How Butter Proves the Existence of God (a summer re-run)

by | Jun 11, 2013 | Blog, Homeschool, Kendra's Thoughts, Parenting | 4 comments

Hey, summer re-runs aren’t just for network TV right?  If you saw this post, you’ll know that I’m planning to run some of my earliest blog posts over the summer while I try to accomplish some other things.  So in case you missed it, here’s a post from Day 5 of this blog . . . 
The existence of God is proved by the existence of butter, and not (just) because it’s so tasty.

I was raised in the suburbs, with very little concept of where food came from.  Although I remember earning my “I milked a cow at the Del Mar Fair” sticker, I doubt I would have connected the dots between that cow and the stuff from the grocery store that I poured over my cereal that morning.

Jack earned one too, but now it’s
“the San Diego County Fair” apparently.

This disconnect wouldn’t be an issue for plenty of kids who grow up in more rural areas of America or in less industrialized parts of the world or for probably anyone who lived outside of a palace for most of the history of the world.  But it was an issue for me.

So I’m really enjoying being a homeschool mom and introducing my kids to things like where butter comes from.  We have a very cute book called Colonial Days

and in it, you can learn how to turn whipping cream into butter, just by shaking it in a jar.

(There are also plenty of great online tutorials that will teach you how to do it.)

First, it’s cream.  You shake it for five minutes and it’s whipped cream.  You shake it for five more minutes AND IT IS BUTTER.  Delicious, delicious butter.  My mind was blown.

So, assuming you’re from a time or place where milk doesn’t come homogenized from a store, the timeline would look something like:
1. Squeeze cow, collect what comes out in a bucket
2. Let it sit for a bit
3. Collect cream from top (save leftover skim milk for later)
4. Shake cream for 5 minutes, get whipped cream
5. Shake cream for 5 more minutes, get butter (and, hey, free bonus, also buttermilk)

Okay, here’s where the existence of God part comes in.  It does not do the cow any good for her milk to turn into butter when it gets shaken.  Sure, baby cows get milk from their moms.  But never whipped cream, never buttermilk, never butter.  Because that stuff is for us.  FROM GOD.

And the farther removed we are from where our food comes from, the harder it is to see God in it.

4 Comments

  1. Gerilyn

    Hi Kendra, I just wanted to post and say hi! I met you at the Stanford reunion (we beat you out for the most kids this time, but who knows about next time!) and Jim sent us a link to your awesome blog. I have loved reading, especially the stuff about travel. I would love to get our families together some time!

  2. Erica Saint

    I have not made butter with the boys yet. You have inspired me to do it soon. The book looks like one we would really like. I will add it to my wish list.

  3. Christine

    We have a book from the same series, called Pioneer Days! I picked it up at a thrift store at some point. But my kids are still a little young for most of the activities. I'll have to keep an eye out, because I didn't realize there were more of these books 🙂

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Hi! I’m Kendra.

For twenty years now, I’ve been using food, prayer, and conversation based around the liturgical calendar to share the lives of the saints and the beautiful truths and traditions of our Catholic faith. My own ten children, our friends and neighbors, and people just like you have been on this journey with me.

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