A milk churn is a tall, conical or cylindrical container for the transportation of milk.[1] In North America, it is often referred to as a milk can.
History
Original type of churn for making butter
The usage of the word 'churn' was retained for describing these containers, although they were not themselves used for 'churning' butter. The milk churn was also known as the milk kit in the Yorkshire Dales or a tankard in the Welsh Marches. The 12-gallon steel churns were later replaced with 10-gallon aluminium alloy churns. Their lids had a small hole in its outer rim for tying the producers label on.[2][3]
In Britain, Ireland and other European countries, milk churns would be left by dairy farmers by the roadside on purpose-built platforms, or stands, at the right height to be loaded on to the dairy's cart or lorry. They fell out of use when milk began to be collected by tanker from the farm and ceased entirely by 1979. Some stands remain in the countryside as historical features, but most have been dismantled or left to decay.[4][5][6]
Gallery
Milk churns being carried on bicycles, Kolkata, India, 2007
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