Homeschool Prairie Cooking {Butter, Bread & Jam}

As always, we have all been busy in the kitchen, and this week our home felt as though it had stepped straight into the pages of Little House on the Prairie. Through shared work and willing hands, our homeschool prairie cooking focused on making prairie butter, bread and jam, giving the children a tangible glimpse into daily life on the American frontier.

This was not just cooking. It was history, science, life skills, and connection, everything a rich Little House on the Prairie Unit Study should be.

Catch Up! If you haven’t read all about our first week on the prairie, I would encourage you to go and read my Little House in the Big woods post. This covers everything we did from making nightdresses, to prairie cooking and making button strings. It also gives you a good idea of everything we achieved with our own little house on the prairie renovations!

Homeschool Prairie Cooking

Handmade Butter: Churning on the Prairie

We began with handmade butter, just as pioneer families would have done in the 1800s. On the prairie, butter was not a novelty, it was a necessity. Families kept cows, milked them daily, and skimmed the cream from the top after the milk had rested. That cream was then churned by hand, often every few days, to prevent spoilage.

Charlotte was unofficially in charge of proceedings, though she quickly roped in her brothers and sisters for the long task of shaking. Prairie children often helped churn butter using dash churns or paddle churns, sometimes for an hour or more. It was hard work and required perseverance.

There was much excitement as the cream thickened…
And even more amazement when it finally separated into butter and buttermilk.

Once formed, prairie butter was rinsed in cold water, worked to remove excess liquid, and salted for preservation. We followed the same process, draining it through cheesecloth, salting it, and pressing it into a simple slab. The result was deeply satisfying, and gave the children a true appreciation for the labor behind something so ordinary today.

Nothing was wasted on the prairie. The leftover buttermilk was always saved for baking.

Prairie Handmade Butter

What Pioneer Families Did:
Cream was skimmed from fresh milk and churned by hand until the butter separated. This was often done every few days to prevent spoilage.

Ingredients:

• Heavy cream (room temperature)
• Salt (optional)

Method:

1. Pour cream into a jar, churn, or tightly sealed container (fill only halfway).
2. Shake steadily for 10–20 minutes.
3. Watch as the cream thickens, then suddenly separates into butter and buttermilk.
4. Pour off the buttermilk and save it for baking.
5. Rinse the butter in cold water, gently pressing to remove remaining liquid.
6. Add a pinch of salt if desired and shape or press.

Homeschool Tip:
Time the churning and record how long it takes. Compare results between children.

Check out week two! Last week we focused on Farmer Boy. This is the second book in the Little House on the Prairie book set. During the week we did lots of prairie cooking (hasty pudding, making a sour dough starter and some prairie bread) and also made some button lamps, a prairie ladder, and some peg hooks. Gary and the little ones did some gardening in our prairie garden and we tried to make some more of our rag rug.

Handmade Bread: Baking Without Yeast

Using our fresh buttermilk, we made handmade bread, choosing a simple soda bread similar to what many prairie families would have made when yeast was unavailable.

In the 1800s, yeast was not always easy to obtain or keep alive, especially in harsh weather. Many frontier families relied on sourdough starters or chemical leaveners like saleratus (an early form of baking soda). Bread was often baked daily or every few days, mixed by hand, and cooked in cast iron pots or Dutch ovens over open fires.

As we mixed and kneaded, I gave the younger girls pieces of dough to play with—just as pioneer children might have done while their mothers baked. They shaped animals and rolls, learning through their hands. All the shapes went into the oven alongside our main loaf.

Two of the larger creations may, or may not, have been turtles.

This hands-on work helped the children understand how bread was not a convenience food, but a daily responsibility on the prairie.

Prairie Soda Bread (No Yeast)

What Pioneer Families Did:
When yeast was unavailable, families relied on chemical leaveners like saleratus or baking soda combined with sour milk or buttermilk.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1–1¼ cups buttermilk or sour milk

Method:

1. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Stir in buttermilk until a soft dough forms.
3. Knead gently for just a minute.
4. Shape into a round loaf (or small shapes for children).
5. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 30–35 minutes until golden.

Pioneer Variation:
Bake in a cast iron pan or Dutch oven to mimic hearth baking.

