Just look! I’m actually tickled to death to be able to show you this!
The crock is a Le Creuset butter butler. It’s a fun little thing; you put butter into the top half and about an inch of water into the bottom, then you invert the butter-filled top into the base. The air above (or rather, below) the butter in the top part keeps the water out, and the whole thing keeps cool without refrigeration due to the evaporation/condensation cycle. Brilliant.
But that’s not what tickles me and fills me with simple delight.
Want to know what it is? The butter inside the crock was made by OH! All by himself, with his own fair hand!
Yesterday, he went on a cheesemaking course at Woefuldane Farm, where he learned to make soft cheese, semi-hard cheese*, and – by way of a bonus – butter! He put cream into a churn, turned the handle, and made butter!
Isn’t that neat? Now, I suspect, he’ll want to buy one of those churny things and make ALL his own butter. And why not?
What made you happy this week?
* The cheeses are not quite ready to eat yet
Mmmm, Cheese!!! Love a good stinky cheese.
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If I had somebody here who could make cheese and butter for me, hot diggity dog, he’d have a churn for sure! I had no idea you could take a class like that!
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GenjisCorner – Cheese is one of the most wonderful and versatile foods, isn’t it?
Houndstooth – Yes – and most of the classes seem to be in the USA! These people do one:
http://www.thecheesemaker.com/categories/Workshops/
OH has the tee shirt from them!
We just did a kids thing at the mansion where they got to make butter – they had a great time! It was an old-fashioned butter churn – then they got to eat the butter.
And I have to… “By that, I believe he means Blessed are the makers of ALL dairy products”
Tell OH when he learns to make good goat cheese, I’ll be on your doorstep!!
So cool! I’ve seen these butter holders and thought they were neat, but filled with homemade butter! Incredible. My husband recently went to a brewery and made beer with a few friends and he LOVED it. I know he would love cheese/butter making too. I think it gives you a real appreciation of things when you have to make them yourself.
Lori – What Remains Now´s last blog post ..Wanted: Clever Ideas
Wow, that is so cool, Jay! OH is a very handy fellow. You’ll need his cheese-making skills in the event of a zombie holocaust, which could happen any day now. And then the cheese-makers will rule!
Cheese is my one food weakness. I’ve weaned myself off sweets, I’m cutting down the bread and pasta, but the siren song of cheese has been too hard to resist.
What made me happy this week? Cheese!!
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“The butter inside the crock was made by OH! All by himself, with his own fair hand!”
You GO, OH!!!!!
Jay, that is the COOLEST little invention! And seeing that makes me wanna get a nice fresh loaf of French bread and top it with that butter!
I adore cheese. It is truly ‘food nirvana’ to me. In fact, just yesterday I purchased a container of my favorite cheese combination – Asiago and Romano cheese shavings. OMG…to DIE for!
X
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Jeannine – I can imagine how kids would love it! It made OH’s arm ache, but he loved it, too!
I wish he would make goat’s cheese too. I love goat’s cheese!
Lori – You’re right, it really does give you a new appreciation of things, and also makes you wonder why we put up with sub-standard, mass-produced alternatives! We compared OH’s curd cheese with one of the best (organic) curd cheeses on sale here, and his was FAR better.
Beer making is fun, too!
Rob – Zombie holocaust … now why didn’t I think of that? ROFL!!
Cheese is indeed hard to resist, but compared to my own weakness (biscuits, aka cookies) it’s a health food.
Ron – Yes, it’s a great little device, isn’t it? And it really works! You know how difficult it is to spread butter right out of the fridge, and this makes it so much easier!
Those cheese shavings do sound good!!
[…] Thursday, Jay of The Depp Effect, posts something that makes her happy, and I’m playing along. She encourages us to look […]
Shopping for my daughter’s first prom dress made me happy this week. Finding the most perfect dress ever – pure joy!
I love the idea of homemade butter. OH is such a handy guy –
Those Brindle Kids´s last blog post ..The Mini-Me’s Are Here!
My parents have one of those butter boats. They’re quite ingenious, and always starts discussions whenever a guest accidentally lifts the top part off, exposing the water beneath. They’re always fun to give as presents!
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” The butter inside the crock was made by OH! All by himself, with his own fair hand!”
Wowzers! That is SUPER cool! WOOOT!
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The butter butler is most ingenious. I’d never heard of this clever little device before.
“A good stinky cheese”. Are your cheeses going to be good and stinky, or just mild and subtle?
nick´s last blog post ..Are you listening?
Wow! Well done, OH!
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Incidentally, where’s Mr Depp these days?
liz´s last blog post ..What did the church ever do for me?
Those Brindle Kids – Oooh, a first prom dress? That must be very exciting – and a little bit sad, too, since it really does seem to be one of those milestones which mark the end of childhood. *Sigh …*
Herman Turnip – Everyone who sees one seems to say ‘Oh, how clever, I want one of those!’ I don’t think IWOOT do in fact stock them, though!
Meleah – Isn’t it, though? I’m still tickled that he did that!
Nick – We saw it in the Le Creuset shop and OH had to have one because he hates trying to use butter straight from the fridge!
He is finishing off the semi hard cheese, but will no doubt try a hard cheese next. ‘Good and stinky’ requires much more time and expertise!
Liz – Isn’t he clever? The butter is all gone now, needless to say!
Mr Depp turned out to have feet of clay after all. He’s still very beautiful, needless to say, and an incredible actor, but a big part of the attraction was that he seemed like such a great guy, who basically never put a foot wrong. I guess nobody is really superhuman, after all!
So clever and I’ve never heard of a butter butler! It made me smile and giggle at the thought of OH on a cheese making course. It’s too perfect for him. I’ve just finished off some Smoked Wensleydale that I bought from the market in Beverley. Interesting but not sure I’d buy it again.
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Jeni – I know! But he really enjoyed doing it, and is now planning to buy dairy equipment. He already has a cheese press, thermometer, etc, but now he wants the whole works!
I feel the same about smoked cheeses. I like them at the first bite, but then the flavour begins to pall. By the time I finish the piece, I’m thinking ‘interesting, but nah. Don’t think I’ll bother with that again!’
[…] Thursday, Jay of The Depp Effect, posts something that makes her happy, and I’m playing along. She encourages us to look around […]