Milk!

March 1, 2018

Kurlansky (Salt: A World History), a James Beard Award-winning writer, continues his exploration of food with a thorough study of milk, "the most argued-over food in human history." Covering numerous civilizations and geographic locations over thousands of years, Kurlansky shows how various cultures produced, cooked, consumed, and thought about milk and the significant role it has played in history. Readers will uncover the reasons behind the constant rise and fall of the beverage's popularity (the Romans thought consumption was barbaric), the plethora of animals that humans have utilized to produce milk (from camels to cows), and the numerous foods made using milk. The author also ties in subjects such as religion, breastfeeding and wet nursing, and socioeconomics and gender roles. While this work's primary focus is history, Kurlansky does touch on current topics, including milk safety regulations, production, and even lactose intolerance. Also included is a mixture of 126 historical and contemporary recipes. VERDICT A fascinating and comprehensive book that will keep readers engaged and entertained. The recipes, especially those on the historical side, are a unique and complimentary addition. Will appeal to both foodies and readers of world history. Highly recommended.--David Miller, Farmville P.L., NC

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 22, 2018
Kurlansky’s entertaining, fast-paced history of milk exhibits his usual knack for plumbing the depths of a single subject (Cod, Salt). He shares a series of anecdotes on the evolution of milk’s production and consumption, as well as on its roles in various cultures, such as in ancient Greece—according to Greek mythology, the goddess Hera formed the Milky Way galaxy when she spilled milk while breastfeeding Heracles, and each drop became a star. Many Sumerian stories involve the search for a reliable milking animal, and Hindu creation myths tell of the god Vishnu creating the universe by churning a sea of milk. Kurlansky points out that every milk-drinking culture searched for the animals that provided the best source of milk—mares, pigs, reindeer, donkeys, camels—but that the most important issue for each culture was finding which milk-producing animals could be domesticated easiest. By the 16th century, the Netherlands had become the dairying center of Europe; the Dutch and others brought cows with them to America, and by 1629 cows outnumbered people in the Virginia colony. He ranges over the history of making milk safe, the ongoing debate between the benefits of raw milk versus pasteurized milk, and the growth of large, industrialized dairy farms. Kurlansky’s charming history of milk brims with excellent stories and great details.

March 1, 2018
A wide-ranging history of a surprisingly controversial form of nourishment.Milk, from humans and a variety of animals, is the subject of the latest enthusiastic investigation by the prolific Kurlansky (Paper: Paging Through History, 2016, etc.), winner of the James Beard Award and Bon Appetit's Food Writer of the Year Award, among other accolades. For 10,000 years, milk has been "the most argued-over food in human history," the author asserts, with experts opining about whether milk was fit for human consumption, whether babies should be breast-fed (and by whom--their own mothers or wet nurses), which mammal produced the best milk, whether milk should be pasteurized and homogenized, how cows should be raised and milked, and what effects such interventions as hormones, antibiotics, and genetically modified crops have on the milk we consume. Although many cultures feature milk-based creation myths, breast-feeding has long been a source of contention. Excavations of ancient Roman gravesites have turned up baby milk bottles, indicating that some babies were artificially fed. In the Middle Ages, artificial feeding was common, with numerous recipes for baby formulas; in 1816, one writer advised that babies should be suckled on goats, setting off a trend throughout Europe. Also popular was the employment of wet nurses, who often became live-in domestics. The choice of wet nurse was not simple: Many believed that the baby would inherit the nurse's disposition and traits; one doctor recommended that "a brunette with her first child, which should be a boy" made the ideal wet nurse. Especially in cities, spoilage, unclean udders, and unsanitary dairies caused illness and a great number of infant deaths. Pasteurization was a solution, but consumers complained about the taste. Debate about the safety of raw milk, much prized by cheese makers and organic farmers, still rages. Kurlansky looks at the production of milk and its uses in liquid and solid form (yogurt, butter, cheese, ice cream, pudding) around the world throughout history and into the present.Chock-full of fascinating details and more than 100 recipes.

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