Check out week three! We focused on The Little House on the Prairie. This is the third book in the Little House on the Prairie book set. During the week we did some of prairie cooking (soda biscuits) and also made some curtains, hay sticks and a hammock net. Gary and the little ones did some gardening in our prairie garden and we tried to make some more of our rag rug.

Handmade Jam: Preserving Fruit for Winter

Thomas proudly took charge of the handmade jam. On the prairie, preserving fruit was essential for survival. Without refrigeration, families relied on sugar, heat, and careful timing to keep fruit edible through long winters.

Throughout the summer, prairie families gathered wild berries or tended small garden patches. Fruit was cooked down slowly over a fire, stirred constantly to prevent burning, and tested carefully to ensure it would set. Children often helped with stirring, a hot, tiring job requiring focus.

Thomas had been saving raspberries for weeks just for this moment. He boiled them with a little water, sugar, and pectin, stirring steadily as others rotated in to help. He performed a simple plate test, watching closely for that wrinkle that meant success.

When it finally set, he poured the jam into a small jar. It didn’t fill much, but his pride filled the room completely, much like it would have for a pioneer child contributing to the family’s winter stores.

Handmade Raspberry Jam

What Pioneer Families Did:
Fruit was cooked down slowly over a fire and preserved with sugar. Children often helped with stirring and testing.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• ¾–1 cup sugar
• Splash of water

Method:

1. Place berries and water in a saucepan.
2. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring often.
3. Add sugar and continue to boil for 15–25 minutes.
4. Test by placing a spoonful on a cold plate – if it wrinkles when pushed, it’s ready.
5. Pour into a clean jar and allow to cool.

Homeschool Tip:
Talk about why sugar helped preserve food before refrigeration.

Week four we focused on ‘On the Banks of Plum Creek’ and the children learnt about herbal medicine, stained a rocking chair for the corner of the house, made some baskets and began a productive Little House vegetable garden. And lastly, we made some home-made yogurt and a blueberry pie.

Homeschool Prairie Cooking: Extension Activities

Prairie Skills Beyond the Kitchen

While some of us worked with needle and thread, Thomas turned his attention to tool-making. Prairie families often made or adapted their own tools, using whatever materials were available.

Using an enamel oil holder, a wooden disc, and a stick, he created a simple toy butter press, very similar to the functional, no-frills tools used in the 1800s.

Later, with Daddy’s help, he built a basic sink unit for the little house, reinforcing the idea that prairie life required ingenuity, cooperation, and practical problem-solving.

Why This Matters in Your Homeschool

A Little House on the Prairie Unit Study comes alive when children do the work rather than just read about it. Making handmade butter, handmade bread, and handmade jam connects children to history in a way textbooks never can.

They learn that food took time. That children were essential contributors. That patience and persistence were daily virtues. And perhaps most importantly, they learn gratitude.

And yes, it was very, very delicious!

Optional Extension: Prairie Meal

We didn’t just do the prairie cooking in our homeschool, we also did some eating (of course!). We served our prairie butter, bread and jam together as a simple tea, just as pioneer families might have done. Encourage children to reflect on how long it took to prepare compared to eating it!

Last week, we focused on By the Shores of the Silver Lake. We made signs for over the front door and inside the cottage, wove our own baskets, Thomas began building a stove for the cottage, made some molasses popcorn balls and a very tasty prairie chicken with home grown green beans.

Reflection Questions About Cooking on the Prairie for Homeschoolers

1. How was making food on the prairie different from how we get food today?
2. Which task do you think was the hardest for pioneer children? Why?
3. Why was it important not to waste anything on the prairie?
4. How did children contribute to their families’ survival?
5. What modern conveniences would prairie families have found most helpful?

Hands-On Activity Ideas to Extend the Lesson on Homeschool Prairie Cooking

• History: Read a Little House passage about food preparation and reenact it.
• Science: Compare butter-making by shaking versus using a churn.
• Math: Calculate how much butter or jam a family might need for winter.
• Writing: Write a diary entry from a prairie child helping in the kitchen.
• Art: Carve soap or clay into simple butter molds.
• Practical Skills: Build a simple tool or household item using basic materials.