Jill Harness
Breast Milk Cheese, Anyone?
by Jill Harness - March 23, 2010 - 10:54 AM

rei-san

A chic restaurant in New York has taken an unforeseeable direction in upscale cuisine by serving breast milk cheese made with the help of his wife.

This isn’t the first time someone’s taken to replacing cow’s milk with that of a human. In 2008, a restaurant in Switzerland started replacing 75% of the cow’s milk used in the restaurant with breast milk. That was the bold move that inspired PETA’s letter to Ben & Jerry’s, which urged the company to start making their sweet treats out of human milk.

But this might be the first time an American restaurant started serving breast milk cuisine to patrons. I can’t really see this lasting long, given America’s tough laws about non-pasteurized milk products.

Is this the next big thing in dining, or just something that will shut down the guy’s restaurant? Would you try it?

[Image courtesy of Flickr user rei-san.]

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Comments (56)

  1. Ewwww….GROSS! No way would I try this!

    posted by Sarah on 3-23-2010 at 11:10 am

  2. Are you suggesting that breast milk can’t be pasteurized? All it takes to pasteurize milk is a double boiler–or a large pot and a small pot to make a makeshift double boiler.

    posted by G on 3-23-2010 at 11:25 am

  3. No. Nononono. I worked in a daycare all through college, and out of all the disgusting things that come out of children, there were two things I couldn’t handle- eye boogies and the breat milk the moms brought in. Give me a dirty diaper to change any day. Maybe it’ll change when I have my own kids someday, but breast milk just makes me shudder.

    posted by Caitlin on 3-23-2010 at 11:29 am

  4. Even though cooked breast milk is probably safe for human consumption (no risk of HIV, etc), the idea of consuming something made from SOMEONE ELSE’S breast milk is just disgusting. No thank you!

    posted by Heather on 3-23-2010 at 11:31 am

  5. If you want a substitute for cows’ milk, there are certainly better options than human breast milk. Soy, rice, and, my personal favorite, almond milk are all suitable substitutes that are far less likely to make consumers squeamish. I’m not sure why PETA chose to recommend breast milk to Ben & Jerry’s instead of one of these far more reasonable suggestions.

    posted by Denay on 3-23-2010 at 11:38 am

  6. Frankly, I think it odd that people would be repulsed by the idea of consuming human milk, but are perfectly OK with cow milk. Have these people really looked at a cow?

    There could be all sorts of interesting experimentation done by the provider of said milk, modifying her diet to produce different flavor profiles and such.

    posted by EMStoveken on 3-23-2010 at 11:41 am

  7. Denay –

    PETA has a tendency to recommend the extreme as a matter of generating publicity. Likewise, anytime they can place humans in the place of animals, it is guaranteed they will take that route.

    I have little opinion either way on these tactics, but they are nothing if not predictable.

    posted by EMStoveken on 3-23-2010 at 11:43 am

  8. Denay, did you seriously just ask why PETA didn’t make a “reasonable” suggestion? If they had, it’d be their first.

    posted by Pete on 3-23-2010 at 11:48 am

  9. @Denay: Because PETA is all about making ridiculous and inflammatory moves in an effort to get maximum publicity. I seriously doubt they expected Ben & Jerry’s to take them up on their suggestion, but it certainly got people buzzing. I don’t agree at all with their methods, but they are effective—in a freaky, backwards sort of way.

    On the subject of breast milk cheese: while I doubt it will spread beyond this restaurant (and maybe a couple imitators), it sounds less yucky than some stunt foods other fancy eateries have served.

    posted by Kelsey on 3-23-2010 at 11:49 am

  10. So what is this couple’s BABY getting while mom’s breast milk is going to people who have more money than sense? These parents have a long way to go in getting their priorities straight.

    posted by B on 3-23-2010 at 11:50 am

  11. No way would I try that!

    posted by Emma on 3-23-2010 at 11:54 am

  12. Is this really any grosser than drinking cow’s bodily fluids? Just sayin’.

    posted by Seth on 3-23-2010 at 11:57 am

  13. This article and these comments are making me want to swear off of milk forever… I’m sure that will change once I get a slice of cake in front of me, though :D

    posted by Shash on 3-23-2010 at 12:07 pm

  14. I have to agree with EM and Seth…we shouldn’t be any more disgusted by the thought of drinking human breast milk than cow milk.

    We just are not used to it because it is a newer concept. Maybe people don’t like the thought that breast milk doesn’t have to go certain regulations that cow milk does.

