自製牛油 ( 奶油 )【發酵 / 不發酵】Homemade Butter

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Butter，香港稱「牛油」，台灣譯「奶油」，國內叫「黃油」。由鮮奶油 Cream 或 牛奶提煉的乳製品。製作糕餅點心，牛油是酥脆和香氣的主要來源。肥丁以前一直認為牛油是天然產品，原來巿面上一些氣味香濃，色澤金黃的牛油，添加了奶粉、香精和色素 ( 如細心留意食物標纖，有一堆添加物的名稱 ) 。

製作牛油有兩種方法，將牛奶放入密封的容器中劇烈搖動，使乳脂從牛奶中分離，不過這辦法需要很大的動能，不太適合家庭製作。另一個方法，是使用 Cream 鮮忌廉 ( 動物性鮮奶油 ) ，用電動打蛋機，持續攪拌，破壞乳脂肪，將脂肪裡的油和水分離，用濾網和棉布過濾，便會得到兩種乳製品 ~ Butter 和 Buttermilk 白脫牛奶。用 Cream 來製作牛油真是意想不到的簡易，而且過程十分好玩，肥丁真是有點玩上穩了 ﹗ 

肥丁貪心一點，想製作風味更佳的發酵牛油，發酵牛油是一種傳統技術，在乳脂中加入乳酸菌發酵，使牛油增添特殊的風味和香氣，最有名的發酵牛油產自法國，每個農場都有自己的特殊發酵技術，產品以產區命名的並有認證。肥丁吃過一次得獎的法國發酵牛油，沒想過牛油可以這麼好吃，久久不能忘懷，於是決定東施效顰，自己土製一番。

無鹽牛油 Unsalted Butter 材料 ( 可製作約 200 g 牛油 Butter 及約 200 ml 的白脫牛奶 Buttermilk )

• 鮮忌廉 500 ml   ( 動物性鮮奶油，乳脂含量約 35%，Heavy Cream, Whipping Cream 都可以 )
• 冰水 Ice Water  1500 ml

選擇性材料

• 原味乳酪 Plain Yogurt  2 大匙 ( 如不製作發酵奶油可省略 )
• 海鹽   適量 ( 製作 Salted Butter 有鹽牛油才加入 )

做法

1. 過濾用的白棉布、玻璃瓶最好預先放在滾水中煮 5 ~ 10 分鐘消毒，烘培備用

發酵牛油 ( 如想製作簡易版可以略過 ) 

2. 製作發酵牛油 ( 這步驟是選擇性的，如不做發酵牛油，請省略這步驟 ) 把鮮忌廉倒進碗內，加入 1 ~ 2 湯匙原味乳酪，放在溫暖的地方 ( 約 25ºC ~ 28ºC ) 發酵 8 ~ 12 小時，發酵好的忌廉會變濃稠，表面有少許泡抹，聞起來有少許酸味。把已發酵好的忌廉放進冰箱冷藏 1 小時。發酵的速度視乎室溫，所以不時要檢查，如果天氣冷，可能需要延長發酵時間

普通牛油 ( 簡易版 ) 

3. 直接從冰箱取出 Cream 鮮忌廉 ，放在室溫回溫約 15 分鐘 ( 發酵的也同樣處理 ) ，用手提打蛋機打發，以最高速最初打發的 2 ~ 3 分鐘，忌廉會越來越厚，然後開始出現顆粒狀，由淡白色變成淡黃色，將打蛋機調較至中速，保持打發直至固體（牛油 Butter）和液體（白脫牛奶 Buttermilk ）分離 ( 約攪打 5 分鐘 )，最後階段分離出來的白脫牛奶會飛濺出來，便可以停止打發

4. 在網篩上鋪上白紗布袋，將所有固體和液體倒進去過濾，擰緊白紗布袋用力按壓，把白脫牛奶擠出來，把白脫牛奶放入消毒過的玻璃瓶中，貼上日期標籤，放進冰箱冷藏

5. 把牛油從布袋中取出，放在清潔的大碗裡，加入一杯冰水，用橡皮刮刀把牛油按入冰水中。軟軟的牛油便會迅速變硬，水變得渾濁。倒掉渾濁的水，再倒入一半冰水，重複 5 ~ 6 次直至倒掉的冰水變清澈。這過程是要將牛油中的白脫牛奶清洗出來，以延長牛油的保質期

6. 如你要製作有鹽牛油或 Compound Butter，可於此時加入海鹽、香料或香草，拌勻

肥丁料理書《當令好食》P.35 有介紹「香蒜牛油」的做法

7. 把用烘培紙把牛油捲起，用手壓緊，將多餘的水份榨出，擰緊頭尾，或把牛油放入消毒過的玻璃瓶，用保鮮膜緊貼牛油表面，可存放冰箱約三週，如放在冷凍庫 Freezer 可存放約 3 個月。Buttermilk 的保質期不長，約 4 ~ 5 天，要盡快使用

