How to Make Cultured Butter from Heavy Cream
There is a moment, the first time you taste homemade cultured butter on warm bread, when the whole thing finally clicks. The flavor is deeper, a little tangy, almost nutty, and nothing on the grocery shelf comes close. Cultured butter is simply good heavy cream with one quiet extra step, and that step is the difference between butter you eat and butter you remember.
It starts the same way regular butter does, then the cream is gently fermented with live cultures before it is churned. That single pause is what gives European style butter its signature richness. If you have already tried my easy jar method for homemade butter, think of this as the next chapter, the same magic with a little more soul.
And if the only carton at your store says ultra pasteurized, do not put it back. You can absolutely make cultured butter with it, and I walk you through exactly how a little further down. Keep scrolling for the full recipe, my golden tips, and what to do with that gorgeous leftover buttermilk.
Watch me make this step by step, then scroll down for the full recipe and tips.
How to Make Cultured Butter from Heavy Cream
- Total Time: 24 hrs
- Yield: 1 pound 1x
Description
This recipe shows how to make cultured butter from heavy cream using a simple fermentation step that creates rich, tangy, restaurant-quality butter at home.
Ingredients
- 1 quart heavy cream (organic, non-ultra-pasteurized preferred, but see notes for ultra-pasteurized)
- 3 Tablespoons live cultured buttermilk or plain yogurt, as your starter
- Fine sea salt, to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Culture the cream. Stir the live cultured buttermilk or yogurt into the heavy cream in a clean bowl or jar. Cover loosely and let sit at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours, until lightly thickened and gently tangy.
- Chill if yur kitchen is warm. If your kitchen is warm, chill the cultured cream 1 to 2 hours before churning so the butterfat separates cleanly.
- Churn until it breaks. Pour the cultured cream into a stand mixer fitted with the whisk or paddle. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel. Whip on medium until the cream breaks and butter separates from the buttermilk.
- Drain and gather. Pour off the buttermilk and reserve it. Gather the butter into a mass.
- Rinse and shape. Rinse the butter under very cold ice water, pressing to release trapped buttermilk, until the water runs clear. Salt to taste, shape, and wrap.
Notes
Use the best cream you can find. Higher fat means better texture and yield. Ultra pasteurized cream works, it simply needs more time and a touch more starter (see the dedicated section below). After culturing, the cream should smell lightly tangy like yogurt and look thicker, not sour or curdled.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Chill Time 24 hrs:
- Category: The Basics
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pound cultured butter + 2 cups of butter milk
- Calories: 53
- Sugar: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 14.3 mg
- Fat: 5.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 0.5 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0.6 g
- Cholesterol: 17.2 mg
What Is Cultured Butter?
Cultured butter is made from cream that has been lightly fermented with live cultures before it is churned. Those cultures, the same friendly bacteria found in yogurt and buttermilk, convert some of the milk sugars into lactic acid and aromatic compounds. The result is butter with a gentle tang and a rounder, more complex flavor than the sweet cream butter most of us grew up with.
People often confuse cultured butter with European style butter. They overlap but are not the same. European style butter is defined by higher butterfat and may or may not be cultured. Cultured butter is defined by that fermentation step. This guide from Bon Appétit lays out the differences clearly.
Cultured Butter vs Uncultured Butter
The biggest difference between cultured and uncultured butter comes down to flavor depth, texture, and aroma.
- Uncultured butter: Cream → churn → butter
Cultured butter: Cream → ferment → churn → deeper flavor
Cultured butter tastes more complex and stores better due to lower moisture content. That single fermentation step is what separates basic butter-making from the real thing.
The Story Behind My Cultured Butter
I came to cultured butter the way a lot of us come to the best things in the kitchen, by accident and then on purpose. The first time I let a jar of cream sit a day too long, I braced for a mistake and tasted something better instead. That little tang reminded me of the cultured dairy that always seemed to live in my grandmother’s refrigerator, quietly making everything she baked taste like more.
Now it is a ritual I look forward to. I start a jar on the counter, almost forget about it, and a day later I have butter worth setting on a pretty dish for guests. It is the kind of small, intentional step that fits the way I love to host, low effort and high reward, with a story to tell when someone asks why the bread tastes so good.
Why This Cultured Butter Works
A few things make this method dependable every single time:
- Over time fermentation enhances flavor naturally; no additives, just live cultures.
The mixer method produces consistent results
Rinsing removes excess moisture for a longer shelf life.
Nothing here is rushed or artificial. You are simply guiding cream through the same process dairies have used for generations.
How to Make Cultured Butter Foolproof
Cover the mixer bowl with plastic wrap or a towel before you turn it up. Once the cream breaks, buttermilk splashes, and this one step saves your counters. That is my golden tip.
Trust your nose during culturing. The cream is ready when it smells like gentle yogurt and looks visibly thicker, not when the clock says so. A cool kitchen simply needs more time. Keep churning past the whipped cream stage, because the butter comes right after, and listen for the slosh that tells you the butterfat and buttermilk have split. When you rinse, stop the moment the water runs clear and resist overworking the butter, or it turns greasy instead of silky.
