A dairy product can also be a delicate artefact

It’s hard to imagine it nowadays, but a hundred years ago all food was produced by hand. It was no different with butter, which was made from skimming or sour cream collected on the surface of the milk by churning, i.e. the cream was subjected to stirring/shaking to separate the milk fat (butter) from the mass. The task was physically demanding and the end result was not guaranteed – it depended on the quality of the raw material, the temperature, and the process itself. Perhaps that is why it was surrounded by many superstitions, such as the buttermaker being a witch who turns butter into horse dung. (Mihály Munkácsy: Woman at the Churn)

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