    I think I would at least have to try it just to say I did.

    posted by Katie Rose on 3-23-2010 at 12:12 pm

  15. @B – some women produce more milk than their child can drink. My wife did – while nursing our two children (who are both now happy, healthy and weaned) she donated her excess to a Breast Milk Bank so that it could be given to babies whose mothers couldn’t nurse them. That may be the situation here.

    posted by Jon. on 3-23-2010 at 12:27 pm

  16. My wife just gave birth to our first child. I tasted a drop. Tasted like rice milk. There… I admitted it.

    posted by Kevin on 3-23-2010 at 12:40 pm

  17. I think it would be hot.

    *runs away*

    posted by Patrick on 3-23-2010 at 12:48 pm

  18. Thanks for the article, mental floss! Its important to be abreast of things.

    Sorry, couldn’t help it…. :)

    posted by Bobsen on 3-23-2010 at 12:51 pm

  19. I’m definitely in the camp that sees drinking human milk as no more disgusting than drinking cow milk.

    posted by Patrick on 3-23-2010 at 12:55 pm

  20. This article is not quite right. According to an article I read (I think it was in the NY Times). He owns and is the chef of a restaurant, and he made his wife’s breast milk into cheese. However, he is not serving it at the restaurant, as that would violate many NYC health codes. He has given it to a few friends to try.

    I don’t see why people are squeamish about human breast milk. The baby nursing from their mom is human and nobody thinks it’s awful that the baby drinks it. Also many people ingest various bodily secretions from other peoples bodies, that should make them more squeamish that breast milk. Perhaps it’s the subconcious thought that an adult would be stealing nourishment from a baby.

    BTW, a picture in the article showed a freezer full of breast milk (at least 30 pint or larger freezer bags full). Also his wife is a tiny lady, who is obviously very productive at producing milk.

    posted by Stew on 3-23-2010 at 1:00 pm

  21. Dude. Dude, really. No sir and no thank you.

    posted by Eric on 3-23-2010 at 1:06 pm

  22. Wow, I’m really surprised at all of the close-mindedness popping up here surrounding the breast milk issue.

    B – women can, like cows, produce milk even when there are no babies nursing. We are even awesome enough to over-produce. Do you worry about the poor little calves are drinking when you have a bowl of ice cream, too?

    It makes me sad, Caitlin, that breast milk makes you shudder.

    posted by Jen on 3-23-2010 at 1:10 pm

  23. Hope this woman doesn’t do drugs or have AIDS…

    posted by Wayne on 3-23-2010 at 1:32 pm

  24. I always thought cows milk was designed for cows and human milk was made for humans. I guess im crazy. Do the folks who think human milk is yucky think formula is okay for their kid? I mean, isnt that what breasts are for? I drink cows milk because its tasty, and my child drinks breast milk because that’s whats normal.

    posted by Andy on 3-23-2010 at 1:40 pm

  25. Call me old fashioned, but adult humans should NEVER consume anything that came from/out of another human.

    Except for the meat. Because that stuff is TASTY.

    Just kidding.

    posted by TBV on 3-23-2010 at 1:44 pm

  26. As a woman who breastfed my own child, I can tell you that breast milk tastes a hell of a lot better than cow’s milk. (It’s a long story that involves being engorged and backsplashing off the kid’s forehead.) The idea of consuming someone else’s milk is a little creepy to me because basically everything we comsume is passed on in the milk. Cows on the other hand have a pretty restricted diet. There are still many women who “wet-nurse” (look it up) as a profession, but the cost would prove to be prohibitive for general consumption.

    posted by Chris on 3-23-2010 at 1:47 pm

  27. I would totally try it! If I can drink milk from a cow or a goat, I can certainly drink milk from my own species. I don’t see the problem.

    I did get a little repulsed by the scene in The Simpsons in which the mobsters are milking rats to give to school lunch programs. Ew.

    posted by Colin on 3-23-2010 at 1:49 pm

  28. I would if it was my own. And, in response to a question about what the baby is drinking if the mom is using her milk for other purposes – the baby may well be done breastfeeding. If this woman keeps pumping, she’ll be able to produce milk even after her child has been weaned. And I think drinking cow (or any animal) milk is gross. It just seems weird to drink something that is meant to nourish another species. I’ll stick to soy, thank you.

    posted by malbo on 3-23-2010 at 1:56 pm

  29. Jen, my sister (who is due to have her third child tomorrow) argrees with you. And I will nurse my kids when I have them. People breast feeding and babies drinking it is 110% ok with me, it’s just the idea of ME drinking/eating it that makes me squeamish. My sister tells me to man up but it just…disturbs me. In my mind, breast milk is for healthy babies, not public consumption. At the daycare, there was a 4 year old who still breastfed and that was disturbing too. No child should be able to clearly ask in a structured sentence for the mom to whip out the boob.

