School: Askamore (roll number 15675)

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1. Churning

   

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   We have an end over end churn at home. It is two foot nine inches high, twenty two inches at the bottom an eighteen at the top. The sides of the churn are round. Butter is made once a week in Winter an from two to three times a week in Summer.
   My mother and myself help at the churning. Strangers coming in when churning say "God bless the work," and take a hand at the work, if they do not it is believed that the butter will not come on the milk, an on no account should they take any fire from the house. Churning lasts about an hour. The end over end churn is turned over and over by means of a handle.
   When the churn inside and the churn lid are quite clean , the butter is made. When the churning is finished , the butter is taken out by means of a strainer. This is a small instrument with a number of holes in it ,The butter is placed in a butter maker, this is a wooden affair with a deep bottom and one en of it is tilted.The butter is left on this to drip. It is then rinsed with clean water twice so that all the buttermilk leaves it. The water is let through a hole in the butter-maker which is stopped by a wooden peg called a plug,After that , it is salted according to the taste,then the butter spades are used.
   Buttermilk is used for breadmaking, it is also use to cure a cold when sweetened with sugar, and taken at bedtime.

   

   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

   Rosaleen Moore

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Askamore, Co. Wexford