Churning (butter)

Common card · No. 415953

Churning is the process of shaking up cream or whole milk to make butter, usually using a device called butter churn. In Europe from the Middle Ages until the Industrial Revolution, a churn was usually as simple as a barrel with a plunger in it, moved by hand. These have mostly been replaced by mechanical churns. Butter is essentially the fat of milk. It is usually made from sweet cream (that is, cream skimmed from milk rather than from whey). In Canada, Ireland, Italy, the Nordic countries, the USA, and the UK, salt is usually added to it. Unsalted (sweet) butters are most commonly used in the rest of Europe. It can also be made from acidulated or bacteriologically soured cream. Well into the 19th century butter was still made from cream that had been allowed to stand and sour naturally. The cream was then skimmed from the top of the milk and poured into a wooden tub. Buttermaking was done by hand in butter churns. The natural souring process is a very sensitive one and infection by foreign...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Bayley, W. Braybrooke, 1857-1939, Public domain