    posted by Caitlin on 3-23-2010 at 2:01 pm

  30. I’d try it.

    posted by Sara in Al on 3-23-2010 at 2:01 pm

  31. Is the cheese sweet? Soft? Hard? Salty? If it was salty, I’d be like, “OMG! Where the hell did the saltiness come from?!” When they make it into cheese, does that affect the antibodies in the milk? IDK. I wouldn’t try it. It’s just too personal. And I’m a very adventurous Epicurian!

    recaptcha: almonds in (seriously!)

    posted by Elise Rivera on 3-23-2010 at 2:45 pm

  32. I’m shocked by how many people are cool with this idea. Did we all forget health class? There are some pretty scary diseases out there that can be transmitted through breastmilk. Clearly it’s not going into mass production, but I wouldn’t feel right consuming another humans BODILY FLUIDS! Yes we drink cows milk, but we also eat cows meat and I have no intention of eating human meat. If he’d made cheese for himself thats one thing, they’ve already shared bodily fluids… not so much with the friends (probably)

    posted by Shawn on 3-23-2010 at 3:11 pm

  33. I think the cow meat/human meat point is well said. :D

    posted by Heather on 3-23-2010 at 3:28 pm

  34. i’m most disturbed by my own curiosity as to the taste of these products. as human milk is sweeter and fattier than cows milk, i anticipate it would be great in ice cream, but would produce weird cheese…. curious… disturbed, but curious…
    i’m actually thinking this could be a GREAT supplemental income and diet aid for moms….

    posted by Melinda on 3-23-2010 at 3:38 pm

  35. For as long as I can remember, I’ve never understood why humans drink cow’s milk. And, really, who in their right mind, however many centuries ago, looked at a cow and said, “I’m going to drink whatever comes out of those pink dangly things under the cow’s butt”? Now THAT, Flossers, is gross.

    posted by Beth on 3-23-2010 at 3:55 pm

  36. Considering that what a mother eats can affect her baby in regards to gasiness, etc. I would assume that what she eats would also impact the flavor of the milk. I.E. eating spicy foods might make the milk taste spicier. And, did you know that if a man eats more fruits, his *ahem* “man milk” will be sweeter?

    posted by malbo on 3-23-2010 at 4:08 pm

  37. While I have to admit being squimish about breast milk in general, I have to say that my real objection to this is the health concerns. A lot of diseases can be passed on through breast milk, not to mention any drugs the mother may be taking (or using). I might be adventerous enough to try it if it came from a woman I was intimate with, but I’m sure not drinking a stranger’s milk much like I wouldn’t want to ingest a stranger’s other fluids…

    posted by jmayhp on 3-23-2010 at 4:32 pm

  38. I agree with some of the comments on here: when did it become okay to drink a substance made for a completely different species…but not okay to drink the substance made for our own species?? My son is allergic to cow’s milk…..I suppose it might have something to do with not being a calf?? On the other hand breast milk was never an issue….it was made for humans after all. And Pasteurization would be no more of an issue with human milk than it is with cow’s milk, or goats milk etc. Thereby rendering it much safer! I don’t see why people are so ‘icky’ about it….they aren’t getting it ‘straight from the source’ so to speak!

    posted by Sandie on 3-23-2010 at 5:06 pm

  39. no one seems to have addressed the much more subtle (but far more disturbing) issue, which is that it’s milk taken from something with a PERSONALITY. i drink milk from goats and cows, but to me there’s a horrible intimacy with ingesting a strange human’s bodily fluids that i would never be up for. to me, it would almost feel like i’m accepting that person into me in more ways than one – that if the woman was cruel or arrogant, or just annoying and difficult to like, i’d be endorsing her in some way, even without ever meeting her. does this make sense to anyone? i don’t think it’s ‘close-minded’ thinking, as Jen suggests, that’s causing the collective shudder at this idea. personally, i’m a very adventurous eater/drinker. breast milk from my girlfriend, for instance, i would try without a moment’s hesitation. absolutely. but from a stranger? absolutely repulsive.

    posted by 1101 on 3-23-2010 at 5:13 pm

  40. I always find a human’s repulsion to its own species’ milk interesting. Just think about it, we are the only animal in the world who drinks milk from a different species (except maybe a cat who is given cow milk from a human)

    Cow milk is for baby cows.
    Dog milk is for baby dogs.
    Goat milk is for baby goats.
    Etc.

    posted by David on 3-23-2010 at 5:19 pm

  41. Milking cows, goats, and (in the Simpson’s instance) rats.

    Why did I immediately flash to the KGB commercial about ‘Is it possible to milk a hamster?’

