With an emphasis on learning and exploration of Florida’s unique environment and how agriculture play an essential part of our daily life, SREC will offer several field trip options that will be both educational and fun. “Grow with Sunshine” projects will give participants the unique opportunity to not only experience and learn about agriculture, but also assist in the development of the center. Programs will be designed to be age appropriate, and/or have age appropriate hands on opportunities to a range of students within a group. Also, upon request, to serve our diverse South Florida communities, SREC will include specially implemented elements into its lesson plans that are culturally enriching to its collaborating partners when requested.
The “Grow with Sunshine – Butter in a Jar” activity was inspired by the Florida Farm Bureau’s program. This activity has been designed as a shaded afternoon activity to take a break from the heat. It is a fun activity to include as part of a longer day program, or as a program for families that are just enjoying an afternoon of recreation and exploration at SREC.
Fresh butter is fun and easy to make, and it is delicious! Homemade butter (like everything) is so much better than the store bought kind. As with all SREC programs, locally sourced ingredients will be sourced out. When requested, making Ghee can be incorporated into this lesson plan!
To make Butter in a Jar, all that is needed is cream from a local dairy farm and salt and a jar. The proportions will vary depending on the size of your jar.
Step one, fill your jar up halfway with some heavy cream and add a pinch of salt into the cream so the butter has a nice salty flavor. Screw the solid lid on tight.
Step two, start shaking or rolling the jar. Younger participants, will share a jar as this can take some time and be tiring. About half way through the shaking process, you feel it get a lot thicker. When we opened it, It was about the consistency of whipping cream. As the students continue to shake, they will feel the consistency change again. This is when the butter and the buttermilk separate and begin to turn yellow. The liquid left behind in the jar is called buttermilk.
This process will take about 30 minutes! While the participants are doing this, we will discuss the science behind this process and also the history on how butter was discovered and used throughout the ages.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT~ HOW DOES HOMEMADE BUTTER IN A JAR WORK?
This process is called a physical change, just like water turning to ice when it is frozen. It can be changed back to the original form. If the butter you created were melted and mixed back into the buttermilk, you would have your heavy cream again. Heavy cream is the fat from milk. When the fat is shake, those fat molecules get displaced and separated from the liquid and they stick together. Just like oil and water separate.
Butter turns yellow as you make it. It’s strange to see the color change as it thickens and separates. It turns yellow because of the high fat content. Cows eat foods with beta carotene which has a yellow pigment. The beta carotene is stored in fat. If you have ever heard of fat soluble vitamins, beta carotene is fat soluble which means in our bodies it is stored in the liver and fat tissues to be used as needed. When the liquid or buttermilk is separated out, what remains in the butter is all of that fat and the beta carotene vitamin.
BUTTER TO GHEE
Once we made the butter we use a heavy-bottomed pan, dutch oven, or stainless steel skillet to melt the butter. It’s best to cut the butter into smaller pieces so it melts evenly and the solids brown consistently. Apply medium heat to melt the butter, then reduce to medium-low to simmer. Once the butter has completely melted, it will bubble and begin to separate. As the butter simmers, some of the milk proteins rise and sit on the surface as it separates from the fat and water.
Use a spoon to skim the white solids on the surface and discard. This process takes time for the butter oil to turn clear, so continually remove the solids. At this point clarified butter is made. The remaining steps will give ghee a toasted nutty flavor. Once most of the milk solids have been removed from the surface of the butter, there will be some white solids lingering on the bottom. Leave those so that they can be additionally heated and deepen in color, creating butterscotch-like flavors. Continue to simmer the butter over medium-low heat. Make sure not to take your eyes off the butter. It will quickly begin to change a golden color with amber brown solids formed at the bottom of the pan. When you see this change and smell toffee flavors, it’s time to turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stove.
Allow the ghee to cool slightly for about 3 to 5 minutes. Line a fine-mesh strainer with at least a triple layer of cheesecloth. Place the lined strainer over a heatproof container like a glass measuring cup. Carefully pour the butter oil through the sieve, the browned solids should get collected on the cheesecloth. Transfer the ghee to a clean and dry glass jar which can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 months, or refrigerated for 1 year. The butterfat will naturally solidify at room temperature and below, creating an oil that needs to be scooped out of the container.
All programs will be designed to meet all local, state and federal COVID-19 protocols.