TDG: Into the Mouths of Babes

[Fat Guy]

Our occasional series on food and the body continues . . .

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[Katherine]

I nursed my daughter until she was ready to eat people food, I pumped, and so I had plenty of opportunity to taste the milk.

It is maybe a little bit sweeter than cow's milk, but not noticeably so. In no way does it resemble condensed milk/corn syrup/water.

Back then they used to think that children need lots of sugar to give them the calories they need to grow. You're lucky you're not diabetic.

[Lady T]

"Geriatric filberts." IRKKK. SSPFFF. GACK. Superior stuff as always, ma'am...but I'm not gonna be able to look at a kid with a bottle for a week without feeling sorry for him/her.

[guajolote]

I checked in the freezer Maggie but no breast milk was left:sad: . I'd doubt that Elizabeth would pump just to give you a taste.

I've tasted breast milk (from a bottle), it is very sweet and it's not as fatty as raw cows milk.

[maggiethecat]

it is very sweet and it's not as fatty as raw cows milk.

Thanks, Dean. Maybe like skim with some corn syrup? Or 2%?

[guajolote]

Fat content was like 2% - but it was different kind of sweetness - kind of honey like? Also, breast milk has much less protein than cows milk

[alacarte]

What do you think would happen if you tried to make cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc., out of human breast milk?

P.S. I'm NOT suggesting that anyone try this!!!

[maggiethecat]

Breast milk yoghurt

A little trolling found me this. I might add that it was meant to be a letter to Dan Savage, so not for the more sqeamish reader. If eGullet has any squeamish readers!

edited in an effort to hide sloppy writing

Edited May 17, 2003 by maggiethecat (log)

[Pan]

Maggie:

I found that the weirdest food article I've ever read.

But seriously, babies have more taste buds than adults and I think it may be uncontroversial to state that they would taste almost anything differently. I'm sure most of you remember that your taste was different when you were small children, and that has a lot to do with the presence of more taste buds that die as we grow older. So I'm not sure what it proves for an adult to taste milk formula and other things specifically intended for infants only.

[claire797]

What do you think would happen if you tried to make cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc., out of human breast milk?

P.S. I'm NOT suggesting that anyone try this!!!

It's been done.

Anyone who is particularly interested in this subject should check out this book:

Fresh Milk -- The Secret Life of Breasts

Now here's a book that is NOT for the squeamish.

As for what breastmilk tastes like, I'd describe it as skim milk that has been sitting in a bowl of Alphabits for a bit -- but fresher. It's sweet and vanilla-ey.

[sladeums]

Yes.

Vanilla-ey is an appropriate adjective, and the sweetness is very natural (duh) - honey, yes - but an extremely mild non-floral one...no hints of it's terroir, if you will.

Also I think a hint of mild nuttiness as well...

Maybe a slight bit of milk watered down, steeped with almonds and vanilla?

I wonder if anyone has ever consciously tried to re-create the taste in a dish, and if so, diner's reactions.

[maggiethecat]

I found that the weirdest food article I've ever read.     

Gee, thanks Pan, she said with a girlish giggle.

I did not know that we actually shed taste buds with age...I thought we dulled them. Thanks for the clarification.

Good grief, with extra virgin taste buds, breast milk must taste very sweet!

Edited May 17, 2003 by maggiethecat (log)

[Fat Guy]

Good grief, with extra virgin taste buds, breast milk must taste very sweet!

Imagine what extra virgin olive oil must taste like.

[Kim WB]

maggie, I enjoy your posts regularly...but that was REALLY a wierd article. Can't you do ..oranges..or something? At no time in the article, that I remember, did you acknowledge that you were evaluating on TASTE, not nutritional content...there are endlsess studies that show breast milk is superior..ah, I don't know, lately I've felt liket he old mother hen around here..but that article was weird, to me!

[guajolote]

I just have to say I did ask my wife (do I get Egullet extra credit points?) and she said "There's no way I'm pumping for Maggie"

[Fat Guy]

Maggie, I just don't think this case can truly be closed until such time as you taste real breast milk and post a follow-up report.

