88/11

This is a round, brass bowl used in the West Country for clotting and setting cream. Bowls like this one could also be used over a cream scalder. Brass pans had the disadvantage of easily being dented and were not as good as copper pans for the slow, even heating required to make clotted cream. This pan belonged to the donor's father, who probably acquired it in the late 19th century.

1 clotted cream bowl: brass; round

MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Institute of Agricultural History) – 'Standard museum name: CLOTTED CREAM BOWL // Accession number: 88/11 // Classification: PROCESSING Milk // Negative number: 60/15455 // Acquisition method: GIFT // Acquired from, date: Miss V. E. CHEKE, [...], May 1988 // Store: // Condition: // Recorder, date: // Description: Round brass bowl with rim at top. // It has been repaired. // Dimensions: Diameter: 45.0cm Height: 15.0cm // Associated information: Came from the west country and was used for clotting cream and setting cream. // [See 66/211 Cream scalder] Bowls like this one could have been used over a cream scalder. // References: see attached information from Miss Cheke.', Miscellaneous note, Miss Val Cheke, 1988 - 'Gifts to Museum of Rural Science // 1 - "Creamer" for making "Clotted", "Scalded", "Devon" Cream. This one came from a Devon farm (via my father who probably obtained it between 1880-1890 - or maybe [?] from a relative living in W. Country. It must have been antique when my father got it! Presumably Devon. // This type of creamer, long-shaped, was used over a double stove, usually wood-fuelled - the stove having two openings to give even heating. [ink sketch] - top of stove could be wood or metal. Milk was allowed to "set" in the pan for approx. 12 hours - sometimes longer depending on weather. When the maximum cream had risen, the creamer was placed over the stove-holes - lengthways. The heating had to be very gradual to give the characteristic "scalded" flavour and granular texture (heated albumen). When "wrinkled" on surface after slow heating, the cream was skimmed oft with hand skimmer, brass or copper. Then packed, often in pottery jars. // 2 - Brass milk pan - also from W. Country, but place unknown. Collected by my father presumably same period as creamer, but could be later. - The Brass Pans had disadvantage of easily being dented, & were not so good for the slow even heating. - The milk was set in usual way, when risen was "scalded" as in 1. The setting period depended on To[?] - even in a cool old-type farm dairy, souring could occur & once clotted by acidity, could not be heated.'