Essential Equipment

• This butter-making method requires no special equipment, just a jar with a tightly fitting lid. If you want, add a marble to help churn the butter more efficiently. Additionally, gather a sieve, a wooden spoon or rubber spatula for washing the butter.

  When you're selecting the jar, keep in mind that you're only going to fill it 1/3 to 1/2 the way full to leave enough room for the cream to move and churn as you shake the jar. If you plan to make a larger batch of butter in a single jar, choose a jar that holds at least twice as much cream as you’re using. For example, to churn a pint of cream, you'll need a quart-size jar. If you have several helpers lending you their hands, divvy the cream into several smaller jars, such as baby food jars. Check the jar for leaks before you get started by adding water, screwing the top on and shaking it vigorously.

Necessary Ingredients

• All you need to make butter is heavy cream. For rich butter flavor, allow fresh cream to sit in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. This extra time adds richness and helps speed up the churning process, according to the Essential Guide to Back Garden Self-Sufficiency. Another option is to let the cream sit at room temperature overnight or for up to 12 hours before making the butter to ripen the heavy cream and maximize the flavor. When you're considering how much butter to make, keep in mind that you'll end up with half as much butter as cream. If you're using a pint of heavy cream, for example, expect to have about 8 ounces of butter.

Shake It Up

• This is the fun part, but it also requires a time commitment -- usually 30 to 40 minutes of shaking. Add a clean marble and cream to the jar. For the best results, use cream that’s around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’ve let the cream sit at room temperature, chill it briefly to reach the correct temperature. If you’re using chilled cream, let it sit at room temperature for about an hour to take the chill off. Place the lid on the jar and shake it vigorously. You'll notice the cream turn into buttermilk and milk solids. Continue shaking the jar until you see larger pale yellow solids. Let the jar rest for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the solid butter and the buttermilk to separate.

Washing the Butter

• Pour the contents of the jar into a sieve placed over a bowl to strain the buttermilk from the butter. Reserve the liquid, if desired, for adding to baked goods. Return the solid butter to the jar and rinse the butter with cold water and knead the butter against the wall of the jar to release more of the buttermilk from the solid butter. Rinse and knead the butter once or twice more, until you’ve kneaded as much liquid out as possible and the solid material looks thick and creamy; now, the butter is ready. Give it one final knead with a pinch of salt to make salted butter.