I just made butter!

And I can't believe how easy it was to make butter.  I bought raw cream from my local trusted dairy farmer and whipped it up by pouring it into my kitchen-aid mixer, setting it at medium speed, and waiting for 5 minutes.  That's it.  I would tell you a bunch more directions if there were some, but that's totally it.  I added nothing and took away nothing.  Sweet cream butter emerged. It made a soft whipped butter that tasted very fresh.  

Now, if I had to start with raw milk, then I'd have to separate the cream first.  This is the tricky part, I'm assuming.  My Amish friend told me to put the milk into a wide pitcher or gallon pail in the frig. and keep skimming off the cream with a ladle a couple times a day for about 3 days, and once you get all the cream, keep it cold, and then whip it in a bowl or shake it in a covered jar until it forms butter.  Pour off any excess liquid (skim milk) and wash the butter in cold water and squeeze out all the liquid.  I haven't tried this yet.  

Butter got bad advertisement over the years of the no-fat and low-fat diet fads.  Ugh.  I remember when I believed that butter was bad for me.  That's also when I was inhaling large plates of pasta and icecream in the college cafeteria... and never seemed satisfied.  Always hungry again.  A little butter goes a long way in satisfying my appetite and giving a feeling a peace and completion at the end of a meal or snack.  It also has a lot of health benefits.  I've learned a lot of helpful information from the Weston A. Price Foundation, and this is a small section from an article on their website called "Why Butter is Better": 

"Actually butter contains many nutrients that protect us from heart disease. First among these is vitamin A which is needed for the health of the thyroid and adrenal glands, both of which play a role in maintaining the proper functioning of the heart and cardiovascular system. Abnormalities of the heart and larger blood vessels occur in babies born to vitamin A deficient mothers. Butter is America's best and most easily absorbed source of vitamin A.  Butter contains lecithin, a substance that assists in the proper assimilation and metabolism of cholesterol and other fat constituents.  Butter also contains a number of anti-oxidants that protect against the kind of free radical damage that weakens the arteries. Vitamin A and vitamin E found in butter both play a strong anti-oxidant role. Butter is a very rich source of selenium, a vital anti-oxidant--containing more per gram than herring or wheat germ."    http://www.westonaprice.org/Why-Butter-Is-Better.html