Homemade Butter Experiment
Whipping up homemade butter is simpler than it may seem. It’s a great way to get kids in the kitchen and show them how food is made.
Why Do a Homemade Butter Experiment
Hands-On Learning
Watching the cream turn to homemade butter is a process preschoolers will eagerly participate in. Learning becomes tangible and fun when little ones engage with it.
Sensory Experience
From the beginning of the homemade butter process, little ones can use their senses. The cream can be tasted, touched, and smelled, and after the butter is made, it can be tasted, touched, and smelled.
Little ones can take this sensory-rich experience and compare the cream and butter.
Understanding Food
From a young age, little ones are taught where food comes from and get to take part in creating it when we let them be in the kitchen with us.
This will make them more comfortable with the food they make (and may even make them brave enough to try😆).
Sense of Accomplishment
Once the cream has turned to butter, preschoolers will have a much-deserved sense of accomplishment after finishing their tasks.
Kids need to feel a sense of accomplishment to help them become self-directed to finish other tasks they do.
Plus, they can see the butter in the cooler at the store and realize they have the skills to make it at home if they (or you) desire it!
This article may contain affiliate links to products that may help you when homeschooling preschool.
Items Needed
*jar with a lid (like a mason jar)
*heavy whipping cream
*salt (optional)
*spoon
* bread or crackers (to put your homemade butter on to taste it)
How to Make Homemade Butter
1. Pour some heavy whipping cream into a jar so the jar is half full.
2. Secure the lid on tightly. Give it a few test shakes to make sure it won’t leak.
If it does leak, try putting the jar (with the lid on) in a zipper bag to contain the mess.
3. Demonstrate to your preschooler how to shake the jar.
4. Let your preschooler go wild shaking the jar.
5. Stop occasionally to check on the butter. Once the cream gets thick, you have whipped cream. You will want to scrape down the sides of the jar using a spoon.
Put the lid back on and continue to shake.
6. You will hear the substance change from a liquid sloshing sound to barely any sound (this is the whipped cream stage). As you keep shaking, the whipped cream will split, leaving you with solid butter and liquid buttermilk!
7. Pour off the buttermilk and rinse your butter under some cold water.
8. Add in some salt (if desired) and mix it into the butter.
9. Try your homemade butter! Add to saltine crackers or on some bread.
Making Butter with Preschoolers
Bringing kids into the kitchen takes more time, but it’s a great way to show them how a single ingredient can be transformed into something new, like homemade butter. Beware– they may get hooked and want to cook with you more often. 😉
