Cultured Compound Herbs Butter

The day before you would like to make your butter, pour the cream into a clean bowl and add the yogurt/sour cream/buttermilk/crème fraîche.Whisk briefly to combine and cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel.Let it sit at room temperature to culture for about 24 hours. The cream is ready when it has thickened slightly and is a little foamy. It will smell slightly sour and tangy.Once it has cultured, place it in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to chill.Place the cream in the bowl of your mixer or processor.Cover the top with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel to prevent splattering.Turn on the mixer to medium-high. The cream will first whip into thick peaks.Keep whipping until the solid mass (butter) and liquid (buttermilk) are separated, about 15-20 minutes. The mixture will splatter heavily in the final stages of churning, so be sure the plastic wrap is secure.Pour the buttermilk through the cheesecloth into a jar, holding the butter solid back.Refrigerate the jar with buttermilk for up to a week and use anytime when the recipe calls for buttermilk. Great in biscuits and pastries, or for culturing heavy cream for another batch of butter.Place the formed butter into the bowl with icy water and rinse thoroughly pressing the butter into the ice water. It will quickly become cloudy with buttermilk. Pour off the cloudy water, add another 1/2 cup of ice water to the bowl, and keep pressing. Repeat until the water is clear. This may take up to 6 washings. The butter will firm up towards the end, so you may find it easier to use your hands.Put the butter ball on a cutting board sprinkle with the salt.If you are not planning on making cultured compound herbs butter and prefer on using it plain simply store it in the airtight container and place in the fridge for up to a month, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.For the basil-chive butter blanch the basil in a boiling salted water just until wilted, about 10 seconds, then drain and transfer to ice water. Drain again and squeeze dry. Chop roughly.Puree the basil, olive oil and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and puree until smooth and well blended.Taste and add more salt if desired.Transfer to a bowl and stir in the chives using the spoon.Refrigerate until firm enough to shape into a log.Put a piece of parchment paper (you can also use plastic wrap or aluminum foil) on your work surface.Spoon the butter down the centre of the parchment paper into a log.Enclose in the paper and wist the ends to make a sealed log.Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 6 months.For the garlic-thyme butter, put the garlic cloves in a sauce pan with just enough olive oil to cover them.Place over low heat and simmer until the cloves are soft and golden, 15-20 minutes.With a slotted spoon scoop the garlic into a bowl, then mash to a puree. Reserve the oil.Combine the butter with garlic puree, reserved oil, thyme and a pinch of salt. Mix until well combined.Refrigerate until firm enough to shape into a log.Put a piece of parchment paper (you can also use plastic wrap or aluminum foil) on your work surface.Spoon the butter down the centre of the parchment paper into a log.Enclose in the paper and wist the ends to make a sealed log.Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 6 months.