# Breast milk cheese!? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 4, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299 "2010-03-04T17:19:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/1 "2010-03-04T17:19:12Z")
A NY restaurateur has made [cheese](http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2010/03/klees_daniel_angerer_invites_y.html) using his wife’s breast milk. You can try it as long as the supply lasts. Or you can make your own. The recipe is on his blog, which is linked within my link. Would you? I am always willing to at least try weird and exotic foods at least once, but breast milk seems almost too personal. Breast milk cheese may be too out there even for me. Perhaps, if it was my wife’s milk, I might, but I am not married. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/2 "2010-03-04T17:26:21Z")
Given the limited supply, it’ll never be more than a cottage industry. Titz on a Ritz-good cracker! ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/3 "2010-03-04T18:12:38Z")
I have personal experience tasting a woman’s breast milk (not Mrs. Homie’s, and not Mammahomie’s). Mrs. Homie’s cousin had pumped and poured into a bottle. I was holding the little baby, and since it was feeding time, cuz gave me the bottle. For shits & giggles, I sprinkled a couple drops on my wrist and licked. Mrs. Homie was horrified. Cuz thought it was the funniest thing she’d ever seen. FTR, it tasted sickeningly sweet and fatty. Like lukewarm melted ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/4 "2010-03-04T19:03:12Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Given the limited supply, it’ll never be more than a cottage industry. > Titz on a Ritz-good cracker! My contribution to this tantalizing topic will be to giggle at this. Nice work, **runner pat**. Hard to beat. Does it churn, though? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/5 "2010-03-04T19:27:46Z")
How about a Bleu cheese? Bleu-footed Booby ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/6 "2010-03-04T19:31:07Z")
Mmm, breast milk cheese melted on freshly roasted placenta. Sort of the ultimate in intimacy food. _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/7 "2010-03-04T19:39:50Z")
Am I the only on that noticed that he used \*\* two gallons\*\* of breast milk? :eek: I don’t know how much milk the average woman produces but that just seems like a lot to me. ---
**Author:** ![MitzeKatze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@MitzeKatze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MitzeKatze)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/8 "2010-03-04T20:11:20Z")
> [@justrob](#): > > I don’t know how much milk the average woman produces but that just seems like a lot to me. To me too. When I was attempting breastfeeding I couldn’t produce enough milk for my extremely hungry baby, let alone having gallons of the stuff to play with. I think breast milk is too precious a commodity to be making into cheese (unless the cheese is then used to feed the child I guess…) but it could be too that the baby was weaned or on other supplements for whatever reason, so Mom had excess. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/9 "2010-03-04T20:24:17Z")
> [@justrob](#): > > Am I the only on that noticed that he used \*\* two gallons\*\* of breast milk? :eek: > > I don’t know how much milk the average woman produces but that just seems like a lot to me. Back when my wife was nursing and pumping, she managed to bank/freeze about 12 ounces/day, in addition to what the baby had. So 3 weeks or so for 2 gallons. I called her “Bessie” once - that was a mistake. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/10 "2010-03-04T20:30:21Z")
> [@justrob](#): > > Am I the only on that noticed that he used \*\* two gallons\*\* of breast milk? :eek: > > I don’t know how much milk the average woman produces but that just seems like a lot to me. So I tried googling it, because it is an interesting question - the answer varies a lot, since women produce varying amounts based on their bodies and their babies age, and how much they are breastfeeding & pumping. But, I did find that if you’re pumping, you apparently want to able to get about 24 ounces in 24 hours, roughly. So, if you only pumped and weren’t feeding a baby, it would take about 10 days of pumping to get 2 gallons of milk. Plus, you’d have to find a woman who was willing to go through all the trouble of pumping the milk & the stuff that goes along with it (like milk dripping out, physical discomfort), and then not feed it to her baby. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/11 "2010-03-04T20:34:54Z")
Wouldn’t any yucky or pungent foods that the woman ate change the flavor of the milk and the subsequent cheese? If the woman smoked and ate onions every day I don’t imagine the cheese would taste very good. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/12 "2010-03-04T20:43:16Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Back when my wife was nursing and pumping, she managed to bank/freeze about 12 ounces/day, in addition to what the baby had. So 3 weeks or so for 2 gallons. I called her “Bessie” once - that was a mistake. This works early on, but my experience is that supply tanks eventually. At peak (around 3 months postpartum), I had seven liters stored, but I still was having to supplement with cow’s milk at 11 months. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/13 "2010-03-04T21:09:25Z")
