As a verb, churning means to move vigorously. This meaning is specifically applied to the making of butter, the process of transforming a fat-in-water emulsion (milk) into a water-in-fat emulsion (butter). In most world cultures, butter making was done in butter churns, devices designed to agitate cream milk until it became butter. Some butter churns were static, and the stirring of the milk was done by movable blades turned on axle by a crank. In Continental Europe and subsequently in the United States, butter churns were large objects usually made out of wood, following the techniques of barrel making. In many parts of Africa and the Middle East, butter churns were ceramic objects of extraordinarily advanced forms, and the process of shaking the milk was done by swinging the object. In Kurdistan, know as the Fertile Crescent due to its agricultural importance for the surrounding region, butter is still today produced in burnished earthenware butter churns similar to the one in the picture. It dates back from 1920s. Its streamlined distinctive biconical form, swollen in the middle and narrow at the ends, is specifically designed for motion: it hangs lengthwise so that it can swing from ropes attached to its body. Protruding discs on each end of its body avoid the slippage of the ropes and thus allow for agitation as firm as needed. The object is about 50 cm. (19.5 in.) high and 50 cm. wide and yields enough butter for a family's weekly consumption.