[jackal10]

I understand that breast milk curdles in coffee, because of the high fat content.

I believe the following press release is fake. However among the adult breast-feeding community (go to Yahoo groups and search for SNC or Lactation, ) there are many recipes, including smoothies, yogurt, ice cream, butter, cheese, chowders, deserts etc.

La Leche League Releases Breast Milk Cookbook

LOS ANGELES (DPI) - The La Leche League has released a new cookbook for nursing mothers who want to introduce their babies to new foods while maintaining the benefits of breast milk. Recipes for breast milk ice cream, breast milk cheese, and breast milk onion dip will be featured, along with other specialty dairy products. "People today want to give their children natural foods," said Mary Underhill, League president. "What's more natural than festive desserts and cheeses produced from your own body?"

Edited May 17, 2003 by jackal10 (log)

[Fat Guy]

Isn't unpasteurized milk illegal in the US?

[maggiethecat]

g: Thank Heavens Elizabeth is displaying her usual good sense! And sure, you get extra points from me!

FG: Yes, I agree, and will continue trying to find a sample. It may be harder to score than a dime bag at my Grandmother's church sewing circle.

Kim: Yeah, I know the mother hen feeling, and indeed, my husband, among others, has gone on record saying he found the piece weird and unnecessary. Can't please all of the...etc. But, actually "taste" is the fifth word in the first sentence and the nutritional superiority of breast milk does not need to be proven any more, thank God! I did give it those two months, after all, for that very reason.

Oranges...hmmm Will think....

[sparrowgrass]

Maggie, you're weird.

I like that in a person.

[snowangel]

Yeah, I know the mother hen feeling, and indeed, my husband, among others, has gone on record saying he found the piece weird and unnecessary.  Can't please all of the...etc.

As a former "Bessie the Cow" (yes, I nursed all three, far longer than is fashionable in the U. S., and could pump 8 oz in under 5 minutes). None of my kids, having had the "real" stuff would have anything to do with formula. The former is quite "vanilley" as some have said, and I'm not sure if it tasted like vanilla or tasted like what vanilla smells like; maybe rice puddingy? When they were babies, I made a point of tasting every thing that went into their mouths (even the worms ). My proudest "introducing to a new taste" moments where when they first had bacon. I knew then that they were my kids.

As to the milk/corn syrup thing. Remember, this was back in the days when women were not admonished to quit drinking or smoking, and we encouraged to gain as little weight as possible.

And, weird is just fine, in fact appealing.

[sparrowgrass]

And, mags, for me it was Peeps, not Orange Crush. I distinctly remember some great aunt giving me a little yellow Peep. I remember the sugar crunch and the soft sweetness, and thought that I had never tasted anything so wonderful. I was probably all of 2 years old.

[maggiethecat]

As to the milk/corn syrup thing.  Remember, this was back in the days when women were not admonished to quit drinking or smoking, and we encouraged to gain as little weight as possible.

Oh, God, the diet my mother kept herself on when she was pregnant with twins! She weighed ten pounds less than her supermodel weight after delivery.

Marlboros and martinis. Many of us were carried to term on these.

(Yes, I smoke. And I like martinis!)

Edited May 18, 2003 by maggiethecat (log)

[corvus]

Isn't unpasteurized milk illegal in the US?

Not everywhere. Raw milk is available for sale in some states. You can find out more from A Campaign for Real Milk, which includes a list of where to find raw milk and raw milk products.

[hjshorter]

Oh, God, the diet my mother kept herself on when she was pregnant with twins!  She weighed ten pounds less than her supermodel weight after  delivery.

Marlboros and martinis.  Many of us were carried to term on these.

My mother was 5'8" and 120 pounds when she got pregnant with me - underweight. Her doctor actually put her on a diet because he didn't want her to gain more than 15 pounds. She did quit smoking and drinking coffee, not because she wanted to but because it made her sick in the beginning.

She was actively discouraged from breastfeeding any of us, so we were formula babies. By that time (mid 1960's) Similac was on the market so she didn't have to make her own.