School: Buidheachair (Rockcorry)

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1. Churning (continued)

   

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   various parts of the churn are as follows: - lid, cap and staff. The use of the lid is to keep the milk free from dust and dirt while churning. The cap is used to keep the milk from splashing out while churning is in process. The staff is used to break up the milk from the butter.
   The churn itself, cap, lid and staff are prepared by scalding with boiling water and rinsing with cold water. The ripened milk is thrown in. The staff, cap and lid are secured tightly. The staff is moved upwards and downwards to break up the milk. As the churning proceeds small particles of butter rise to the top of the milk. This process takes about 20 minutes. When the butter appears both on the staff and on the lid the staff is then moved less slowly.
   When the butter gathers in large lumps on the lid it is then known to be finished. The butter is strained off the buttermilk and put into a basin or small butter tub with ice cold water. The buttermilk is well washed out of it first by adding ice cold water to it in the basin and then squeezing it out with butter wooden spades.

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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

   Rita Hawthorne

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   15

   Address

   Mount Carmel, Co. Monaghan

   Informant

   Mrs F. Hawthorne

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   43

   Address

   Mount Carmel, Co. Monaghan