Watch Ipswich children make butter at Christchurch Mansion

There truly is an art to everything, even though some crafts have stopped being commonplace in the hustle and bustle of modern life.

However, thanks to the team at Christchurch Mansion, dozens of children – and grown-ups – are now experts in how to make their own butter, after attending a masterclass at the  Tudor mansion house on Tuesday.

Would you know how to make butter? (Image: Lucy Taylor) Liz shows Aurelia Blackwell how to churn butter, starting with the double cream. (Image: Lucy Taylor) Robin and Rachael Turner had a fantastic time learning to churn their own butter. (Image: Lucy Taylor) The theory is simple, explained Liz Bowell, a member of duty staff at the mansion: double cream needs to be stirred vigorously, until solid curls of butter begin to form.

The leftover liquid buttermilk is then squeezed out, leaving freshly made butter ready to be rolled into pats.

“We include a STEM [science, technology, engineering, maths] element to our Victorian workshop – so today, they can see the change of a liquid to a solid and understand that the fat molecules are rising to the top,” she explained. 

Jesse and Franklin Crowe stir their butter. (Image: Lucy Taylor) Liz Bowell, Sarah Burrow and Yvonne Ellam spent the day teaching Ipswich youngsters how to church their own butter. (Image: Lucy Taylor) The children were also shown the equipment and “treasures” of a Victorian kitchen, learning interesting facts in the process. For example, copper was commonly used in the kitchen as it is a natural antiseptic. 

Aside from the learning, the children also had a lot of fun whisking their butter as fast as they could, squeezing out the liquid and rolling it out into pats.

The event was part of several activities the mansion is hosting for half term.

On Wednesday, the team will be hosting a ‘spooky bath bomb’ making session and a museum discovery day with a range of experts in natural history, geology, archaeology and astronomy on Thursday.