    -”BB”-

    posted by Bicycle Bill on 3-23-2010 at 5:47 pm

  42. I wouldn’t, as an adult, drink another human’s milk for the same reason I wouldn’t eat another human’s flesh. The opposite is true for cow’s milk and flesh.

    posted by Rachel on 3-23-2010 at 7:08 pm

  43. I’m trying to figure out why this woman wants to share her breast milk with others in the first place. I’m not a mother yet, and I intend to breast feed when that time comes, but I would be very uncomfortable sharing something that’s rather private with even my closest friends.

    I mean, do these people have parties at their home and welcome guests with, “Would you like a cold glass of breast milk?”

    posted by Jennilyn on 3-23-2010 at 8:56 pm

  44. If i have another child and breast fed it. Then maybe I would consider drinking my own breast milk cheese. Only then. Otherwise it’s just weird to drink or eat someone elses milk.

    posted by Alecto on 3-23-2010 at 9:50 pm

  45. i would only drink or eat my own breast milk. and then just to see what it taste like.

    posted by Alecto on 3-23-2010 at 9:51 pm

  46. Novelty item… but sure has elicited many comments in a short period of time. I nursed both my girls. Long past the time that they ‘needed’ it. A comfort tool like a pacifier at bedtime. I digress… In the years that I breastfed, I tasted it at various times. It’s less creamy, and much sweeter than cows milk (Which I LOVED, icy cold, whilst growing up.. Lactose intolerant now.. HA!) Did thaw some frozen I had one time for a baby bunny that a dog brought home. Never could get the darn breast pump to work well enough to produce milk in the quanities you would need to produce very much cheese. I would taste it for the novelty. I imagine cost-wise, the average joe would not be able to afford it, anyway. An exotic ‘organic’ novelty.

    posted by old hippy chick on 3-23-2010 at 10:57 pm

  47. @ Shawn: We don’t eat cow meat, the beef we consume is actually from steers.

    posted by Joe on 3-23-2010 at 11:55 pm

  48. I too agree with the party that wonders why drinking another species’ milk is ok, but human milk is gross.

    It actually is probably better for us. I would be interested to see some nutritional information on the subject.

    posted by Josiah on 3-24-2010 at 12:32 am

  49. Nit picking, aren’t we, Joe? Whether male, female, or neutered, they are still all Bos taurus.

    And that’s a cow in my book.

    -”BB”-

    posted by Bicycle Bill on 3-24-2010 at 2:48 am

  50. @ Joe: Uhm… thats not entirely true. Maybe in your State you only eat Steers, but in Oregon (where I’m from) and Italy (where I live) its very common to eat Cow’s meat. If she is rejected for some reason to produce milk, they let her mature and then use her for her meat and her hide and her bone marrow. I prefer Cow’s meat over Steer meat. Its much more tender and flavorful.

    This is another article I’ve read on the internet that makes me glad I’m lactose intolerant. I get my Milk from Almonds and Soy beans. I’m not sure if human milk contains lactose or not, but why risk? :-D

    posted by Kate on 3-24-2010 at 4:37 am

  51. Technically, breast milk is meant for human consumption anyways, while cow milk is an unnatural additive to the human diet. That aside, I would try this simply to satisfy my curiousity before an oversensitive official shuts the whole thing down.

    posted by Craig on 3-24-2010 at 12:45 pm

  52. Ok Humans just don’t eat feed/grass….sooo the milk probably would vary quite widely in taste from breast to breast. That’s why I wouldn’t want to try it.

    posted by Adam on 3-24-2010 at 1:14 pm

  53. A week or 2 ago someone ate this on the Today show although I don’t think he knew what it was before he took a bite. Once he found out he kept eating it so it must not have been too bad.

    posted by Becky on 3-24-2010 at 9:58 pm

  54. I’m just surprise of how ignorant people are about what they are really drinking when they think they are drinking cows’ milk and of how human milk production works. Human milk consumption is much more safer than the consumption of cows’ milk.

    Got to http://www.milksucks.com and then tell me that drinking milk from a woman’s breast is grosser.

    posted by C on 3-28-2010 at 10:28 am

  55. Science has shown many health benefits for children who get a brest milk, including greater immune protection, decreased likelihood of infections, reduced risk for type 1 diabetes, decreased chance of allergies, decreased likeliness of SIDS, increased intelligence, decreased risk of adult obesity, and lower risk of asthma.

    posted by irene on 4-7-2010 at 4:44 am

  56. GAG!

    posted by Jeannette DePriest on 4-30-2010 at 11:33 am

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