This does not contain directions for making dashers. We will try to get diagrams of how to make dashers online in the next week or two. The rest of the supplies are available at most grocery stores.
Handout:
Butter
Meistara Kaðlin in Stórráða, Viscountess Mathilde Haðebyr, Gersvinda Gaeslingr
AS 44
-Types:
1. Cultured or “European Style” Butter. This type of butter is made from cream that has been “cultured”. This means microorganisms have converted some of the sugars into lactic acid, adding flavor to the finished butter.
2. Sweet Cream Butter. Most common in the United States. This is butter made from cream that has not been cultured. Most commercially produced butter is made from pasteurized cow’s milk/cream.
-How does churning work?
Oil globules are surrounded by a film of phospholipids and proteins, churning breaks up this film and allows the fats to stick together. They are lighter than water, and usually float. The buttermilk contains these natural emulsifiers, which is why it is used for batters (like pancakes).
-History.
Humans have been making butter from animal’s milk probably since the domestication of cattle and sheep. How much butter was available and how it was used has varied widely over time. Climate and season, as well as fashion, have contributed to how commonly it was made and eaten.
In warm climates, butter does not last, and so it was considered a seasonal treat. For example, the seven references in the Bible indicate it was a special food. Medieval calendars show butter churning in April in Flanders (Bening 1515). Records of butter are much more common in northern climates. It was possible to pay your taxes in
butter in Iceland (Byock 1990).
The popularity of butter also varied over time. In England and France, butter is found as an ingredient in only 2-3% of the recorded recipes before 1450. After that, it is found in up to 50% of the recipes (Statistics from Medieval Cookbooks). This does not mean that butter was not eaten during the early middle ages. Elanor of Brittany (1225) purchased
butter as a household ingredient (Woolgar 1999), as well as by the Duke of Buckingham, who in 1501, purchased 12 dishes of butter for a single feast (Woolgar 1999). Fresh butter was sold by street vendors in the 13th century (Carlin and Rosenthal 1998). Butter was also considered medicinal, with the first references to such use by Pliny (1st century AD) and Galen (2nd century AD). Since medicine and food were somewhat synonymous in the middle ages, this is not surprising. Butter was considered a good food, and not injurious to any of the humors (Burkholder).
The roles of butter production also changed over time. In the middle ages, butter making was considered women’s work (Herlihy 1985, Youngs 1999). Renaissance images from Italy, however, show men churning butter (Scappi 1570).
butter in Iceland (Byock 1990).
The popularity of butter also varied over time. In England and France, butter is found as an ingredient in only 2-3% of the recorded recipes before 1450. After that, it is found in up to 50% of the recipes (Statistics from Medieval Cookbooks). This does not mean that butter was not eaten during the early middle ages. Elanor of Brittany (1225) purchased
butter as a household ingredient (Woolgar 1999), as well as by the Duke of Buckingham, who in 1501, purchased 12 dishes of butter for a single feast (Woolgar 1999). Fresh butter was sold by street vendors in the 13th century (Carlin and Rosenthal 1998). Butter was also considered medicinal, with the first references to such use by Pliny (1st century AD) and Galen (2nd century AD). Since medicine and food were somewhat synonymous in the middle ages, this is not surprising. Butter was considered a good food, and not injurious to any of the humors (Burkholder).
The roles of butter production also changed over time. In the middle ages, butter making was considered women’s work (Herlihy 1985, Youngs 1999). Renaissance images from Italy, however, show men churning butter (Scappi 1570).
-Ingredients.
- (optional) Culturing agent. Yogurt (thermophilic), sour cream, crème fresh, buttermilk (mesophilic), etc. Use only natural products, without fillers, as these will interfere with churning. Dry cultures can be purchased online or at brewing stores, natural cultured dairy products are available at most health-food stores.
