Internet version [Naruhodo no Mori] Vol.34

by Yumiko Mori

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Vol. 34     November 15th, 1997

Home made butter

Home science experiments for mothers of elementary school children

Mom: "Oh, nice cream smell!"
Tae: "This is perhaps good for a cake. I want to eat a cake!"
Toshi: "Mom. you probably put too much heavy cream, I think."
Mom: "I am not sure either."
We decided to reduce the amount of heavy cream by half and to start over.

15 minutes passed.
Toshi: "Maybe done, I think."
Mom: "We can look inside."

Mom: "It still looks like heavy cream."
Toshi: "I'll shake a little longer."
Something happened at 17 minutes since we started shaking.
Toshi: "Mom, something strange! Oh, look!"
Tae: "Yes! We have butter!"
Mom: "Incredible! Suddenly it turned into butter."

Mom: "I wonder why we failed the first one?"
Toshi: "Maybe we didn't have enough air. We had the same problem when we made ice cream."
Mom: "I didn't know we need air. My book didn't say anything about air."
Toshi: "You should include this in 'Naruhodo no Mori'."
Mom: "It is only mixing, but quite tricky!"

Materials

Heavy cream	100 ml	(over 30% fat content, avoid vegetable cream)
Air	Some	(about a half of the bottle volume)
A plastic bottle	1	(500 ml size)
Salt	a pinch	(If you prefer non salt butter, add no salt.)
A pair of scissors
A glass cup

How to make butter

1. Keep heavy cream in the refrigerator before use. Pour 100 ml of heavy cream into a cleaned plastic (PETE) bottle.
2. Close the bottle with a lid and start shaking the bottle.
   Keep shaking for 15 - 20 minutes.
3. While you shake, your hands will feel a sudden change inside the bottle. That should be a sign that the solid part is separated from the liquid part. You stop shaking once you feel a sign of separation.
   Keep the bottle in the refrigerator.
4. Cut the plastic bottle approximately at 8 cm from the bottom.
   The cutting is tricky initially. An adult should do the first part of the cutting.
5. Remove the liquid part to an empty cup. The remaining solid part is butter. Add a pinch of salt and mix.
   You may keep your butter in the same plastic bottle, as long as you are careful at the sharp cut edge. Keep butter in the refrigerator.

• If your bottle gets warmer while you shake, put the bottle back to the refrigerator and restart shaking when the bottle becomes cold enough.

• I've heard you can also make butter from non- homogenized milk. (Non-homogenized milk has larger sizes of fat vesicles.)

• Fat vesicles, which heavy cream is composed of, are contained in protein shells.
  When you shake well, these shells are broken apart and the fusion of these fat vesicles starts. This process produces butter.

• The liquid portion obtained at step #5 is called 'butter milk' and deliciously sweet to drink.

   We went to a museum and saw an exhibit about Antarctica. We walked through several rooms of exhibits. Then we entered into a room where we could experience very cold air (-20 centigrade). My children, who by then had been getting tired seeing exhibits, became suddenly excited. This experience lasted only 10 seconds, but thanks to the cold room experience their impression on the whole exhibit was very positive. I believe that what children remember is not good overall experience. When they experience something very exciting even if short, that experience leaves good impression on the whole event. Therefore, I think, if a child has an exciting moment every day, he or she should feel happy.

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