Traditional Food Preservation: Churning Cream into Butter


traditional food preservation

Traditional Food Preservation
One ways to preserve food is to churn cream to make butter. Historically, cream was the perishable food. Churning cream turned it into butter. But time and technology have provided a major change.

Instead of using a machine to churn, the cream was churned by hand. No need to go to the gym when one worked the arms with this traditional task.
traditional-food-preservation
Antique butter churn with hand crank-ebay
Traveling Back in Time

Actually, many other traditional food preservation systems existed then as well.
They are options even today although they may not be the most efficient ones.
But for anyone interested in a taste of the past, these options can be like a trip back in time.

Two descriptions follow this. In fact, they include videos for making butter the traditional way.

 

 

 
Making butter from (perishable) milk/cream-Video One

Making Butter from (milk/cream) Here is another video about making butter the old fashioned way. Making Butter served two traditional purposes. The first is preserving a perishable liquid, cream into a solid, butter. Another is creating a delicious fat that can be flavor other foods. In fact, adding herbs provided extra special flavor.
Traditional Food Preservation
Butter mold making equipment is available at Amazon.com
Butter Decoration
Homemade butter could have two purposes. They were for domestic use while the other was for commercial sale. Although a special design or pattern made it more appealing, branding was the the primary purpose to identity a butter-makers at a local, community market. Think of it as a branding pattern like labels are today(1).

Making butter from (perishable) milk/cream-Video Two

Butter Branding
Modern butter is branded by its packaging. On the other hand tradition butter branding was a pattern applied directly to the block of butter itself. A wooden carved mold was used to create the impression.
traditional-food-preservation
Butter branding-individual butter pattern and modern butter label
These topics are part of my Traditional Food Preservation Blog Post Series. Their discussion takes place in past and future preservation posts.
smoking
drying
salting
burying in ground
burying in fat in a barrel
root cellar storage
jar canning
SOURCES & RESOURCES

(1)Alice Ross Hearth Studios, Workshop at Rock Hall Museum, Long Island NY, Butter decoration/branding explanation

How to Make Butter the Old Fashioned Way

traditional food preservation


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