Milk Separator
Before the advent of the milk separator, milk, smelt first to detect any taint, was poured into a setting dish (a large shallow pan made out of earthenware or tin). This was then left out overnight, and by morning the cream had separated from the milk. This operation was known as ‘setting the milk’. Next, the cream was skimmed off by using a skimmer or fleeter, normally made of tin, which resembled a shallow, perforated saucer with a handle. The cream was then covered with muslin and kept for forty-eight hours to ripen.
By the 1890’s, a machine called a “separator” had been devised to replace overnight setting. Milk, warmed to aid separation, was poured into a tank at the top. It passed into a chamber fitted with a float and then through a strainer into a chamber which revolved at great speed, subjecting the milk to a centrifugal force which caused the heavier skimmed milk to fly to the outside, while the lighter cream remained near the centre. The liquid was often channelled separately to emerge from two different pipes.
This milk separator was lovingly restored in 2000 prior to its donation to the museum, and was originally used in Ennis in the 1940’s.
Ref: 2000.316
