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Breast Milk ice cream or other sweets


RichardJones

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I was surprised to run a quick search on 'breast milk' and find that no one brought up the London ice-cream shop that started selling breast milk ice-cream last year. Perhaps it was mentioned under a different name.

Anyway, since a close member of my family is currently breast-feeding I thought this would be too good an opportunity to miss for a little experimentation (on family only, I ought to add). Has anyone out there tried using breast milk in anything? Ice-cream does seem the obvious thing to me.

I haven't had a chance to try it yet - I'm abroad and planning ahead - but I understand breast milk is watery, low in fat content and sweet. Can anyone add anything to that? What about flavour? Does it really pick up on what the mother's eaten? And if so what kinds of flavours are likely to come through strongest? Can anyone who has tried breast milk (since developing a palate...) suggest flavours which might work well?

I have thought about trying a custard based ice-cream (possibly adding cream) but am worried this would wipe out all characteristics of the milk. I've never worked with other thickening agents for ice-cream. Are there are any recommendations, please?

Thanks a lot,

Richard

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I kept a blog during my pâtisserie training in France: Candid Cake

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I tried it in coffee once when my oldest child was a baby.

Honestly, I didn't care for it. Ruined my coffee.

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Is it just me or do others find this a little, oh, I don't know, weird?

Weirder than keeping a cow or goat in an artificial state of lactation and drinking that?

Edited by RichardJones (log)

===================================================

I kept a blog during my pâtisserie training in France: Candid Cake

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yes.

:blink:

I respect the posters query. It's a valid question, but I also second the thought that it is, indeed, a strange one. To me at least.

RichardJones, I know of an article in the newspaper here (Toronto, Canada) written not loo long ago about a restaurant serving breast milk cheese. Perhaps search for that in google?

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My first thought is "good bloody luck getting mom to let go of that much", which renders the rest of the conversation moot. However, jic:

As with other species' milk, fat content varies as expression proceeds, and across the day.

Yes sweet. Often noted is a bitter edge.

"You dont know everything in the world! You just know how to read!" -an ah-hah! moment for 6-yr old Miss O.

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Isn't this a health hazard? Not your family member, per se. Breast milk is a conduit for HIV and some other nasties.

*edit*

When my youngest child was in the NICU, I offered to donate pumped breast milk to the nursery and was told that they could not accept it.

Edited by annabelle (log)
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Yes, it is weird. That's the whole point, isn't it?

Weird for weird's sake alone?

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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I thought I'd read the proteins in breastmilk are different and so it doesn't work the same as, say, cow's or sheep's milk for making cheese. A testament to the random things one reads on the interwebs...

Fat content of the milk varies based on the mother, time of day the milk is expressed, and diet. It would be extremely difficult to make a consistent product based on breastmilk for that reason. And at least in the case of my kids, what the mother eats does in fact affect the taste of the milk, mine definitely showed aversions when I ate too much spicy food, usually for the whole day after.

If you have that much breastmilk available to experiment with, I'd recommend getting the mother in touch with one of the milk banks in the country who will screen the mother, pasteurize the milk, and get it to medically fragile babies who certainly need it more then we do for experimental desserts. Okay, off my soapbox now...

edited for spelling

Edited by Genkinaonna (log)

If you ate pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry? ~Author Unknown

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There's a reason its called liquid gold.

Are you sure they aren't just selling something they think might taste like breastmilk? I can't imagine any lactating woman parting with something so hard won on something as trivial as dessert. But maybe I'm just naive.

And the health questions... :wacko:

Seems like something to look up in Snopes.

Edited by Paula E (log)
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We have discussed this before. Health and ethical issues aside, the sheer volume issue makes it a no starter. You do not take milk away from a baby to play around in the kitchen. Rarely is there a surplus of significant quantity. We have discussed this before in 2008 when the issue came up as to ice cream. Here is the topic.

