Image from: wikimedia.org
The chef of a restaurant opening in Oakland is thinking about churning his own butter. He tasted various milks for flavor consistency throughout the seasons and found a farm with great year round cream. He will use the left-over buttermilk for house-made bread. I wonder, will it be cost-effective AND taste better than say, Strauss or other high quality butter from grass-fed cows? It is certainly a romantic and enticing idea. I guess only tasting will tell if the freshly churned stuff has better texture and flavor. In the meantime, I thought I’d learn a little about how butter was made decades ago.
Photo of a 500 gallon revolving box churn, called The Key City King. This churn was advertised in an 1893 dairy publication and was typical of the large size revolving churns used at that time. Image and information from: http://dairyantiques.com/uploads/099_0012c.jpg
The photo above is a Davis Swing Churn, patented in 1879 to Francis Butler, although some earlier literature referred to it a ‘Davis Oscillating Churn.’
How did it work? There were no paddles. According to dairyantiques.com, “As the churn box rocked on the cradle the cream rolled over on itself to make butter. The company said this gentle action did not injure the butter”
If you want more info http://www.ilri.org/infoserv/webpub/fulldocs/ilca_manual4/MilkProcessing.htm
