60/25

A scoop used for skimming off butter as it formed in the churn. Used at the UoR’s Department of Dairying, when at Aylesbury, 1888–1908.
This type of scoop was used for skimming off butter as it formed in the churn. It is carved from a single piece of beech, and has 10 rows of small holes to enable the buttermilk to drain away. The scoop was used at the University of Reading’s Department of Dairying, when it was the Dairy Department at Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, 1888–1908.

1 butter skimmer: wood (beech); fair condition- chipped

MERL miscellaneous note, Greta Bertram, 25 January 2013 – Objects 60/22–60/31 were all used by the ‘Department of Dairying’ at the University of Reading. The name of the department has changed several times over the years, as has its location. It began as the British Dairy Institute in 1888, and was based in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, until 1908. It later became the Department of Dairying and was based at the Shinfield Estate in Reading, which was purchased by the University in 1921. In 1982 it became the Dairy Unit of the Department of Food Sciences on the Whiteknights Campus in Reading. See ’The University of Reading, Department of Dairying, the history of an unusual university department over its first hundred years’ by James Rothwell for full details. A memo from Margaret Fuller at MERL to Miss A. Sheppard at the Department of Dairying in 1960 asks whether the three curd breakers (60/24/1–3), a wooden skimmer (annotated by Miss Sheppard as being a ‘butter scoop’) (60/25) and a large coopered item (annotated by Miss Sheppard as being a ‘Cheshire cheese mould’) (60/23) were used in the Department. Miss Sheppard has annotated that ‘all were used in the department when at Aylesbury between 1888–1908’., MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Museum of English Rural Life) – 'Standard museum name: … // Accession number: … // Classification: … // Negative number: … // Acquisition method: … // Acquired from: … // Date: … // Store: … // Condition: … // Recorder: KCS // Date: 22/3/94 // Description: Made from one piece of beech. Like a trowel but with a flatter face perforated with many small holes. // Dimensions: Max length 24cm. Length of face 13cm. Width 12.9cm. // Associated information: Cream was skimmed off using a ‘skimmer’ or ‘fleeter’… which resembled a shallow perforated saucer with a handle. // References: Dairying Bygones: Arthur Ingram. Shire Album 29.', MERL ‘History Artefacts’ card – 'Origin: Reading University Dairy Dept.', MERL ‘History Artefacts’ card – ‘Description: A skimmer made from one piece of wood with a knob at the end of the handle to facilitate a good grip when in use. The face of the skimmer is perforated with 10 rows of small holes to enable the butter milk to drain away. // Use: For skimming off the butter as it formed in the churn.’

1900-01-01