Dairy Day at the fort dawned particularly hot and muggy, and it never improved. Notwithstanding the heat, however, the proceedings were well-attended, with about a hundred visitors passing through during the day to observe the milking of the goat by its owner, Judy Wilson, and the making of cottage cheese and butter.
Once the milk had been obtained, Judy demonstrated the making of cottage cheese, first heating the milk over the heart to just shy of a boil, then tossing in a measure of apple cider vinegar which instantly caused the hot milk to separate into curds & whey. After these had cooled, the curds were scooped out and hung in a loose-weave muslin bag to drain, after which they were placed in bowl, flavored with chives, and were ready for serving.
Finally, Judy explained the process of making butter from cream by the process of vigorous agitation. She displayed two butter churns, one ceramic and one wooden, and described how they worked, and then had several children make a small amount of butter by shaking cream in glass jars.
