A milkmaid, milk maid, dairymaid, or dairywoman was a girl or woman who milked cows. She also used the

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

to prepare dairy products such as

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

, and

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

. Many large houses employed milkmaids instead of having other staff do the work. The term ''milkmaid'' is not the female equivalent of '' milkman'' in the sense of one who delivers milk to the consumer; it is the female equivalent of ''milkman'' in the sense of '' cowman'' or ''dairyman''.

Cultural references

Maelkejunger aag fjelstrup haderslev 193x danske kvinders fotoarkiv

As a result of exposure to cowpox, which conveys a partial

immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity desc ...

to the disfiguring (and often fatal) disease

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

, it was noticed that milkmaids lacked the scarred, pockmarked complexion common to smallpox survivors. This observation led to the development of the first

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...

Other

* The legend of the Dun Cow and the milkmaid who guided the monks of

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...

carrying the body of

Saint Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne ( – 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Nor ...

to the site of the present city of Durham in 995 AD. * There is a famous painting by Johannes Vermeer entitled '' The Milkmaid'' ( 1658). * Aelbert Cuyp, another Dutch artist, created the drawing known as ''A Milkmaid'' (c. 1640–1650). * The eponymous heroine of

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

's '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' (1892) works as a milkmaid. * The folktale

The milkmaid and her pail The Milkmaid and Her Pail is a folktale of Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 1430 about interrupted daydreams of wealth and fame. Ancient tales of this type exist in the East but Western variants are not found before the Middle Ages. It was only in the ...

is a cautionary tale about a milkmaid who spends her time daydreaming. * The California native flower commonly called

milkmaids A milkmaid, milk maid, dairymaid, or dairywoman was a girl or woman who milked cows. She also used the milk to prepare dairy products such as cream, butter, and cheese. Many large houses employed milkmaids instead of having other staff do the wor ...

is named for its resemblance to the hat often worn by milkmaids. * Kid Harpoon has a song called "Milkmaid"; the music video features actress

Juno Temple Juno Temple (born 21 July 1989) is a British actress. She has appeared in the films ''Notes on a Scandal'' (2006), ''Atonement'' (2007), ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008), ''The Three Musketeers'' (2011), ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012), '' Mag ...

. * The "8th day" verse of the song "

The Twelve Days of Christmas The Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as Twelvetide, is a festive Christian season celebrating the Nativity of Jesus. In some Western ecclesiastical traditions, "Christmas Day" is considered the "First Day of Christmas" and the Twelve Days a ...

" mentions "eight maids a-milking". * The Philippines has a

condensed milk Condensed milk is cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of ''sweetened condensed milk'' (SCM), to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condens ...

brand called Milkmaid, a product of Alaska Milk Corporation. * The San Francisco Milk Maid is cookbook author Louella Hill, author of ''Kitchen Creamery'' (Chronicle, 2014). * The character Milkmaid in August Strindberg's ''

The Ghost Sonata ''The Ghost Sonata'' ( sv, Spöksonaten, links=no) is a play in three acts by the Swedish playwright August Strindberg. Written in 1907, it was first produced at Strindberg's Intimate Theatre in Stockholm on 21 January 1908. Since then, it has be ...

''.

References

{{Milk navbox Animal husbandry occupations Dairy industry Gendered occupations

Cultural references

Other

See also

References