Butter Cooler [Brick and Tile]
Maker and role
Taranaki Brick and Tile Company, Manufacturer
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Object detail
Accession number
1982.1510.1
Description
Butter cooler / cool refrigerator cupboard. Terracotta pot, cylindrical in shape with two small side handles. The pot is sealed at both ends and hollow inside. There is an opening in the front where a metal door used to be. Inside are two circular metal shelves. The top of the pot also has a large indentation for water which would soak into the terracotta and keep the interior cool.
Brief History
This butter cooler was made at the Taranaki Brick & Tile company in Waitara during the 1930s and 1940s. Coolers such as this were used as an alternative to electric refrigerators.
Water was poured into the top dish of the butter cooler and would soak through the terracotta body of the cooler. The water held in the terracotta walls would absorb any heat and release evaporated water, keeping the interior cool. This cooler provided a low temperature which could be maintained, which in turn reduced spoilage.
Water was poured into the top dish of the butter cooler and would soak through the terracotta body of the cooler. The water held in the terracotta walls would absorb any heat and release evaporated water, keeping the interior cool. This cooler provided a low temperature which could be maintained, which in turn reduced spoilage.
Marks
TARANAKI / BRICK & TILE / WAITARA Impressed
Credit Line
Taranaki Brick and Tile Company. Butter Cooler [Brick and Tile], 1982.1510.1. The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT).
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