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Making Butter at Camp Nana

Making butter is a fun thing to do, regardless of your age. It has both symbolic and real value that stays with the person throughout life.

There’s also something about homemade butter that evokes all kinds of nostalgic feelings. And when it’s something your grandchildren make, it’s all the better.

A little more than a year ago Wally and I moved to North Carolina to be closer to our daughters who both live here. And to make it even cozier, we live between them, 3/4 mile from one and a little over a mile from the other.

Family First

And we couldn’t be happier. Granted, I prefer the Florida climate, and Wally likes the number of golf courses in South Carolina, but being closer to our family is worth giving up everything else. We’ve been starting new traditions and making lots of memories.

Our grandkids enjoy doing all sorts of projects, but they’re partial to anything they can enjoy later. I’ll share more later, as we do them.

This Pioneer Woman collection dish is ideal for your homemade butter.

Making Memories with the Grandkids 

One of the things we started this past summer was Camp Nana. One day a week, I take the girls for several hours, and we do lots of fun stuff. The sky is the limit on what these extremely smart, creative girls can do.

There was one day when Emma had an art class, so Sophia and I decided to do something different since it was just the two of us. She loves anything to do with the kitchen—and even calls herself a “foodie.”

So we made homemade butter. How many people even do that anymore?

Homemade Butter

My dad was in the U.S. Air Force, and we moved around quite a bit. Visiting my family in the South gave me roots and a feeling of belonging. I especially loved when some of my older relatives spent extra time with me.

I’ll never forget the time I spent with my great-grandmother. While there was plenty of store-bought butter in the fridge, making our own butter was pretty special.

It gave us a chance to bond, and it taught me the value of having some basic skills. Our family dinner tasted much better when I had a hand in making something from scratch.

Homemade butter 

What may surprise you is that you don’t need any fancy equipment to do this. In fact, you probably already have what you need: a jar with a lid. That’s it.

Ingredients:
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

Directions:

  1. Pour whipping cream into the jar.
  2. Place the lid on the jar, tighten it, and shake until you get tired.
  3. Hand the jar to the other person and have him or her shake it.
  4. Take turns until you hear a slight thumping sound in the jar. That’s the butter that has separated from the cream.
  5. Now you can pour off the buttermilk (the liquid) to use for baking later.
  6. Rinse the ball of butter. If you want to add salt, sprinkle it into the butter and knead it until it is well incorporated.
  7. Shape the butter into whatever shape you want. You can form it into a stick to put it in a pretty butter dish or press it into the bottom of a container.

That’s all you have to do! It tastes just as good as anything you’d buy from the store—maybe even better since it was made with love.

Our granddaughter with her homemade butter

Rainy Day Project

Have you ever made butter? It is a great rainy-day activity you can do with your children or a way to show the grandkids how it used to be done. And don’t forget that it tastes even better if you put it in a pretty dish like the one at the top of the page from Pioneer Woman.

More to Put on Bread or Crackers

Delicious cheeseball from Back to My Southern Roots

If you enjoy munching on bread or crackers, you probably like adding something smooth for texture. Homemade butter is always good, but so is this easy-to-make cheeseball from Back to My Southern Roots: Easy Bacon Ranch and Walnut Cheeseball.

Please feel free to share!

Julie @ Back To My Southern Roots

Saturday 15th of December 2018

Love your site! We will have to try the butter soon. What a cute granddaughter!

southernhomeexpress

Saturday 15th of December 2018

Let me know how it turns out! Thanks!