School: Barkhall (roll number 8343)

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1. Churning

   

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   We have a churn at home. It is four feet in height, two feet wide at the bottom and one foot and a half at the top. The sides are straight at the bottom and at the top it slopes out and forms the crib. Our churn is about sixteen years old. The crib, body, lid, and staff are the parts of the churn. The butter is made twice a week in the summer and once a week in the winter. My father and mother do the churning. If a stranger comes in when they are churning he usually helps them. It usually takes and hour to churn. The churning is done by hand. The staff is moved upwards and downwards. When the butter forms into a lump we know it is finished. A small quantity of boiling water is poured in when we are starting to churn and before we are finished to bring the milk to the right heat to make butter. The butter is lifted out with two wooden spades, salted, washed, and weighed into pounds and half pounds. The buttermilk is used for baking bread, feeding calves, and pigs.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. economic activities
         1. agriculture (~2,659)
            1. butter and churns (~3,280)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Mary Mc Nutt

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Carnamogagh Lower, Co. Donegal

   Informant

   Margaret Kelso

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   53

   Address

   Tirroddy, Co. Donegal