School: Clún na Gaoithe (roll number 8740)
- Location:
- Cloongee, Co. Mayo
- Teacher: Pádraig Ó Héaráin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0125, Page 440
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- Butter-making in the Home.
My father keeps two milch cows on the land. They are milked about nine or ten o'clock in the morning every day. A certain amount of each cow's milk is given to her calf to drink. The first portion of the cow's milk is given to the calf and the rest is kept for making butter. The last of the cow's milk is called strippings and is the richest in cream or butter-fat. First of all the milk is strained into a shallow basin or pan and it is left there twelve hours. At the end of that time the cream has come to the top. Then the cream is skimmed off the top of the milk.Making a Churning.
The cream only is churned. We have the old-fashioned churn in the shape of a barrel with a dash. First the cream is put into the churn and then the dash and lid. Then a "claibín" is put on it that is a circular piece of wood with a hole in it for the dash to come through. Before the churning starts my sister shakes a grain of salt on the lid. Sometimes a quenched coal is put under the churn. If the weather is cold, boiling water is put in it. This helps to make the churning. The churning is made twice a week,(continues on next page)
