Homemade Butter and Buttermilk

From the New York Times

• Ready In: 20 mins
• Serves: 96
• Yields: 2 cups

Ingredients

• 6  cups heavy cream, organic
• 1  pinch salt (optional)

Directions

1. Pour the cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk.
2. Tightly cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap, and start the mixer on medium-high speed.
3. The cream will go through the whipped stage, thicken further, and then change color from off-white to pale yellow; this will take at least 5 to 8 minutes. When is starts to look pebbly, it's almost done. After another minute the butter will separate, causing the liquid to splash against the plastic wrap. At this point stop the mixer.
4. Set a strainer over a bowl. Pour the contents of the mixer into the strainer and let the buttermilk drain through. Strain the buttermilk again, this time through a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl - set aside.
5. Keeping the butter in the strainer set over the first bowl, knewad it to consolidate the reamaining liquid and fat and expel the rest of the buttermilk. Knead until the texture is dense and creamy - about 5 minutes. Strain the excess liquid onto the buttermilk. Refrigerate the buttermilk.
6. Mix salt into the butter, if you want. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate.