Breast-Milk Cheese

image Le Petit Singly (it's a French-language website, but here's a translated version) claims to be a French farm that specializes in producing cheese out of "the mother's milk of woman." According to the blurb on their site, they've been doing this since 1947. They say that the breast-milk cheese has a caramel color and has a hint of hazelnut taste.

Of course, I think it would be technically possible to make cheese out of breast milk. (Although this woman in Indonesia reports that she tried to use her own breast milk to make some cheese and failed. Link via The Stranger. But she was doing it on her stove top. I think if a commercial producer really put their mind to it, they would have better success.)

I actually briefly discussed this question in Hippo Eats Dwarf, in the context of debunking a site that claimed to produce cheese from lactating rats. I wrote that, "The problem is that the cheese's flavor is influenced by whatever the milk producer eats. So you would want vegetarian milk donors, unless you like cheese that tastes like rotting milk."

The Le Petit Singly site mentions nothing, that I can find, about the diet of the female milk donors. This is one sign that it's a hoax. Another sign is the ads they have on their site, and the fact that it's hosted on a lycos account. A real company would presumably at least shell out the $20 to get their own domain name. (via Why Travel To France)

Update: Looks like Le Petit Singly does discuss the diet of the milk donors. (Thanks, penny!) But I still think it's a hoax.

Birth/Babies Food

Posted on Sat Jun 09, 2007


Comments

I believe this is the English translation of the section of the website that has the diet of the donors:

Here the strict diet to which the Cosma cheese dairy subjects the donneuses ones for a mother's milk of highest quality necessary to the manufacture of Small Singly, cheese-making speciality containing mother's milk of woman:

100 G of bread (or cereals equivalent) at a rate of 60g the morning, 40g the afternoon,
cooked starchy food 200g midday,
100 G the evening,
green vegetables at will,
2 X 100 G of meat or equivalent (fish, eggs
Posted by penny  on  Sat Jun 09, 2007  at  12:01 PM
I do hope it
Posted by Cecilia  on  Sat Jun 09, 2007  at  02:31 PM
Recently someone (from blur -the band- i think) on the F word, said that breast milk isnt the same as cows milk and so its extremely hard to make cheese with it. I would guess it is more like goats cheese, if its possible. He said this while drinking a breast milk latte, so im guessing it was correct.

"Which difference T there it with cheese of cow has?

- There is only the taste which changes, the manufactoring process remains scrupulously identical to the process traditional of the cheese dairy."

This makes it quite obvious, because from what i know breast milk is like goats milk or yews milk, nothing like cows milk.
Posted by JP  on  Sat Jun 09, 2007  at  02:37 PM
it actually is a hoax from 2004.
Posted by Julien  on  Sun Jun 10, 2007  at  08:02 AM
Er...If I ate garlic, my breastmilk would not taste like garlic. It's flavor may be slightly different than "normal", but not GARLIC flavored. So...even if I ate something rotten by accident, my milk would not TASTE rotten or spoiled. Eating lots of tomatoes would not suddenly give me tomato flavored milk. I think that is a misconception that happens a lot. Milk is produced the same, regardless of the things you are eating. Just like your sweat might smell slightly stronger or just "different" after a night of heavy drinking...if you happened to taste it, it would still taste like salty water.
Posted by Maegan  on  Sun Jun 10, 2007  at  10:07 AM
No matter what the outcome of this one (Forum Discussion), this is one NASTY concept. The things some people come up with (hoax or not)...
Posted by Christopher  on  Sun Jun 10, 2007  at  10:46 PM
I find it amusing that people are more likely to have an issue with the consumption of human milk than another species milk, like cow or goat. It's natural for humans to consume human milk! Just impractical to bottle and sell, but one day my visions of owning the first human milking plant will come to fruition.
Posted by derek  on  Mon Jun 11, 2007  at  03:39 AM
*seconded* Derek...