> [@MitzeKatze](#): > > To me too. When I was attempting breastfeeding I couldn’t produce enough milk for my extremely hungry baby, let alone having gallons of the stuff to play with. I think breast milk is too precious a commodity to be making into cheese (unless the cheese is then used to feed the child I guess…) but it could be too that the baby was weaned or on other supplements for whatever reason, so Mom had excess. I have a number of friends and clients who have had an _oversupply_ and end up with more milk in their freezers than they’ll ever feed their babies even if they don’t wean before the kid’s in preschool. A lot of women in that position [donate their milk](http://www.breastmilkproject.org/). My sister in law just sent 150 ounces (50 bags, 3 oz. each) to a milk bank, milk she pumped at work that my niece wouldn’t have gotten to before it was too old, plus she didn’t have storage space for all of it any more. ---
**Author:** ![MitzeKatze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@MitzeKatze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MitzeKatze)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/14 "2010-03-04T21:13:49Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > I have a number of friends and clients who have had an _oversupply_ and end up with more milk in their freezers than they’ll ever feed their babies even if they don’t wean before the kid’s in preschool. A lot of women in that position [donate their milk](http://www.breastmilkproject.org/). My sister in law just sent 150 ounces (50 bags, 3 oz. each) to a milk bank, milk she pumped at work that my niece wouldn’t have gotten to before it was too old, plus she didn’t have storage space for all of it any more. Exactly! Too many babies with moms like me who can’t feed them as much breast milk as they should, or babies who lack breast milk for other reasons who can really use that. That’s what I meant by it being too precious a commodity to turn into cheese for fun. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Nene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/da6949/32.png) [@El\_Nene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Nene)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/15 "2010-03-04T22:57:38Z")
I made the rookie mistake of lifting my son over my head not long after he’d eaten. He threw up right in my mouth. I guess what I’m saying is that I’ve had this breast milk cheese and I don’t care for it. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/16 "2010-03-05T02:59:24Z")
> [@justrob](#): > > Am I the only on that noticed that he used \*\* two gallons\*\* of breast milk? :eek: > > I don’t know how much milk the average woman produces but that just seems like a lot to me. It… definitely took her a while to do this. I had perhaps a gallon, in little bottles, frozen from the time Moon Unit was in the NICU and then at home, not nursing very well. And I had plenty of supply to spare… still took me a month or more to accumulate that much. Re “will it churn” - I don’t see why not - breastmilk definitely develops a layer of cream on top of the nonfat portion, as it sits in a bottle. “Tits on a Ritz” :::snerk::: ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/17 "2010-03-05T03:05:08Z")
> [@justrob](#): > > Am I the only on that noticed that he used \*\* two gallons\*\* of breast milk? :eek: > > I don’t know how much milk the average woman produces but that just seems like a lot to me. “…damn pump wouldn’t stop til it got 2 gallons…!” ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/18 "2010-03-05T04:01:35Z")
Hmm. My infant son is milk protein (casein) intolerant. I have about 48oz of pumped and frozen milk I cannot use because it was from before I went on a dairy-free diet. While I am currently being screened as a milk bank donor, that process might not be complete before the dairy-infused milk is too old to donate. (It will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer; the oldest milk is about 2 1/2 months old right now.) I cannot have cheese. I miss cheese. Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/19 "2010-03-06T03:32:54Z")
I would no sooner eat that guy’s wife’s breast milk cheese than I would sprinkle her scabs on my salad. I am sorry if that sounds gross, but it doesn’t sound any grosser to me than the breast milk cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299/20 "2010-03-06T03:48:21Z")
Don’t take this the wrong way, **Ruffian** , but the concept of “dairy-infused milk” just seems so funny. I understand the meaning, but it’s not exactly the sort of concept one often encounters. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breast-milk-cheese/531299.md?page=2)