# Making butter: winter vs. summer



## orangehen (Dec 7, 2005)

I get raw milk/cream from a guy with jersey cows, and in the winter I have a terrible time getting the butter to come together from the cream. Sometimes I churn and churn and churn and really nothing happens! It just keeps looking like heavy whipped cream, or else it's in small granules. So discouraging.

In the summer, when his cows are out on grass, the butter comes quickly and beautifully. Is there anything I could do to help the butter come together from the "winter" milk? (Hope this makes sense....)


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## Jennifer L. (May 10, 2002)

Someone told me once to add salt to cream that won't churn--information from his grandmother and he was older than I am (51). I've never done it, just passing it along. He also told me cows need the salt in the diet to produce more butterfat. My cows have a salt block available all the time, anyway, so I never thought too much about that one having never done a comparison.

Jennifer


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## orangehen (Dec 7, 2005)

Thanks, Jennifer! I always added salt after "working" the butter because I thought it would wash out if I added it to the cream, but I'm going to try it today. I'm also going to ask the guy if his cows have a salt/mineral block - maybe they don't. This guy is a penny-pincher anyway.


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## LScrivens (Apr 7, 2008)

Hi, 

The first thing I thought when I read your post was that it was a temperature problem, the milk needs to be at approximately 58 F (while you're churning it) to gather properly. Of course if the room you use to store your milk or make your butter is the same temperature througout the year it probably isn't this.

Just to let you know - I don't have a cow and I've never made butter in my life!  But I've been intrested in homesteading for around 10 years now and this is what I've picked up, you'll probably want to look around to verify and get more info.

Good luck anyway.


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## orangehen (Dec 7, 2005)

Thanks for the hint. In the winter, I do put the cream in my gas oven for awhile before I churn, and the pilot light gets it warm....warmer than my house at least.

I asked the guy where I get my cream/milk, and he DOES have a salt/mineral block for his cows, and he said that he, too, has a hard time with making butter in the winter. It must be what the cows are eating, winter vs. summer. Makes a good case for cows on pasture, doesn't it?

So I guess I'll make "good" butter as much as possible in the summer and freeze it for eating, and use the winter butter for cooking and baking.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

What the cow eats can affect the outcome of the cream and the butter. Usually it is the amount of cream per gallon or the color of the butter.

The temps are important when churning butter. If your butter isn't coming, you may want to either cool it off by adding cold water or ice cubes to the churn or warming it up a bit.


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