Cream skimmer
After the milk had been left in the setting pan and the cream had risen to the surface the cream was removed from the milk with a skimmer. The skimmer held the more solid cream while the skimmed milk drained through the holes. This circular skimmer is made of brass; a very useful metal for kitchen implements as it does not rust and therefore cannot contaminate the food in any way. The need for setting pans and skimmers was removed with the invention of a machine called a separator, which used centrifugal force to remove the cream from the milk. The breed of cow we most identify today as producing our milk is the black and white Friesian cow. We are familiar with a choice of three different cream contents in our milk: full fat (or cream) milk, semi-skimmed (where half the fat is removed) and skimmed milk (where nearly all the fat is removed).