Butter Churners

The process of butter churning begins when cool cream is added the churn`s base. A lid with a churning device is then placed on top. The churn agitates the cream, causing the milk fat to break down. Small clumps, also known as butter fat, form. The process of churning causes the clumps to butter fat to become larger.

Until well into the 19th century, Butter Churners were done by hand. The butter churn was popular among farmers. Farmers tried to be as self-sufficient as they could, making as much at home as possible. It was easy to churn butter because most farmers had cows.

Wooden butter churns were among the most common. Wooden butter churns had a large wooden base with a wooden lid. Turning the handle caused wooden paddles to move. This separated the butter fat from the milk.

A popular glass butter churn was the Daisy churn. The base was a gallon-size glass jar. Metal paddles were used, which made the butter churn faster. It also had a removable screen which made it easy to pour. In the 1960`s, glass butter churns were running on electricity.