This, from an earlier QBO Estate Sale, is the famous Dazey butter churn, premier brand of vintage home butter churns. Or, it’s a close imitation. Either way, these glass, metal and wood tabletop churns still work just fine for making delectable fresh butter and are still in high demand. In fact there’s so much demand that expensive new knock-offs are made.
The original lucky owner of this churn probably DID make her own butter as she also had all the accessories. The two wooden paddles are for ‘working’ the butter, as using your warm fingers is contra-indicated. Packed full, the rectangular wooden mold neatly produces a standard 1 lb. block of butter, with a hinge allowing easy release once the butter is chilled. Cut into 4 equal ‘sticks’, the homemade butter will now work in any cookie recipe calling for “1 stick of butter”.
Delicious, decadent butter is actually one of the simplest foods, with only one ingredient (salt optional). Agitate heavy cream until the milk-fat globules in it clump together and separate from the thinner buttermilk. The globs of butter are then strained, worked together, rinsed free of any residual buttermilk, and salted if desired. Butter has been a favorite treat for a looooong time and was probably an accidental discovery. It was first made around 8,000 BCE in Neolithic Africa when leather sacks used for holding milk were shaken, separating out the desirable fatty solids. A similar style of sack or simple “rocker” churn agitated without the use of mixing paddles was used in the Middle East all the way up into the early 20th century.
The Dazey glass churn is an American product, invented in the early 20th century by E.B. Jones, who then sold his business to Mr. Nathan Dazey. Located in St. Louis, Missouri, the Dazey Churn & Manufacturing Co. produced an array of tabletop churns, can openers, and the like for the home market up until 1945. Some Dazey churn paddles have 4 vanes, some just two. Some of their later paddles are metal. The jars can be cylindrical or squared, smaller or larger and there are different graphic renditions of the name Dazey embossed in the glass. Or, the jar can be authentic but not carry the Dazey name at all. And, there are modern branded Dazey ‘re-issues’ on Amazon, and competing tabletop churns made by Gekufa, Teemars or Kilner.
Sadly, one of the reasons for homemade butter’s decline came during WWII (1942-1945), when dairy was rationed and people got used to eating dyed, hydrogenated vegetable oil margarine or Oleo instead. And then after the war when prosperity boomed, “factory’ food production greatly increased, making ‘bought butter’ cheaper, and the time and labor necessary for making your own less appealing. However, if you are a parent, grandparent, teacher or Scout Leader, churning butter is a great activity to do with kids because everyone takes a turn at cranking and most kids enjoy tasting the final result. All you need is heavy cream, salt and some bread. To make 1 lb. of butter in this Dazey churn, fill with 1 quart (32 oz.) of room-temperature heavy whipping cream, hold the upright handle in one hand and work the crank with your other. Magic! So what should you look for in an Estate Sale churn? If it’s antique authenticity you care about, the new Dazeys are made with aluminum rivets while the old rivets were steel (check with a magnet). But if it’s just fresh homemade butter you want, checking the mechanism for condition and not paying more than you would for a new modern version is the way to go. There should be no major rust, a smooth cranking action, and no cracks in the wooden paddles or glass jar. Yum, yum, yum! Let’s get churning!
Tuesday Treasures was started by our staff member, Jeanne Lusignan. Each week she will be featuring items that have been found at our estate sales. If you would like to submit a treasure for Jeanne to feature in a future installment of “Tuesday’s Treasures”, please follow the button below and send us an email! Please attach a few photos of your treasure in a beautiful setting as well as any details you have about your item such as manufacturer, use, age, region of origin. If you don’t know about the piece, that’s okay! We still might be able to research it for you! Don’t forget to tell us what makes this item such a treasure to you!