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I am surprised some of the women here think it is weird... don't you ever.. uh put some Barry White on the stereo in that period before the kid is weaned? Guess what your significant other is drinking (inaverdently although maybe some purposely) during the.. ummm Barry White jam session?

It is definitely sweet... I hope I don't ruin it for everybody but melted, room temp, "American" style Vanilla Ice Cream (the stuff without bits & pieces of Vanilla or a strong, large quantity of extract in it)... is what comes to mind for me at least.... well maybe not that sweet but getting there.

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There's a reason its called liquid gold.

Are you sure they aren't just selling something they think might taste like breastmilk? I can't imagine any lactating woman parting with something so hard won on something as trivial as dessert. But maybe I'm just naive.

And the health questions... :wacko:

Seems like something to look up in Snopes.

I don't know why you doubt the health concerns. It has been common knowledge that HIV is transmitted in bodily fluids since the early 90's. Breast milk is a bodily fluid, after all.

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Besides according to "On Food and Cooking," from a milk fat angle, the best female for the job is a minke whale. How does one milk a whale, anyway? (I'm lookin' at YOU, Harold McGee.)

Who cares how time advances? I am drinking ale today. -- Edgar Allan Poe

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Yep, to me, sorry, weird.

Also, I can't work it if it's more or less ooky that it's from a 'close family member'. What, your sister?? Don't answer that.

Anyyyyhow..I would still be scientifically and eGulletly curious/horrified were you to report back with results of the ice cream if you DO end up taking milk from the mouths of babes, so yeah..

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Is it just me or do others find this a little, oh, I don't know, weird?

Weirder than keeping a cow or goat in an artificial state of lactation and drinking that?

Since I've given the whole dairy industry/human consumption of dairy considerable thought, I find those things pretty weird too, at least in Western societies.

So, I'd have to say I find both the use of human milk and the dairy industry equally weird, at a strictly rational level. At a gut level, I admit I find the use of human milk in products for adult human consumption more off-putting.

Also, at a practical/ethical level, does the nursing mother mentioned in the OP really have a recipes'-worth surplus of milk? I've known a lot of nursing mothers, and their babies generally had a good, solid use for all the milk available.

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Part of the reason that breast feeding and breast milk related topics cause a lot of squirming is the fact that breasts are associated with something sexual in many peoples' minds.

However, beyond that, the taboo surrounding a non-baby drinking breast milk serves a useful purpose - making sure that all the milk is saved for babies themselves.

So although I'm not sure that drinking breast milk is really any more "disgusting" or "weird" than drinking the milk of other animals, I do think that breast milk should be saved for the infant or infants it is produced for. Remember that breast feeding a child is highly recommended by medical experts and all sorts of benefits come from doing so. It's a very precious fluid and should not be used frivolously.

I suppose if for some reason there is a large surplus of milk you could experiment...if you really wanted to and had full permission of the mother involved.

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Richard,

I say have at it. Find a recipe for ice-cream (or maybe ice-milk might be more appropriate in this situation) that you like. Don't change anything - after all you're looking to make something that expresses (no pun intended) the characteristics of the breast milk.

If the results aren't very good, you have your answer about whether or not it's a good ingredient. If the results are good, then I hope you enjoy it.

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There's a reason its called liquid gold.

Are you sure they aren't just selling something they think might taste like breastmilk? I can't imagine any lactating woman parting with something so hard won on something as trivial as dessert. But maybe I'm just naive.

And the health questions... :wacko:

Seems like something to look up in Snopes.

I don't know why you doubt the health concerns. It has been common knowledge that HIV is transmitted in bodily fluids since the early 90's. Breast milk is a bodily fluid, after all.

Sorry I wasn't clear. Wasn't talking so much about diseases being transmitted, but the medications used to treat diseases, which can be transmitted through breast milk. Or, for that matter, drugs used NOT to treat diseases. And this was me going off on a tangent imagining the use of breast milk outside the family scene.

No insult in any way intended! :smile:

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