Make Butter

We can make butter from cream. When we do this the fat in the cream separates, and produces butter and buttermilk. 

To make your butter the first thing that you will need to do is half fill your jar with cream and then put the lid back on the jar. Make sure that the lid has been put tightly onto the jar. You may like an adult to check this for you.

The next thing that you will need to do is shake your jar. You will need to shake your jar for a few minutes. To start with the cream will start to thicken. 

If you keep shaking a ball of butter will start to form in the middle of the jar. The liquid that surrounds it is buttermilk.

The reason this happens is because cream contains small amounts of fat cells. These cells stop the fat from forming clumps as they are separated by cell membranes. When we shake the cream the fat cells bump into each other, the membranes burst and the fat starts to clump together forming the butter. 

The video tutorial for this activity is available on the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page.