- Whipping cream. Any whipping cream will do, the less additives the better. Homogenized is fine, we make butter with the cheapest available cream. Of course, the quality of your cream will influence the quality of your butter. The best butter will come from fresh, all natural cream. Generic cream is available in most supermarkets, more natural cream at health-food stores.
-Equipment needed:
Note: anything that will make whipped cream will make butter. Whisk, mixer, twigs, etc.
- Churn. Ideally, smaller at the top than the bottom. That keeps the whipped cream from “crawling” up the sides.
- Dasher. An agitator that will separate the oil from the water.
- Lid with a hole in the middle. The best lids sit in a depression around the lip of the churn. Screw on lids will also work. If your churn is much smaller on the top than the bottom, a simple “set on” lid is fine.
- Large bowl
- Knife or long spoon
-Instructions:
1. (optional) The night before churning, introduce a culture to the cream, and let sit at the preferred temperature for that culture, overnight.
2. Make sure your churn, dasher, and lid are clean. Put the cream in the churn, add the dasher, make sure your lid is well set.
3. Churn. With fresh cream, there is often a long time of slightly frothy cream. It should then become whipped cream, then turn butter colored. The butter is done when it separates into two distinct parts: solid butter and liquid buttermilk.
4. Remove the buttermilk. A fine strainer is useful to keep all the butter in the churn. Keep the buttermilk for baking.
5. Wash the butter. Use ICE cold water, if possible. A long knife or spoon for mashing is useful, or you can gently use the dasher to push the butter about. Your goal here is to remove as much of the buttermilk as possible. The buttermilk will cause your butter to go bad much faster, if not removed. Wash a couple of times with new changes of water. The water should be clear when you are done.
6. Knead or “work” the butter. This is a step to remove water, and any buttermilk left in crevices of the butter. Put the butter in a large (cold, if possible) bowl. Flatten and fold the butter with one or two spoons or knives. Tilt the bowl so the water flows to one end, and can be dumped out.
7. (optional) Salt the butter. When butter is sufficiently “dry”, add salt to taste. Heavily salted butter lasts longer, but is only useful for cooking applications.
8. Press and store the butter. Form the butter into a pat, stick, etc. Molds can be used if preferred. Store in a cool place.
-References
Bening, Simon. 1515. The DaCosta Hours.
Butter in the bible:
Burkholder, Kristen M. "Attempree diete was al hir phisik": The Medieval Application of Medical Theory to Feasting. Essays in Medieval Studies 13. http://www.illinoismedieval.org/ems/VOL13/burkhold.html
Byock, Jesse L. 1990. Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas, and Power. University of California Press.
Carlin, Martha and Rosenthal, Joel Thomas. 1998. Food and eating in medieval Europe. Continuum International Publishing Group.
Herlihy, David. Medieval Households. 1985. Harvard University Press.
Scappi, Bartolomeo, 1570. Il Cuoco Segreto Di Papa Pio V (The Private Chef of Pope Pius V), Venice. http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/food-art/cheese_and_butter.gif
Statistics from Medieval Cookbooks: http://www.medievalcookery.com/statistics.html
Youngs, Deborah. 1999. Servants and labourers on a late medieval demesne: the case of Newton, Cheshire, 1498-1520. Agricultural history review
Simon Bening, The DaCosta Hours. 1515
Bartolomeo Scappi, Venice, 1570.
I acquired a wide, thick, oddly curved wooden spatula in a bundle of wooden utensils at a thrift or dollar store and was speculating as to what its intended purpose might be. My 89 year old mother, who'd grown up on a ranch and had done a lot of butter churning in her youth, remarked, "Oh, that's a butter paddle. You use it to work the liquid out of the butter after it comes out of the churn."
ReplyDeleteSince then, I've found other butter paddles of different types, so keep an eye out for them. They are easily recognized, once you know what you're looking at: The whole thing is thick and sturdy, especially the edge you would slide underneath food if it were a regular spatula, which is too thick to be practical for use as a spatula but is perfect for working butter!
Thank you for this easily understood blog and video.
ReplyDelete