Can You Make Cultured Butter with Ultra Pasteurized Cream?
This is the question I get more than any other, and the answer is yes. You can make cultured butter with ultra pasteurized heavy cream. It works. There are just a couple of things worth knowing first.
Ultra pasteurized cream is heated to a higher temperature than regular pasteurized cream, which extends shelf life but also slows down the cultures a little. The butterfat itself still separates and churns into butter just fine, so do not let the carton scare you off. As a physician, I find the science reassuring here, the heat affects some proteins and bacterial activity, not your ability to make beautiful butter. Two things will simply be different: culturing takes longer, and the tang is milder.
Here is how I adjust:
• Give it more time. Where good non-ultra-pasteurized cream may culture in 12 to 18 hours, ultra-pasteurized cream often wants a full 24 to 36 hours.
• Use a generous starter. A full 3 Tablespoons of live cultured buttermilk or yogurt per quart helps make up for the slower bacterial activity.
• Keep it warm. Set the covered jar somewhere a few degrees warmer, like the top of the refrigerator or near, not in, the oven.
• Expect a gentler tang. The flavor will be softer than butter from non-ultra-pasteurized cream, still far better than anything off the shelf.
The bottom line: if ultra pasteurized is all your store carries, make the butter anyway. The technique is the same, the result is lovely, and you will be ready the day you find a great non-ultra-pasteurized cream. For the simplest possible starting point with no culturing at all, my easy jar method works with any cream in minutes.
Saving & Using the Buttermilk
Do not pour that buttermilk down the drain. This is real, tangy cultured buttermilk, and it is one of the best parts of making your own butter. It keeps 5 to 7 days in the refrigerator.
• Pancakes and waffles
• Biscuits and quick breads
• Salad dressings
• Marinades for chicken
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
• Refrigerate the butter, wrapped airtight, up to 2 weeks.
• Freeze, wrapped tightly, up to 6 months.
• Refrigerate the buttermilk and use within a week.
Because cultured butter has lower moisture once rinsed, it stores beautifully and is easy to make ahead for a gathering.
Serving and Pairing Ideas
Cultured butter shines anywhere butter matters, on warm crusty bread, over seafood, melted into vegetables, or swiped across a stack of pancakes made with your fresh buttermilk. For entertaining, it is the perfect base for compound butter or the centerpiece of a butter board. Ready to take it further? Explore my Butter Edit for seasonal boards and butter forward recipes.
What You’ll Need (Tools and Equipment)
• Stand mixer with whisk or paddle
• Large glass mixing bowl
• Fine mesh strainer or colander
• Glass pitcher for the buttermilk
Wax paper or a butter keeper for storing
Want to see everything I reach for? Shop my full Kitchen Edit at the end of this post.
More Butter Edit Recipes
• Easy Homemade Butter in a Jar No culture starting point.
• Summer Compound Butter for Steak and Seafood. Use your cultured butter as the base.
• How to Make a Butter Board That Stops the Table.
• Southern Brown Butter Bundt Cake with Bourbon Glaze.
• Seafood Charcuterie Board with Five Compound Butters.
Explore the whole collection in The Butter Edit, and find more recipes rooted in memory and connection in my cookbook, Welcome to My Table.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can you make cultured butter with ultra pasteurized heavy cream?
Yes. Ultra pasteurized heavy cream makes cultured butter, it simply ferments more slowly and turns out a milder tang. Use a full 3 Tablespoons of live starter per quart, give it 24 to 36 hours in a warm spot, then churn as usual.
Will ultra pasteurized cream make butter at all?
It will. The butterfat in ultra pasteurized and even UHT cream still separates and churns into butter. Only the cultures slow down, so plan for extra culturing time and a gentler flavor.
What is cultured butter?
Cultured butter is butter churned from cream that was fermented with live cultures first. That fermentation gives it the tangy, complex flavor associated with European style butter, where plain sweet cream butter skips the step.
What is the difference between cultured and uncultured butter?
Uncultured butter goes cream to churn to butter. Cultured butter adds a fermentation step, cream to ferment to churn, which deepens the flavor, adds a gentle tang, and helps it store a little longer.
How do you make cultured buttermilk from heavy cream?
The tangy liquid left after churning cultured butter is fresh cultured buttermilk. Stir a live starter into heavy cream, let it ferment, churn, then pour off and reserve the buttermilk for baking and dressings.
How long does cultured butter last?
Refrigerated and wrapped airtight, cultured butter keeps up to 2 weeks. Frozen and wrapped tightly, it lasts up to 6 months.
More Recipes, More Moments
Welcome to My Table is my cookbook filled with recipes rooted in connection, flavor, and elevated everyday moments. From weeknight dinners to gatherings worth remembering.
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Are you team bold tang or gentle tang when it comes to cultured butter? Tell me how long you let your cream culture.
2 thoughts on “How to Make Cultured Butter (Ultra Pasteurized OK)”
This is so informative. I made butter in my mixer before I saw your post. I will definitely make this recipe. Thank you.?
You are welcome. I am glad to be of help. When you make the butter, please tag me on IG @jeanniejacobs and use #shinewithjeannie.