SC - Buttermilk

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 4/25/01 9:07:56 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
olwentheodd at hotmail.com writes:

<< If it is dead hot summer and you are churning for too long the milk can 
sour 
 up some.  Mostly what we used to drink out of the hand churn was not sour, 
 just a little lumpy sometimes.  >>

You are describing 'sweet creamery butter'. A 10 on the ick scale factor with 
10 being the ickiest. Having been raised on a farm, I can assure you that 
neither we nor our neighbors made 'sweet' butter. 

The common practise was to leave the whole milk sitting on the counter 
overnight with a cheesecloth over the top of the container. By morning, the 
natural bacteria would have  done its job. The cream which seperated during 
the night was skimmed off the top and churned into 'real' butter. The liquid 
which seperated from the cream during this process was refrigerated and 
served ice cold for a deliscious tangy treat (usually with mashed potatoes, 
gravy, corn, southern fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits as side dishes. 
:-)).

Ras