Bon Appetit Wednesday! Irish Butter

buttered toast What would you do if you were just going about your business, doing your job and suddenly you discovered a piece of history? Recently, a man in Ireland was faced with that very situation. As he was cutting turf from a bog, to be burned for warmth, he happened upon a 22-pound chunk of bog butter that is estimated to be over 2,000 years old! Of course, if he had read our blog post about ancient butter, he would have known that finding ancient “bog butter” really isn’t that unusual. This 22-pounder joins other finds, including 3,000-year-old and even 5,000-year-old samples.[1] Click here to read the entire article.

To learn about the ancient and fascinating history of butter and enjoy a delicious recipe for Asparagus with Curry Butter, check out our Bon Appetit Wednesday blog post about this popular condiment.

And for a recipe that will turn even the simplest piece of toast into a delightful treat, try the Irish Butter recipe below!

Irish Butter

*Recipe adapted from WikiHow and Big Girl Small Kitchen

Ingredients

2 cups of cream (preferably organic)
3 tablespoons of whole milk yogurt
Salt to taste (optional)

Instructions

Whisk together the yogurt and half the cream until there are no lumps. Slowly whisk in the remaining cream.
Cover and set aside for 18 hours.
Using a food processor, electric or hand mixer or eggbeater, process the cream until the liquid separates from the solids. You can also pour the cream into an airtight container and shake it until the separating occurs.
Pour off the liquid (buttermilk) into another container for future use.
Knead the solid butter with a bit of ice water. Pour off the murky ice water. Repeat this process until the ice water runs clear.
Refrigerate or enjoy right away!

[1] Man finds 22-pound chunk of butter estimated to be more than 2,000 years old in Irish bog. (n.d.). Retrieved June 21, 2016, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/14/man-finds-22-pound-chunk-of-butter-estimated-to-be-more-than-2000-years-old-in-irish-bog/?tid=sm_fb