A butter churn is a mechanism used for making butter. It was used in Russian villages until the middle of the 20th century. Such a tool consisted of a cylindrical container and a lid with a hole in the center. A dasher, which looked like a long stick with a wooden cross at the end, was put into the hole. It was used to mix and whip cream until it thickened and turned into butter.
A butter churn was usually made of a linden trunk, its center was hollowed. A round bottom was attached separately — for this, there were special grooves cut out at the base. To make a vessel solid enough and leak proof, it was soaked in water and then dried. After that procedure, wood shrank, and all parts of a butter churn were tightly fitted to each other.
The collection of Nizhnevartovsk Museum of Local History contains a wooden lid of a butter churn. It consists of two round disks of different diameters tightly fitted to each other. There is a hole for a dasher in the center. Originally, the lid was painted with blue oil paint, but over time, the covering was partially worn off.
Butter production was traditionally considered women’s work, but sometimes kids helped their mothers. Work started in the evening: milk was boiled and left overnight to form cream. In the morning, it was necessary to skim the cream off the milk, pour it into a butter churn and beat with a dasher. In addition, newly drawn milk was gradually added to that mixture. Gradually, fat separated from the liquid. During this process appeared small butter flakes. Then, they gathered into larger lumps and finally formed a single dense mass. The process required a lot of time and physical strength.
In addition to finished butter, there was buttermilk (non-fat cream) in a butter churn, which was drained and stored separately. Buttermilk used to be put into dough or porridge, fed to young livestock.
To keep butter fresh longer, it was melted in a wood stove. Later, the peasants used to add salt into the finished product. It served as a conservative. If there was a lot of milk, butter was made not only for personal use but also for sale.
A butter churn was usually made of a linden trunk, its center was hollowed. A round bottom was attached separately — for this, there were special grooves cut out at the base. To make a vessel solid enough and leak proof, it was soaked in water and then dried. After that procedure, wood shrank, and all parts of a butter churn were tightly fitted to each other.
The collection of Nizhnevartovsk Museum of Local History contains a wooden lid of a butter churn. It consists of two round disks of different diameters tightly fitted to each other. There is a hole for a dasher in the center. Originally, the lid was painted with blue oil paint, but over time, the covering was partially worn off.
Butter production was traditionally considered women’s work, but sometimes kids helped their mothers. Work started in the evening: milk was boiled and left overnight to form cream. In the morning, it was necessary to skim the cream off the milk, pour it into a butter churn and beat with a dasher. In addition, newly drawn milk was gradually added to that mixture. Gradually, fat separated from the liquid. During this process appeared small butter flakes. Then, they gathered into larger lumps and finally formed a single dense mass. The process required a lot of time and physical strength.
In addition to finished butter, there was buttermilk (non-fat cream) in a butter churn, which was drained and stored separately. Buttermilk used to be put into dough or porridge, fed to young livestock.
To keep butter fresh longer, it was melted in a wood stove. Later, the peasants used to add salt into the finished product. It served as a conservative. If there was a lot of milk, butter was made not only for personal use but also for sale.
