Awesome new butter churn this year
Jul 9, 2021 14:21:10 GMT -5
simplynaturalfarm, elia, and 12 more like this
Post by Meadow Creek Mama on Jul 9, 2021 14:21:10 GMT -5
I make a lot of butter each year, I've just hit my goal of 150# of yellow, grass fed butter in the freezer. I've tried about every method of making it over the years, most of those methods subpar for the quantity of cream I'm dealing with or just subpar in general for buttermaking. When our most recent method was something I was just over with (the 4 gallon plastic bucket with ss churn run by a drill....big thumbs down), the only thing I felt I could go back to was a KitchenAid. The one I use in the house is not very powerful nor does it have a very large bowl. When I jar cream, I'm skimming milk from 2 high producing cows (this time of year I'm running the separator twice almost every day). So when I make butter, I need to make at least 2 gallons of cream at a time. That meant I was going to have to invest in the largest KitchenAid stand mixer and it still couldn't hold that 2 gallons. This was also their most expensive model which was around $700. I was not thrilled.
I decided instead to invest in a commercial stand mixer for $850. It is actually the cheapest 20 quart model that this particular site sells but all the attachments were stainless steel. The more expensive models of the same size all had aluminium paddles (and hooks in case some day I open a bakery). If you know me, I avoid aluminum around my food at almost any cost, but this choice actually for once was the cheaper option! With freight shipping, it ended up costing about $1K. But I will tell you it has been such a blessing! I have it out in the milk/bottling room which means I can run it while I am milking the cows. No more motor running in my small house while I try to homeschool the kids! Being able to use the deeper, larger milk sink is making the washing step so easy vs. doing that in my small kitchen sink. I've made well over 100# of my now stashed up butter in this machine and am really happy with it. I only run it on speed 1 as it seems easier on the bowl (as it does shift a little with each revolution of the mixer) and that slower speed gives me more time to watch it vs feeling like I missed the butter break while distracted by milking the cows. I then wash it in butter muslin in the milk sink, toss it back in the bowl with salt and the paddle attachment for a short stint to get the salt worked in. Then back to the milk sink for a final squeeze shaping rinse into estimated 1# balls, into a pail then into the house. There I weigh out each ball, adding a bit or taking a bit off so it's 1#, shaping it by hand into bricks with some smacks on my work surface to remove any extra moisture. Then wrapped in wax paper and into the freezer.
I wanted to share this in case anyone else is making a lot of butter and running into the same frustrations that small scale equipment presents. I'm linking the stand mixer I purchased below although they have increased the price a bit already since I bought it this spring. Hope this helps!
www.webstaurantstore.com/galaxy-gmix20-20-qt-commercial-planetary-stand-mixer-with-guard-1100w-120v/177GMIX20.html
I decided instead to invest in a commercial stand mixer for $850. It is actually the cheapest 20 quart model that this particular site sells but all the attachments were stainless steel. The more expensive models of the same size all had aluminium paddles (and hooks in case some day I open a bakery). If you know me, I avoid aluminum around my food at almost any cost, but this choice actually for once was the cheaper option! With freight shipping, it ended up costing about $1K. But I will tell you it has been such a blessing! I have it out in the milk/bottling room which means I can run it while I am milking the cows. No more motor running in my small house while I try to homeschool the kids! Being able to use the deeper, larger milk sink is making the washing step so easy vs. doing that in my small kitchen sink. I've made well over 100# of my now stashed up butter in this machine and am really happy with it. I only run it on speed 1 as it seems easier on the bowl (as it does shift a little with each revolution of the mixer) and that slower speed gives me more time to watch it vs feeling like I missed the butter break while distracted by milking the cows. I then wash it in butter muslin in the milk sink, toss it back in the bowl with salt and the paddle attachment for a short stint to get the salt worked in. Then back to the milk sink for a final squeeze shaping rinse into estimated 1# balls, into a pail then into the house. There I weigh out each ball, adding a bit or taking a bit off so it's 1#, shaping it by hand into bricks with some smacks on my work surface to remove any extra moisture. Then wrapped in wax paper and into the freezer.
I wanted to share this in case anyone else is making a lot of butter and running into the same frustrations that small scale equipment presents. I'm linking the stand mixer I purchased below although they have increased the price a bit already since I bought it this spring. Hope this helps!
www.webstaurantstore.com/galaxy-gmix20-20-qt-commercial-planetary-stand-mixer-with-guard-1100w-120v/177GMIX20.html
