butter sculpture has its origins as centerpiece displays for Renaissance banquets. Eventually, in the 19th century, it moved from the table to the display case when it became a chief advertising tool of the newly-industrialized dairy industry. It was exhibited at state fairs, international expositions and at numerous national and international dairy congresses and meetings.
The method for sculpting in butter is similar to that for clay modeling, a metal or wooden frame provides a structural base and the butter is wrapped around it. Sculptors usually work within a refrigerated case or in a cold room. People always want to know what happens to the sculpture afterwards, some sculptor stores the butter and re-uses it for four or five years. Sometimes it is recycled for animal feed or other manufacturing processes.
Another common question is how long the butter sculptures last. Some of the big international show can last as long as eight months, but most butter sculptures at state fairs have to be on display for only two weeks. The sculptors use regular butter and it’s the fat and the cold that makes it possible to sculpt. Margarine is too sticky.
History
The Iowa State Fair has boasted a “Butter Cow” since the early 1900s. The origins of butter sculpting, however, are far older than that. Nearly 20 years before Columbus discovered America, Tibetan monks used yak butter to create figurines of animals and deities for worship. Since then, this humble craft has evolved into high art.
In 1911 J.E. Wallace of Florida sculpted the Fair’s first butter cow and was succeeded by Earl Frank Dutt of Illinois. Norma “Duffy” Lyon of Toledo, Iowa, continued the legacy, becoming the third person and first woman to sculpt the Fair’s butter beauties.
In 2006, after 15 years of apprenticing with Duffy, Sarah Pratt of West Des Moines became the Fair’s fourth butter sculptor. In addition to her first Butter Cow, Pratt also crafted Superman of “Superman Returns” (Norwalk, Iowa, native Brandon Routh, who starred as the man of steel) and “Mr. State Fair” Bill Riley (in honor of his 60th Fair).
The Butter Cow starts with a wood, metal, wire and steel mesh frame and about 600 lbs. of low moisture, pure cream Iowa butter. Once inside the 40-degree cooler, layers of butter are applied until a life-size butter cow emerges – measuring about 5-1/2-ft high and 8-ft long. Each year features one of the six major dairy breeds – Jersey, Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Holstein, Guernsey and Milking Shorthorn.
While a real dairy cow weighs more than 1,000 pounds, a 600-lb. butter cow would butter 19,200 slices of toast and take an average person two lifetimes to consume, according to sponsor Midwest Dairy Association. Much of the butter is recycled and reused for up to 10 years.
According to Wikipedia:
“Butter sculpture is an ancient Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Yak butter and dye are used to create temporary symbols for the Tibetan New Year and other religious celebrations. In North America, the tradition of butter sculptures dates back to the 19th century at agricultural and state fairs in the United States. Shortly after the end of World War II, the Ontario Cream Producers Marketing Board and the Dairy Producers of Canada began a campaign to promote their products. Butter sculpting was initiated as part of this campaign along with the slogan “It’s better with butter”. This was intended to increase butter’s market share in competition to the high-powered advertising for margarine in the late 1940s.”
