NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Lifestyle

Mum's clever food hack saves on groceries

By Rhian Deutrom
news.com.au·
8 Apr, 2019 10:21 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Sarah Gayton-Kay said she is making huge savings in her grocery bill by making her own butter. Photo / Supplied

Sarah Gayton-Kay said she is making huge savings in her grocery bill by making her own butter. Photo / Supplied

The next time you spot discounted cream at the supermarket, have a go at this clever mum's hack.

An Aussie mum has sparked a frenzied home cooking fad this week, after revealing she shaved money off her grocery bill by buying discounted cream and making her own butter at home.

If the thought of churning your own butter conjures images of sweat, tears and aching limbs, rest assured.

The busy stay-at-home-mum said all she needed was some pure cream, a mixer and a spare 15-minutes to get the job done.

Sarah Gayton-Kay, from outer Melbourne, shared photographs of her home cooking efforts on Sunday, claiming this was her first attempt at making her own butter.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The avid home cook said she had always wanted to try to make butter for her family.

The busy mum-of-two decided to try her hand at making her own butter. Photo / Supplied
The busy mum-of-two decided to try her hand at making her own butter. Photo / Supplied

"I love baking, and making things from scratch has always been an interest of mine," Gayton-Kay told news.com.au.

So, when she spotted a sale on cream at her local Woolworths last week, Gayton-Kay decided to try her hand at the old-fashioned hobby.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Gayton-Kay purchased 3L of cream for a grand total of $3.20 (NZD$3.40), which ended up making her a hefty 1.3kg of butter. Usually a 2L Anchor cream costs $13.79 at Pak'n Save.

"Store bought butter can cost anywhere between $10-$20 per kilo, but mine only cost about $2.40($NZD2.50) per kilo."

READ MORE: People have their doubts about this viral 'chopping board hack'

Posting her recipe to the Mums Who Budget & Save Facebook page yesterday, Gayton-Kay said she was extremely "chuffed" with her home made butter.

Discover more

Lifestyle

Toilet hack every parent should know

18 Feb 05:47 AM
Lifestyle

Genius Panadol hack to clean stains off clothing iron

17 Mar 11:42 PM
Lifestyle

Three-ingredient hack to save you from mozzies

18 Mar 11:23 PM
Lifestyle

People have their doubts about this viral 'chopping board hack'

28 Mar 12:57 AM

Her post attracted more than 1000 likes and comments, with frugal followers everywhere vowing to give it a go themselves.

"I never thought to do this! This is great," one woman wrote.

Another said she tried out the recipe "after reading this post" and her butter turned out soft and spreadable.

People are sharing that they love the results from making their own butter. Photo / Supplied
People are sharing that they love the results from making their own butter. Photo / Supplied

How to make your own butter

There are hundreds of tutorials on the internet that complicate the process, but according to Gayton-Kay, making your own butter is simple.

All you need is some pure cream, an electric mixer (or mason jar if you're feeling up to a challenge) and a cheese cloth to squeeze it through later.

READ MORE: This peanut butter hack will revolutionise your kitchen

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"To make butter, you just keep whipping cream until it splits into butter and buttermilk," Gayton-Kay said.

The splitting will occur after approximately 15-minutes in the mixer.

"You then need to rinse the butter, to make sure all of the buttermilk is gone, and then you can add salt if desired," she said.

Gayton-Kay says freezing your butter makes it last a lot longer. Photo / Supplied
Gayton-Kay says freezing your butter makes it last a lot longer. Photo / Supplied

Adventurous home cooks can also add a selection of herbs or garlic into their butter, to give it an extra kick.

Gayton-Kay said the hardest part of the process was mixing in her salt or herbs, as this requires a bit of elbow grease.

"It is almost identical to store bought butter, but being able to add as much or as little salt as you like, and knowing you did it yourself definitely makes it tastier," she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Freshly made butter can go off quite quickly, so Gayton-Kay recommended freezing it.

"I wrapped my butter in smaller portions and put most of it in the freezer so that it will keep longer," she said.

Gayton-Kay wrapped her newly formed butter into packs for the freezer Photo / Supplied
Gayton-Kay wrapped her newly formed butter into packs for the freezer Photo / Supplied

Homemade vs store bought

Gayton-Kay said her family is all "butter fiends", so they tried her homemade butter on its own first.

"Then we had it melted over cauliflower and broccoli with our dinner," she said.

Her social media post also revealed that a growing number of people prefer to whip up a batch of their own butter rather than purchase it at the supermarket.

"My partner and I have been making our own butter for a while. It's awesome and tastes way better than store brought ones," one woman wrote.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Another woman said she has been making her own butter for ages and "homemade butter tastes delicious".

Matt Arpana posted on the Markdown Addicts Australia Facebook page that he made his family several large portions of butter by whipping cream this week as well.

Matt Arpana revealed his own efforts at homemade butter. Photo / Supplied
Matt Arpana revealed his own efforts at homemade butter. Photo / Supplied

Gayton-Kay said she was really impressed that homemade butter is such a popular trend, as it shows that people are "thinking about how our food is made".

"Even if it's only something as simple as butter," she said.

"We have become so accustomed to pre-packaged and convince food and there are plenty of people who know very little about the basics of cooking."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Lifestyle

Watch: Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge final returns to Auckland after 11 year hiatus

18 Jun 06:32 AM
Premium
Lifestyle

How healthy is chicken breast?

18 Jun 06:00 AM
Premium
Lifestyle

I thought I was a ‘moderate’ drinker until I started tracking my alcohol

18 Jun 12:00 AM

Sponsored: Embrace the senses

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

Watch: Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge final returns to Auckland after 11 year hiatus

Watch: Monteith’s Wild Food Challenge final returns to Auckland after 11 year hiatus

18 Jun 06:32 AM

A live cook-off featured ox heart, wapiti, wild boar and plenty of edible wildlife.

Premium
How healthy is chicken breast?

How healthy is chicken breast?

18 Jun 06:00 AM
Premium
I thought I was a ‘moderate’ drinker until I started tracking my alcohol

I thought I was a ‘moderate’ drinker until I started tracking my alcohol

18 Jun 12:00 AM
Premium
UK sculptor claims NZ artwork copied his design, seeks recognition

UK sculptor claims NZ artwork copied his design, seeks recognition

17 Jun 10:23 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP