A LOOK AT BUTTER CHURN TECHNOLOGY. “I mean, the difference between how people made butter in the 1700s and how they made butter in the 1940s—seems hopelessly small. Butter is formed when the membranes surrounding fat globules in cream are stripped through the process of physical agitation; this allows the fat to clump together into a single mass, i.e., butter. Thus all churns work the same way—they transfer human power into physical agitation within a vessel holding cream—and that’s why they never really advanced until humans found a feasible alternative to human power. Until industrialization came along, all churning was the same: You spent minutes or hours plunging or cranking a shaft until, at some point you couldn’t quite predict, long after you felt your arms were about to fall off, butter began to form.”

I was looking at Consumer Reports’ mixer recommendations yesterday, and they liked this KitchenAid. Now I’m thinking I should buy it and make some homemade butter.

UPDATE: At the Insta-Daughter’s request, just ordered the mixer!