

Freezer – For longer storage, cultured butter freezes really well. Wrap it tightly or freeze it in smaller portions for up to 3 months.

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