Here we see William Norman in his village dairy – probably in the 1930s. I am not certain, but I believe the equipment is for pasteurisation. Raw milk from the cow may contain nasty things like bacteria. It is necessary to heat it to around 70C, hold for a time and then quickly cool it down again. What seems to be happening here is that the fresh milk obtained by hand from the cows, is put into the tank on top and heated. After the required period it is let out through the thing that looks like a car radiator which is cooled by water from the tank on the right. The cooled milk is collected at the bottom and then off for sale. The churns were taken on the back of a horse drawn cart and stopped on street corners or were flagged down. People came out with jugs and purchased the milk straight from the churn. It had to be consumed on the same day as there were no fridges. Enjoy your breakfast!
January 2025
