School: The Downs (roll number 8875)
- Location:
- Na Dúnta, Co. na hIarmhí
- Teacher: S. Molloy
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0730, Page 189
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- XML School: The Downs
- XML Page 189
- XML “Churning”
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- Churning
Churning means changing sour cream into butter and buttermilk.
The milk is strained up when fresh and skimmed into a crock or churn until it sours and thickens.
It is then churned.
Some churns have a dash or a beater, others have it on a stand and is turned end over end.
Sometimes the churning lasts over an hour and in cold weather a little hot water is added but great care must be taken not to put it on too hot or the butter (milk) will be real white and very soft and as the people say it would be scalded. The first part of the churning is hard as people have to work hard until the milk comes to a certain heat or until it cracks.
The butter cracks means the butter separates from the milk. It is like little cruds first then when the churning is kept on longer the little cruds get bigger and bigger until the churn is covered with butter and soon(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Mary Mc Cormack
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Na Dúnta, Co. na hIarmhí
- Informant
- Mrs Mc Cormack
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 43
- Address
- Na Dúnta, Co. na hIarmhí
