How We Churn Butter, Slowly, With Feeling

Our butter is made in a wooden churn older than the barn. The paddle is turned by hand, and it takes about 55 minutes of steady turning before the cream breaks and the little golden grains gather. It is a thing you cannot rush.

The butter is washed in cold spring water, patted with wooden paddles, and shaped into a small curl with a spoon that belonged to Ottoline’s grandmother. Each curl is a little different. Each one is, I believe, a tiny sculpture of the afternoon.

We add a pinch of sea salt, just enough to wake the flavor. Then we wrap them in waxed paper and tie them with string, like presents. They are presents.