Now that we are milking our cow, instead of the goats, we have something I’ve been earnestly waiting for ever since we started our home dairy journey:
CREAM.
It’s beautiful stuff, folks.
And the fact that you can agitate it and make it turn into butter? Well, that’s just magical.
The first time I watched the thick cream turn into bits of yellow butter in my food processor, I may or may not have started doing an impromptu happy dance. But no one will ever know besides Prairie Baby. And she ain’t tellin’.
But I needed a worthy vessel in which to shape my homemade butter. Yeah, yeah, I know you can wrap it up in wax paper to store it, but I really felt compelled to find a real butter mold. I mean, I’ve gone to all the trouble to get a milk cow, skim the cream, and turn it into butter, I figured I might as well stay semi-authentic.
So I rummaged around on eBay until I found a cheap reasonably priced antique butter mold. It’s wooden and well used. You might call it a “shabby chic” version.
Upon its arrival, I released it from it’s bubble-wrap sleeping bag. And it gave me goosebumps.
Here was a little chunk of old wood. Stained and well used. The corners were slightly loose and the handle threatened to pop off. I have no idea how old it is, but you can tell it has seen many years of hard use.
It was sold as a decoration. A trinket for someone to place on their shelf of antiques. A conversation piece (“Hey, guess what that is? Back in the day, they used to mold their own butter…”)
I desperately wish my imperfect little butter mold could tell me it’s life story.
About the maker who crafted it by hand…
The owners who carefully filled it with transformed cream…
The many pounds of butter that have touched it’s wooden walls…
The kitchens it has lived in…
And there I stood, a twenty-something Generation Nexter, getting ready to pull it out of it’s retirement, soak it in some cold water, and smear it full of fresh, raw butter once again.
How bizarre is that?
You see, I don’t just desire to learn old fashioned practices for the mere romance of them. I’m really not into playing dress-up or pretending that I’m Laura Ingalls Wilder.
But I love that so many of the “old ways” are truly becoming a vital part of my everyday life. And most of them make a lot of sense.
It’s like when I talk to my elderly grandfather. I love to see the sparkle in his eye when he talks about his childhood on a real homestead in southern Idaho. I love that I can really relate to his stories now, instead of listening to them with a feigned interest. I love the little tidbits of wisdom that he has shared that have actually given me ideas or helped me out. (“You know, if you tie up your cow’s tail, it won’t hit you in the face while you’re milking. Just remember to untie it, though…”)
Things seem to have come full circle.
So yeah, I could go out and buy shiny new butter mold. But I think I’ll hold off on that for now.
I like seeing the imperfect little stained wooden mold sitting on my kitchen counter.
It reminds me where I came from, and where I’m going. And that’s a good thing. 😉
I love old tools and I love your butter mold! Enjoy! I would get sappy too 😉
I think its beautiful…just beautiful….I want to see your first butter that you mold with it…and someday…maybe someday…you will sit with YOUR grandchild and retell the stories your grandfather told you…and you will have your own stories to add too!!!
Well I have to thank both you and your Grandfather. This post spoke to me in a special way. I too sourced out an old butter mold much the same as yours with a loose corner and all. I as well use it for the purpose it was made for. The interesting part is when your Grandfater told you to tie up the cows tail! Many folks have mentioned that to me over the years, and many times I have tried different ways of doing it. Every time I did it the cow got it out and continued to slap me in the head with it! All the while I talk to her gently and assure her we are almost done! It wasn’t until I read the bit abit him reminding you not to forget to untie it! It made me laugh out loud. Only then did I realize I was to tie it up to her self (tail) I had been trying to tie it to a board on the wall! I am sure you are the one laughing at my expense right now! I just had to share that with you, and thank you both. You made my evening!
I love it! What a beautiful piece of tradition. The only part I wish I could change with my goats is the lack of cream…we have Nubians though so if I wanted to I could scrape the small amount I get and make butter out of it. But alas, more pressing chores take up my time 🙂
-=Sarah
http://www.beewench.blogspot.com
I understand 🙂 I’m much the same. My kitchen is not full of gadgets, and people often ask me why I insist on doing things “the hard way.” I simply smile and say “The hard way feels a lot like the right way to me.” I don’t find the old ways of doing things to be harder at all, and I’m a lot more pleased with my results.
i so enjoyed this post! i think i need to go on ebay!!!
What a lovely post! I have BEGGED my husband for a milk cow, but he grew up milking every morning, and refuses. So, I have milk goats. They are great, but I want cream! I love your butter mold. What a great piece of history! I am also in my twenties, and I know exactly how you feel. Thank you for your great post.
I just got my coiwand I’ve her.I have been looking for a butter mold
I do the same thing – I use many items from “the old days” – I even have a treadle sewing machine! I have a butter mold similar to yours, along with a pair of butter pats or paddles. I cherish these items from long ago and although I don’t live on acreage or raise cows, etc. I still am a homesteader at heart!
My grandma had an old butter churn that was her grandmothers. It sat in her front room collecting dust for all of my memories. I would tell her every day that I wanted it. She thought I was crazy. When she passed away it didn’t come to me but oh I wish it would have. To have “Grandmas” churn would have been so awesome, to use Grandmas churn would have been icing on the cake. Everytime I make butter I think of Grandma and her churn.
