Dairying probably originated in neolithic times, when man first began to keep
livestock. At first sheep and goats were the chief source of milk, but by the
sixteenth century the cow had become the principal dairy animal.
At this period most cottagers had their own cow and processed its products
for their own use. But by the mid eighteenth century many farmers were
specialising in the production of milk, butter and cheese for sale. Victorian
farmers who could afford to, equipped their farms with modern dairies and the
latest appliances; the less affluent made do with older and more homely
equipment.
Farm dairies were gradually superseded by large factory-based firms, but many
of the objects used by the old farmers and country folk, such as milking stools
and pails, churns for making butter, butter beaters, cheese vats, curd knives
and cheese presses, can be seen in museums, and are sought after by collectors.
Contents:
The dairy in the making
Milk
Buttermaking and clotted cream
Cheesemaking
Further reading
Places to visit
