How To Make Homemade Grass-Fed Butter From Raw Milk

Last week I made butter for the first time in over a year — and LOOK at it. 🧈

No filter. No food coloring.

It really is that yellow.

That is what butter looks like when it comes from cows that are actually 100% grass-fed.

Why is grass-fed butter so yellow?

Our dairy cows spend the grazing season out on pasture eating fresh grass.

That deep yellow color comes largely from the beta-carotene found in green grass. When cows eat that grass, some of those pigments make their way into the milk fat — which becomes VERY obvious when you turn the cream into butter.

A few years ago, I put our homemade butter next to organic butter from the grocery store.

I mean...

You can see the difference.

And this is one of my favorite examples of why labels don't always tell the entire story.

“Organic” can tell you certain things about how a food was produced. It doesn't necessarily tell you exactly what that cow ate every day or how she was raised.

That's why I'm such a believer in knowing your farmer and asking questions about how your food is actually produced.

And I promise you — you can't buy butter like this at the store.

How to make butter from raw milk

Right now we finally have enough milk that I can skim off some extra cream and make butter again.

The process is surprisingly simple.

You'll skim the cream from your milk, whip the cream until the butterfat separates from the buttermilk, and then wash and work the butter.

Rather than trying to explain the entire process here, I made a video so you can watch exactly how I do it from start to finish.

🧈 WATCH: How to Make Raw Grass-Fed Butter at Home

How much raw milk does it take to make butter?

This is probably the question I get asked most often.

So I measured everything while making this batch.

Three half-gallon jars of our raw milk gave me enough cream to make approximately ½ pound of butter.

Of course, the exact amount of cream in a jar can vary depending on the cow, time of year and other factors, but that gives you a good idea of what to expect.

If you're one of our current milk families and want to make butter while our milk supply is plentiful, just give me a heads up. I'm happy to increase your milk order for a pickup or two if we have enough available.

There's something pretty cool about skimming the cream off the top of a jar of milk and turning it into butter for your family.

Especially when it comes out looking like this. 🧈

— Sarah
Nature's Pantry Farm