Maegan... if you need a taste tester...
*grins*
Posted by oppiejoe  on  Mon Jun 11, 2007  at  11:00 AM
Joe...In bout 4 months...I'll HAVE a taste tester. :p
Posted by Maegan  on  Mon Jun 11, 2007  at  02:05 PM
hmm... spit shine, ear wax, toe jam, eye sand... "Soylent Green: It's made from People" (this measage brought to you by The Soylent Corp., a wholely owned subsidiary of The Fromunda Cheese Guild, in partnership with The National Mammicultural Advisory Board, made possible by a Chubb from the Grant Foundation. For more info go to: http://www.liebfrausmilch.cup
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Mon Jun 11, 2007  at  03:02 PM
okay, don't go to that link. It's fake. Go to http://www.didyoureallyclinkonthatlinkyouidiot.nut that's the right one, sorry
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Mon Jun 11, 2007  at  03:05 PM
okay, I'm sorry, I'm still messing with you, Neither of those links have anything to do with Breast Milk Cheese. There is a cool page on the second link that shows George W. Bush eating dead ra-, you know what, forget it. Go back to your lives citizens. Nothing to see here.
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Mon Jun 11, 2007  at  03:10 PM
I remember reading about some of the practices working mothers used to provide their breast milk to their children. This included refridgeration for a short period. I think that human mile can be treated and used in the same way as cow's or sheep's or goat's milk. Milk is basically the same, there are differences, but these are minor. Otherwise, milk from the other species wouldn't be nutritious for us. It would be interesting to find out if human milk could really be used in this way. Would people put up with the hassles to produce enough milk to be commercially viable if it would work? Could human women produce milk forever after a pregnancy like cows do? It might be interesting. It's more fun to obtain at the source, but going to the store for human milk might be worthwhile.
Posted by Christopher Cole  on  Mon Jun 11, 2007  at  05:16 PM
Cows cannot "produce milk forever" after a pregnancy. They have to have a calf about once/year in order to keep producing milk, and they can't keep doing that forever either because it wears them out. And the same is true for every other mammal, as far as I know -- certainly for all the domestic livestock, including goats.

The whole concept is, I'm sorry, just repulsive. I hope it is a hoax. My personal prejudice against consuming breast milk may indeed be mere prejudice, but my conviction that it's WRONG to use humans as milk cows is not.
Posted by Kathleen  on  Tue Jun 12, 2007  at  09:03 AM
Kathleen, I was going by what I was taught in biology class in high school. This was in the mid-60's at Clairemont High School in San Diego CA. I've never lived on a farm, or in a farming community so I have no first-hand knowledge. Although, if I had thought about it, I could have asked a friend of mine in Russiaville Indiana who is from a farming family. Oh well, that's life.
Posted by Christopher Cole  on  Tue Jun 12, 2007  at  12:04 PM
Oh, no biggie -- you aren't the only one, that's for sure. I just thought you and others might like to know the facts. I worked for an agricultural newspaper for nine years, and have worked for a farm organization (both in Indiana, coincidentally) for more than 11 years, and I've been to lots and lots and lots of farms, so...that's how I know. I also know way more than any single person needs to know about the farm bill and the life cycle of corn, but that's my problem. Such a glamorous job.
Posted by Kathleen  on  Tue Jun 12, 2007  at  12:18 PM
Does this breast milk cheese come in cups and if they do, is it by weight or what? If I knew how to make cheese, it might be fun to try. I doubt the donor would be too pleased.
Posted by Sounds Hokey To Me  on  Mon Sep 17, 2007  at  01:11 PM
A kid's magazine in France 'Science et Vie Junior' used it as part of their advertising campaign. The blog following that campaign points out that you can as a proof that ot is a hoax, try to order it. If you do test it, you are then taken to a page saying so (see below) and asking for your reaction to the hoax:

'Alors vous, on vous propose de manger du fromage confectionn
Posted by Verene  on  Sat May 24, 2008  at  06:16 AM
Cheese is made from a protein in milk called caseine. The protein in human milk is present in the form of albumen, which cannot be used to make cheese. Any claims of cheese made from human milk can therefore be considered hoaxes. However, you probably could make whey-based cheese from it, which is made from albumen.
Posted by Hithere  on  Thu Dec 03, 2009  at  11:20 AM
Interesting that people think the concept it disgusting! Was having a discussion about whether or not this was possible due to someone's baby having a dairy intolerance. They were okay with mum's milk so the Q was could we make products with mum's milk to give baby once they were on solids?

From what I have read so far it seems that theoretically it's possible but no-one has done it yet! Maybe more research is needed!! 😊
Posted by Mrs B  on  Fri Jan 08, 2010  at  01:45 PM
the endless amount of cliches and jokes that can fly from this topic is amazing. cheese can come in cups so long, because I like my cheese in DDs. I tell you what, i think its a little less disgusting and a little more outrages, I would definitely try it if it came my way, but I won't be sticking my hands out there to squeeze a good enough sample. I've recently been posting all about cheese on know your cheese, and i think this topic needs greater coverage. I'll post a link in return. wwwknowyourcheese.info
Posted by jason stamble  on  Sun Feb 14, 2010  at  07:10 PM
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