butter help?

[igethigh23]

Im cooking some and it has been cooking for 4 and a half hours now and it doesnt look to thick it still seem real watery to me.... is it not done yet that means? or is it fine and maybe i just put to much water? it is dark and glossy though....

 

[geopolitical]

I haven't a clue how others do butter. I cook butter & bud with some water, then I run it through a potato masher to squeeze all the butter out, then I run the liquid butter w/hot water through a fractional funnel to seperate it out.

I'll generally wash it 4-5x with hot water in the funnel before finally storing it for later use, it'll end up a golden brown color.

 

[igethigh23]

nice thanks for your info...

 

[chemsteady]

yup.

yup.

same here. i grind or chop up the leaf/bud and toss it into a medium size sauce pan with about 4-6 cups of boiling water. once the pot has had a chance to mix in with the water, i turn the heat down and let the water/pot simmer for as long as i like. remember, simmer, not boil. the longer you let it simmer the better, and it wont burn the weed like sauteing it in butter tends to do.

once you ve let it simmer for x amount of time, pour the pans contents through one of those non-disposable coffee filters. i like this one.

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-GTF-B-Gold-Coffee-Filter/dp/B0001IRRLQ

and use a rubber spatula to squeeze the oil from the veg matter. make sure you have a container (obviously, jic you re stoned!) below the filter, maybe an old butter containter or something. let the liquid settle, you can even put into the fridge to expedite the process along. once cooled, the oil (butter will rise to the top an separate from the yucky pot water. just be careful when removing the butter, you dont want that pot water to mix back in. hth.
-c

 

[geopolitical]

Ya, that was my original method chem until I bought myself a fractional funnel at a closeout of a lab supply co here in town. If you can get your hands on a 1-2L FF they really make cleaning butter & oil a breeze. That being said, it's a big piece of lab glass and it certainly can look odd hanging out in the kitchen. If you don't have a tolerant wife and neighbors that know you're a retired chemist it's probably something to store in the cabinet when not in use. Using a funnel your end product will just be butter, no water, no nasty things at all. No need to chill, it's already separated from the junk and ready to use.

Oh and for filtering, I'll often use a fine mesh nylon screen (150) as it goes into the funnel. The mesh is cheap and reusable multiple times if washed gently.

 

[chemsteady]

cool!

cool!

thanks man, ill look into that. anything that helps me to avoid the dreaded pot water is ok in my book!
-c