Butter in a Jar

Making homemade butter is super fun for kids of all ages. You can use this time to talk about how we get our food or how butter was made in the "olden" days with a butter churn. This is a really simple activity and works great with preschoolers as well as "big kids".

Supplies:
small empty clean jar/container (baby food jar works well for smaller hands)
Whipping Cream (the liquid not to be confused with WHIPPED CREAM the solid)


To make the butter you just get an empty jar and put some whipping cream inside. Then you shake it until it becomes a solid (make sure the lid is tightly closed). It will take several minutes. If you have a video about cows or a book to read, now would be a great time to do so and the kids can continue shaking. If you have smaller children, they may need some assistance as it does get tiring and they can't shake as hard. You may want to add a clean marble to the jar for small children to help with the "churning" process.

Periodically have the kids check the jar and you will begin to notice that the milk will start to form small yellowish spots. It is really cool because it is a liquid for like ever and then all of a sudden, it hits the side and it is a solid ball. REALLY COOL.

I wouldn't necessarily advise eating it in this state. To be able to eat the butter you should pour out the left-over liquid and rinse with water to remove any excess liquid (known as buttermilk) and squeeze out the liquid in cheese cloth or press with a wooden spoon against the side of a bowl and then add salt if desired.