Great find on the mold. Its a beauty.
I loved this post. I too, am a lover of old..I mean…shabby chic items. And yes, things like a butter mold give me goosebumps as well. So nice to meet another kindred heart 🙂
Enjoyed your post on the butter mold. I can remember when I was a little girl going into my grandmother’s home and smelling the freshly made butter and churned milk. She also sold eggs. If she was away from home, the neighbors would come in and get what they wanted and leave the money on the dining table. 🙂 No one ever locked the door!
It certainly does have beautiful craftsmanship. It’s a shame that so many of the old ways have gone away. I love my goats’ milk, but fresh butter would be nice.
LOVE IT!!!! And truly authentic.
I have my grandma’s butter mold and it looks a lot like yours. I would love to use it, but it is pretty stained and dirty looking and hasn’t been used in probably 40 years. How did you clean yours so you would feel it was food safe again? Also why did you soak it in cold water? As you may guess I have never made butter (yet!) and don’t really know how to use the mold…
I loved your post…I too use any of the antique pieces I buy.
I just scrubbed it good with hot water and soap. It looked clean and smelled fine too… If you were really, really a stickler over food safety, I suppose you could just get a new one, but I wasn’t too concerned.
I believe you soak it in cold water to keep the butter from sticking to it. And it seems to work- the butter block just slides right out.
Wow- that’s really neat. I always look at things like that too– oh what stories I’d love to know!
This is such a great post, Jill. Should I ever buy a cow, I may follow your lead. 🙂
I know how you feel! My girlfriend and I just made our first “butter mold” 1 pound butter bricks just yesterday! What a rush to know how to make butter and mold it ourselves; ok, maybe we are a bit strange, but since we are both historic minded re-enactors (Victorian age, Mountain Man, Civil War, 1870’s) and can dress the part, it is nice to participate in Living history educational programs for kids and let them see how our ancesters used to do things.
I finally found a butter mold today at the antique shop! I’m wondering how you sanitized yours… I’ve seen “soak in a bleach solution for 30 minutes” to “just wash with soap and water.”
Who knows where this thing has been…
Thanks Jill!
Well, I decided to live on the wild side with mine and just scrubbed it good with hot, soapy water… I know that’s probably not really “deep cleaning” it, but no one has died yet from my butter. 😉 So, I guess it’s mostly up to you and your preferences! Congrats on the find, though! FUN!
Right on, thanks! Very glad to hear no one has died from your butter. 😀
I found one with the hokiest engraving on the top, too!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/compassionate/7015885259/
Not hoky, “unique” my dear… Unique. hehe! 🙂 At first I thought it was a deer, but then came to the conclusion that it’s probably a cow. (Major duh…)
I thought it was a deer, too! Then I noticed the long tail… now I have no clue what it is. Some kind of deer/cow hybrid. 😉 Either way, unique for sure. 😉
Good Morning Jill…
Well, I don’t have a cow/goat or make my own butter…BUT… I do have my Italian Gransmother’s long handled wooden spoon.
She made tomato paste for the Italian restaurants in Cleveland Ohio. All the tomatoes were grown in our backyard (500 Roma Plants) and the sauce and paste was made in our basement…
I have my own wooden spoons that I use for canning but when I do tomatoes, I pull out grandma’s spoon and use it.
I wish I knew how old it was. She was born in 1885 and died in 1974. I dated mine. !!! (just incase anyone in the future want’s to know it’s age)
Thank You for bringing back all the good ole memories.
What a treasure Patti! I love it! 😉
I enjoy your post. I did not realize that you were so young. Your wisdom is just unbelievable. It is so hard to believe that someone your age would live like this. I am 72, and have just started doing these things. We have bees, rabbits, chickens, guineas, goats, fruit trees and a garden. Moved to our 13 acres and our mobie a year and a half. Having the time of our lives. I get cream off of my goat milk, just a little at a time, then I freeze it until I have enough. I have made butter and ice cream. I grew up on a dairy farm. My siblings can not believe that I am doing this. Thanks for all the posts about free books. And thanks for great ideas.
Thanks for your kind words Norma. 🙂 I love that you are pursuing your dreams at 72 years young– you are an inspiration! (My grandma’s name was Norma) <3 Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Here is a site for handmade butter molds in cherry, maple, walnut, etc. They arw beautiful.
http://www.amazinggrazefarm.com/store/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&zenid=52347803881c8313b24b78be87caef59&keyword=butter+mold
Did you do anything special to clean it? I have my husband’s grandmother’s buttermold, and would love to use it!
Hi, I am so glad I found you. If I told you our story you would think we flipped our lid. The short story is we have always been non resistance. We became Mennonite when we married 37 years ago. BUT, 6 years ago we became Plain…yes think horse and buggy, black bumper cars, head coverings, make your own clothing, the simple life etc. we are 58 and 65 this year! Last Oct we me moved to a double house with buggy friends on a dairy farm. We love every moment of it. But, we have a big learning curve as to what is happening around us. All the neighbors are farmers as well. I’d love to make butter as I can get as much fresh milk as I want, but how do you do it? Just blend it? Until forms butter and add salt? I know that sounds stupid, but… thanks again and I can’t wait to play catch up with your blog and you tube.