Thank You Leanne!

Last week I read the Somerset Seasons blog all about making butter. I was intrigued. We always buy the local farm butter, which is delicious, but I had never even thought about what goes into the making of this delicious stuff.

Cream. Pure and simple. Reading Leanne's blog inspired me and she was kind enough to send me instructions. It looked pretty straightforward, though there was a part of me that doubted it would be easy. I suppose I have become so removed from the making of things that at some level, you suppose it requires you to stand on one leg, sing incantations and wave your wand. That probably sounds silly, but if you've never thought about how to make butter, it's all a bit mysterious.

For two days, I quested for cream. The local Co-op had sold out, the village shop had sold out; in the end, it was Leanne to the rescue, when she let me know that there's a special offer on at Tesco - a pint of double cream for £1 - how could I go wrong?

I took her advice and headed off to Tesco, where sure enough there was double cream on special offer. I loaded up, took it home and chucked it into the old Kenwood food mixer that my mum had given me years ago.

Leanne had instructed me to cover the mixer with a tea towel or cloth, as it gets a bit splashy. Foolishly, I should have followed her advice to the letter, but thought I'd try wrapping some foil around the top instead of a tea towel. Big mistake. Foil just deflects the splashes, which then ricoched around the kitchen! Not to worry, I peeked and saw that the cream was going beyond the thickly whipped stage, so took off the foil and let the Kenwood blast on. This is not a good thing to do. What I hadn't realised is that the separation of the butter and buttermilk is very sudden and when it happens, the buttermilk goes splashing around like a water cannon.

A quick cup of tea and a change of clothing later, I squished the butter, washed it and I now have absolutely lashings of gorgeous, golden butter. All I have to do is add a bit of salt, as we'll use this on toast, and pack it into it's wrapping.

I'd never have believed how simple it is to make butter, and it's wonderfully satisfying - it made me feel like a child with a load of putty - it's an incredibly grounding experience and all the more wonderful after the bad night I had last night with my son.

I'd like to say a huge thank you to Leanne for inspiring me to try something new and for her generous advice and recipe. You have made a convert of me and it won't be the last time I make butter, though it will be the last time I get all smart-arsey and don't follow instructions!