School: Castlecary

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1. Churning

   

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   My mother has a churn at home. It is a very old churn. It is about four and one half feet high, and about three feet at the top and bottom. It is narrower about three feet from the ground than it is at either end. My grandmother bought it many years ago long before I was born.
   In my home, butter is made every day in summer and about twice a week in winter as the milk is not as plentiful. My father and brothers do the churning as it is very heavy work.
   Often strangers come in when we are churning and give the churn a "brash" as it is called and this is to keep away ill luck from the milk. The churning always takes about an hour. Our churning is done by a plunge churn by hand. My mother knows easily when the butter is done as it all comes to the top in little heaps like hailstones.
   Lukewarm water is poured into the churn when churning so as to keep the milk a proper temperature. The butter is lifted off the top of the buttermilk

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. economic activities
         1. agriculture (~2,659)
            1. butter and churns (~3,280)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Arthur Peoples

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Castlecary, Co. Donegal