Here we use jars, a stand mixer, a blender, or a food processor (use a butter churn for larger amounts of cream). Shaking the cream in a jar is the simplest method, if your arms are up to it. Try to keep the cream between 50° and 55°F throughout the churning process. Since the cream will be heated up slightly by all of these methods (with the possible exception of a stand mixer), we recommend chilling it to about 48°F.

Refrigerate 2 clean 1-quart glass jars with tight-fitting lids for 30 minutes. Divide equally between the cold jars:

Tightly secure the lids and place one jar in the refrigerator. Shake the other jar as hard as possible until chunks of butter start to form, 15 to 20 minutes. Pour into a sieve set over a bowl. The chunks in the sieve are butter and the liquid in the bowl is buttermilk. Pour the buttermilk into a clean container, cover, refrigerate, and reserve for another use; keep in mind that it cannot be substituted for cultured buttermilk called for in recipes. Immediately turn the butter into a clean bowl and cover with ice water. Repeat this process with the other jar, adding the butter to the bowl of ice water. Gather and mash the curds together against the side of the bowl with a wooden spoon or between butter paddles (see illustration below); knead the mass of butter for a minute or so to release residual buttermilk. Pour off the cloudy liquid, add more cold water, and knead again. Repeat this process until the water is nearly clear after kneading and drain thoroughly. If desired, fold into the butter with a wooden spoon:

Transfer the butter to a clean container pressing with a wooden spoon or spatula to dispel any air bubbles. The butter may be molded or rolled, then wrapped in parchment or wax paper.

Add to a blender, food processor, or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment:

Blend or mix on high speed. For a food processor, process only 2 cups of the cream at a time, keeping the rest refrigerated. In the blender and food processor, the cream will eventually form curds; in the stand mixer, the cream will become whipped cream first before the buttermilk begins pooling in the bottom. Drain off the buttermilk and proceed to knead and rinse the butter as directed for version I.