# Freezing Cream and Butter



## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

Is it possible to freeze cream without it losing quality? Do I first chill it in the fridge and then place in freezer or go straight to the freezer? Will it separate after thawing? I've been freezing cow butter from the market for a while. I am assuming that freezing goat butter will result in the same good quality butter? How long will cream and butter, (unpasturized) last in the fridge? 

Thanks so much for any hints or helps.


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## Horsehair Braider (Mar 11, 2011)

I'm anxious to see the replies. I've been freezing my cream and have finally gotten a fair amount. What I do is wait 24 hours for as much cream to rise as it will, skim it off and put my few pathetic spoonfuls in the freezer. It does build up after a short while, surprisingly. It will be great if I can make this into butter. So far it tastes fine, so I think I can at least pour it over fruit or something.


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I did that. Once.  I am not a patient person. I have a cream separator and do cream on days/weeks I have lots of extra milk that I'm not making cheese or soap with. I need a steady supply of cream and butter, so am hoping it will freeze okay.


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## Horsehair Braider (Mar 11, 2011)

A cream separator! Ooooh - I'm jealous! 

Since no one else has said anything I tried Google... this is what I came up with. First, a site with all kinds of info about freezing dairy: http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/fnw616.htm According to that, if you are freezing heavy cream (40% butterfat or better) it freezes well. They also say you can whip the cream, put in sugar to taste, put it in dollops on waxed paper or something and freeze those. Then you just put them in a container and they will keep (I read elsewhere) for about a month.

Apparently lighter cream tends to separate but you can shake it or something to get it back together again. I guess it depends on what you want it for... Also read that it tends to pick up flavors, so when you freeze cream it's best to have it in a really good container impervious to odors... I think I'll start freezing mine in canning jars with those plastic lids made specially for freezer use.


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## chell20013 (Feb 7, 2011)

I just got done making butter with cream that I'd saved in the freezer. My husband won't drink the milk if I run it through a separator, so I just spoon off the top. Yes it took several days to get enough cream to make butter, but it was a lot less work and my husband doesn't realize any cream's missing if I don't take it all! 
Anyway, there were a few small curds in the cream when it thawed, but I believe they were just butterfat as they were greasy when I squished them.


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