School: Ceannanus Mór, Scoil na mBráthar
- Location:
- Kells, Co. Meath
- Teacher: An Br. M.L. Ó Séaghdha
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0703, Page 279
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- About thirty years ago the principle churn that was used was the "dash" churn. Men with large herds of cows got the churning machine which was worked by horse power. Within the last twenty years the churning system has greatly improved as the latest churn now is known as the "end over end". This is the most suitable way of churning because at the present day anybody can work this churn. They can sit down on their chairs and work this churn with their feet on the same scale as one peddels a bicycle. These churns are the same as are used in the all cremeries except that one is worked by hand and foot and the other is worked by machinery. It is quite easy to know when the butter is half or fully churned. When milk is half churned the butter becoms a thick curd and stickey, sticking to the side of the churn and when the old "dash" was being used by sticking to the handle of the "dash". By contuinuing to churn about fifteen minutes longer this stickeyness increases and this curd became a soild mass of butter, losing its stickeyness to the churn and floated on the top of the milk. The farmer's wife or the dairymaid had nothing to do but to lift it off the milk into a large wooden dish in which she salted it to a normal degree. She then made it into pounds, two pounds and as high as six pound three cornered rolls. Others put it down in firkins. Firkins are little tubs without handles. In the olden days if a stranger came to a house when the churning was on he would have to take the "dash" of the church and say "God bless the milk and the butter" and give it a few dashes.
- Collector
- John Mc Menamin
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Cannon Street, Co. Meath
- Informant
- Patrick Mc Menamin
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 60
