Whey Butter. Way Cool.

It has been awhile since butter molds graced our kitchens and many of us are jumping at the chance to buy freshly churned butter at local farmers markets.

Butter is an important staple in many cultures and is a huge industry around the world. In the past 10 years India is the leader in production followed by the US, Germany and New Zealand where France is the leader in consumption

Cow milk is most commonly used, but other animals, such as goats and yaks are known to be great providers in other countries. In Tibet, a mixture of barley flour and yak butter is staple food. Fermented, or “rancid” yak butter is consumed as a hot tea in the Himalayas. Moroccans bury clarified butter in the ground and age it for several months. Salting butter is a great preservative.

There are several varieties of butter:salted/unsalted, clarified (butter that has had almost all of it’s water and butter solids removed by heating/separating), cultured butter (butter that is made from sour or fermented milk giving the butter a stronger flavor), and whey butter (whey–a liquid by-product of cheese that is added).

Whey butter, our new favorite, has a slightly salted flavor, but not as “cheesy” as cultured butter. It is great for sweet and savory applications. We use butter from Stirling Creamery and is one of our secret ingredients in our shortbreads. It adds depth and flavor to our baking both sweet and savory. Due to the fermentation in the whey there may be some health benefits, too.

I recently made butter using a wooden butter mold acquired at an antique market. A simple design, four sides and a rectangular plunger with a small wooden handle. Now, if you have ever walked away from a mixer and over whipped heaving cream by mistake, you know the butter sticks to the whip and the liquid splashes about making a mess. (I was carefully applying the same technique.) With some success, and the butter still soft, I placed it in the mold, pressed down on the handle and waited for a few minutes. I had a perfectly rectangular shape about an inch thick. It didn’t have much flavor and wasn’t very rich or buttery. There obviously is a bit more to making a tasty butter. The fat content of the cream needs to be higher and maybe a slower churning vs whipping is the key.

I am leaving the butter-making to the professionals for now, but it was fun being curious and playing with my food. I have great butter mold as a book-end to prove it.

Red Fife Pancakes

We are always happy to hear how other people are using Ontario grains in every day meals cooked at home.

One of the members of Evelyn’s Crackers’ community submitted this recipe for making pancakes using Red Fife Whole Wheat flour farmed from John and Patricia Hastings of CIPM Farms in Medoc, Ontario:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups of milk
1 cup red fife whole wheat flour
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon (more if you like)
2 eggs lightly beaten
1/4 cup melted butter

Blend the oats and milk, let stand for five minutes. Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt. Add the dry ingredients, eggs and butter to at mixture and stir until just combined.

Heat pan (cast-iron preferably) on medium low heat; lightly coat with a neutral oil and pour batter and proceed as expected.

Most weeks the Red Fife whole wheat can be pre-ordered via email (evelynscrackers@gmail.com) and picked up at Evelyn’s Crackers table at all of our farmers marketlocations.

Fall is Upon Us.

I find this time of year exciting. The change of leaves gives us a vibrant new landscape. The hustle and bustle of filling approaching end of the year orders. (Yes, the holidays are just around the corner.)  And a little sadness too with the several farmers markets we sell at whose seasons have ended. Fall also gives us a time to reflect on the year we had.

Some of the highlights: keynote speaker for the Grain Gathering in Washington State University (Advocating for bakers to use whole grains!); introducing einkorn wheat in our whole grain baked goods for the market; (Einkorn was the first cultivated wheat. And it’s tasty, too.); the Oatcakes have come on strong selling very well this year and are now available for retail at select locations (and, of course, at the markets.)

We are going to go into the new year with more ideas to incorporate other whole grains into our baked goods and examining new ways to offer some of these goodies to our retail partners. The Maple Oat Granola Bar has been doing great at a couple of stores sold by the piece in large glass jars. A few of the cookie staples like the Killer Chocolate and Ginger Molasses could be the next wholesale offerings.

Baking workshops are in the works as well, and stay tuned for the Cracker Jamboree to celebrate the cracker community of farmers, bakers and eaters.