小叮嚀

• 製作發酵牛油，由於室內的環境因素 ~ 溫度和濕度的變化，鮮忌廉出廠時的殺菌度，以及原味乳酪的新鮮度而差異，每一次製作的發酵速度和過程都未必一樣，最好每 3 ~ 4 小時檢查一次為佳。如發酵得太快，而又未準備好製作牛油，可將發酵好的鮮忌廉放進冰箱，待你有時間再拿出來製作
• 發酵完熟的鮮忌廉質感會變得更濃稠，表面或會有少許泡沫，聞起有少許乳酪的味道。如酸味過濃便是發酵過度，不能用要丟棄。不過發酵過程本是為了延長牛油保質期，所以變壞的機會是很低的
• 牛油的黃色，取決於生產鮮牛奶的牛所吃的動物飼料，或後期添加的食用色素
• 鮮奶油 Cream 也是由鮮牛奶所製，傳統製法是把鮮牛奶靜置一段時間，密度較低的脂肪便會浮升到頂層，把這些脂肪收集起來便成鮮奶油。工業化流程則採用離心機來加速完成。購買 Cream 時，請留意包裝的成分說明，動物性鮮奶油只有「Cream」而無「棕櫚油 Palm Oil」或其他植物油成分或糖份。保存期限較短，要儘早使用，亦不宜存放於冰格 Freezer。一些淡忌廉會加入少許穩定劑及乳化劑來幫助打發，盡量避免購買這類產品
• 至於剩下來的 Buttermilk ( 西點食譜經常出現的食材 ) ，用途跟牛奶差不多，味道比牛奶更濃郁，有酸味，可直接飲用或製糕點，如蛋糕，muffin，pancake，布丁等任何使用牛奶的食譜，都可用 Buttermilk 代替牛奶，製成品的奶香味會更濃郁。白脫牛奶是 Buttermilk 的翻譯名稱，不是脫脂牛奶唷 ~ 別誤會。

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Ingredients of Unsalted Butter (  Makes about 200 g Butter 200 ml Buttermilk )

• 500 ml Heavy Cream or Whipping Cream ( fat 35% )
• 1500 ml Ice Water

Optional 

• 2 tbsp Plain Yogurt    2 大匙
• Pinch of Sea Salt

Instructions

❶ For filtering, it is best to pre-soak the white cotton cloth and glass jars in boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes for disinfection, and then set them aside for baking.

Fermented Butter (optional: to make a simplified version, you can skip this)

❷ To make fermented butter (this step is optional; if you choose not to make fermented butter, please skip this step), pour fresh cream into a bowl, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt, and leave it in a warm place (about 25ºC to 28ºC) to ferment for 8 to 12 hours. The fermented cream will thicken, have a few bubbles on the surface, and emit a slight sour smell. Place the fermented cream in the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour. The fermentation speed depends on the room temperature, so check it occasionally; if the weather is cold, you may need to extend the fermentation time.

Regular Butter (Easy Version)

❸ Directly take the Cream from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes (the fermented one should be treated the same). Use a hand-held mixer to whip it at the highest speed for the first 2 to 3 minutes; the cream will thicken, and then start to form granules, changing from pale white to light yellow. Switch the mixer to medium speed and continue whipping until the solids (butter) and liquid (buttermilk) separate (about 5 minutes of mixing). In the final stage, the separated buttermilk will splatter, at which point you can stop whipping.

❹ Place a white cheesecloth bag on the sieve, pour all solids and liquids into it to filter, twist the cheesecloth bag tightly and press down hard to squeeze out the skimmed milk, transfer the skimmed milk into a sanitized glass bottle, label it with the date, and store it in the refrigerator for cold storage.

❺ Take the butter out of the cloth bag and place it in a clean, large bowl. Add a cup of ice water and use a rubber spatula to press the butter into the ice water. The soft butter will quickly harden, and the water will become muddy. Pour out the muddy water, then add half a cup of ice water, repeating this process 5 to 6 times until the poured-off ice water is clear. This process is done to wash out the buttermilk in the butter, in order to prolong its shelf life.

❻ If you want to make salted butter or compound butter, you can add sea salt, spices, or herbs at this time and mix well.

❼ Wrap the butter in baking paper and press tightly with your hand to squeeze out the excess moisture, twisting the ends tight. Alternatively, place the butter in a sterilized glass jar, pressing plastic wrap tightly against the surface of the butter. It can be stored in the refrigerator for about three weeks, or in the freezer for about three months. The shelf life of buttermilk is short, around 4 to 5 days, so it should be used quickly.

A little reminder

• Making fermented butter. Due to environmental factors indoors such as changes in temperature and humidity, the sterilization level of fresh cream at the time of production, and the freshness of the plain yogurt, the fermentation speed and process can vary each time. It is best to check every 3 to 4 hours. If fermentation happens too quickly and you are not ready to make butter, you can place the fermented fresh cream in the refrigerator and take it out later when you are ready to make it.
• The texture of fermented fresh cream becomes thicker, and there may be a slight foam on the surface, with a faint smell of cheese. If the sourness is too strong, it means it has over-fermented and should be discarded. However, the fermentation process is meant to extend the shelf life of the butter, so the chance of spoilage is quite low.
• The yellow color of butter depends on the animal feed consumed by the cows that produce fresh milk, or food colorings added later.
• Heavy cream is also made from fresh milk. The traditional method involves letting fresh milk sit for a period of time, allowing the lower-density fat to rise to the top. Collecting this fat results in heavy cream. The industrial process uses a centrifuge to speed up the process. When purchasing cream, pay attention to the ingredient label; animal-based heavy cream should only contain “Cream” and not “Palm Oil” or other vegetable oils or sugars. It has a shorter shelf life, so it should be used quickly and should not be stored in the freezer. Some light creams may have a small amount of stabilizers and emulsifiers added to help with whipping, so it is best to avoid purchasing such products.
• As for the remaining Buttermilk (an ingredient commonly found in pastry recipes), its use is similar to that of milk, but it has a richer flavor with a sour taste. It can be drunk directly or used in baking, such as in cakes, muffins, pancakes, puddings, and any recipe that uses milk can substitute Buttermilk for milk, resulting in a stronger milky flavor. “Buttermilk” is the translation for 白脫牛奶 or 酪乳, and it is not the same as skim milk—don’t get confused.