When I heard a few years back about a New York restaurateur making breastmilk cheese, I was among the chorus of "ewwww!"s.
Cut to the present day with a 6-month-old, much more education on the virtues of human milk, and a freezerful of expressed milk. I can't help but find myself searching for ways to use the stockpiled "liquid gold":
If the milk is stored properly and is not too old (a good rule of thumb is 6 hours at room temperature, 6 days in the fridge, and 6 months in the freezer, and 12 months in a deep freezer), milk banks for mothers who cannot provide their babies with their own milk are a very worthy first option. If looking for alternative ways to feed extra milk to a growing baby, toddler, or even adults, check out these ideas:
- Make butter! Just put a few ounces of milk in a clean jar and shake vigorously until you have butter.
- Ice cream can be made by simply substituting human milk for cow's milk. A great option for moms on a dairy-free diet who are craving ice cream.
- Freeze it into popsicles or ice cubes for summertime or teething babies.
- Make cheese like the chef who first set off the media firestorm years ago.
- Use it as a creamer for coffees and other drinks.
- Substitute for cow's milk with human milk in baking or cooking recipes.
- Donate it to chemo patients, whose digestion can be aided by breastmilk.
- There is a seemingly-endless list of non-food uses for human milk with its antifungal properties, from removing makeup to relieving scrapes and burns.
Related: Cooking With Colostrum
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My wife's dad was in the hospital, and had to have his food through a tube for a few months. His whole digestive system was a wreck. Having a new baby, my wife pumped extra once a day for a month, and we'd bring it to him a couple times a week and put it in the food bag. He's finally coming out of the hospital today after over 6 months of disaster after disaster. We really believe the breastmilk helped him on the road to recovery. I don't know if I could get behind consuming it myself, but it certainly is some awesome stuff.
This is an awesome post! Thumbs way up!
I'm just going to sit back and watch bovine-breastmilk consumers declare it "disgusting" and laugh my ass off. :)
one of the most interesting posts i've read in a long time.
good stuff.
I love the ice cube / popsicle idea for teething kiddos. I bet you could also make yogurt with it, though I'd modify the step of heating the milk before adding starter so that you don't kill all the good stuff; maybe just heat it to the temperature for culturing (around 115) rather than all the way to 180.
There's always the tried-and-true of mixing it into rice cereal / oatmeal / whatever grain porridge for breakfast.
Just don't serve it to an unsuspecting adult unless you want to clean up grown-up vomit (much nastier than spit-up).
And yes, bovine milk is milk, but there's a personal element to taking a particular woman's bodily fluids. ASK. I don't want your breastmilk. Ever.
@Clode: hey thanks for the status update there, how about you also let us know when you plan on coming down from that pedestal you've plopped yourself on?
i'm curious about the idea of a woman who is on a "dairy free" diet consuming her own breastmilk. how is breast milk non-diary? is it better for you if you are lactose intolorant or something?
is this a thing that breast feeding women do? consuming their own expressed milk?? or feed it to fully functioning non-baby family members? does the woman tell these people about the substitution before they eat it?? please comment if you've done any of these things and why, i really do want to know.
i intend to breast feed if i have a child, but would never think to use the 'extra' for anything other than milk bank donation. well, maybe into my husband's coffee one morning for a laugh.
Agreed with cmcinnyc. Could you imagine serving up a big bowl of ice cream to some friends then dropping the "secret ingredient" bomb on them?
Theres something beyond personal about breastmilk. Give it to your kids/babies fine (thats why you make it!), but I know I don't have a desire to drink/eat my own milk, I'm sure many do, just not me. If my husband wanted some, I'd honestly be in a weird spot with it. It not *for* him or me. Its for baby. So I'd save it and use some of these suggestions to prepare it for baby into its toddler years.
As someone who had a great deal of difficulty breastfeeding, please consider donating your excess mil. Preemies and mothers struggling with supply or other BF'ing issues could really use your "liquid gold." I'm glad you're having fun, and there is no judgment implied in my comment. Just something to consider if you come across a freezerful again soon.
"milk"
AHHHH. typos.
@jess13,
I wouldn't worry about @Clode, yes that comment sounded high and mighty but looking at their list of previous comments they already made their stance on eating breastmilk clear:
"I don't really want to eat it, but I don't want to drink cow breast milk either! Breast milk is for the infant of the mother who produces it, the end. We have coconut ice cream, almond ice cream, rice ice cream, and soy ice cream. Why one earth do we need the breast milk of ANY living animal? LOL, so ridiculous."
So yea...hypocrite much?
@chompchompchomp: i love your name! and yes, that is messed up.
@Jess13 Rude much? I'm not on a pedestal of any kind. I just think it's humorous that there are actually human beings that thing cow breastmilk is less disgusting than milk made especially for humans!
I'm sorry that my opinion is so important that you need to research me further. That must be a huge waste of your time.
I'm not a hypocrite. We do not need to (as ADULTS) drink the breastmilk of any animal. I stand by that totally non-hypocritical statement. However, there is no reason AT ALL to assume that cow breastmilk is more suited to humans than actual human milk. That is just oddly delusional.
I love the idea of donating your extra breast milk, either to a milk bank or for patients on chemotherapy!
@Clode: No one's really talking about it being "suited" one way or another, though. Even in your original post, you mentioned disgust, which is what's being discussed here. And disgust has less to do with nutritional qualities and more to do with visceral reaction, which I think is the problem that many have with human breast milk consumption.
There's an intimacy involved in consuming foodstuff that's actually created within another human being and I think finding that off-putting is a pretty typical reaction. Kind of how I'm always up for trying a unique meat but would not be so excited about eating my dog. There's an emotional component I'd have a hard time getting over.
Not to mention that breast milk takes on flavors really well. If you want to use a high in fat half and half like milk substance that is "infused" with a certain thing in a recipe, then eat that thing and use the breast milk.
My sister tells a story of eating a whole bunch of marzipan cookies at christmas and then feeding her baby and the baby spit up in her mouth and it was very strong with marzipan flavor. Same goes for spicy things. You could make blueberry yogurt with the blueberries infused in the yogurt.
Having worked for NICUs for over three years, donated breastmilk can be a real life-saver for mothers and babies. There aren't many breastmilk 'banks' around the country, but it would be worth researching. I know that there are many mothers and babies out there that would really benefit from the donation.
Thanks for a wonderful post!
I'm a breastfeeding mother who no longer has any freezer supplies (baby wouldn't take it from a bottle, no point in expressing then!), but I do have a dear friend who's having chemo and has had to rely on donated milk for her newborn child. I never thought of suggesting she take some herself too to help along the way. Thanks for the info.
@clode
Last time I checked, cows don't have breasts.
after having twins and pumping and expressing and then freezing A LOT of milk, I saved it for when they started eating solids, and used it to mix into the cereals. I also tried to get my then-toddler daughter to drink some because it is helpful in boosting immunity, and at pre-school, you need all the help you can get!
As someone that never produced enough breast milk for my baby and had to supplement with formula, I read this post with great envy! I can't even imagine what it would have been like to have *too much* breast milk! You all are very lucky.
Yes, I would be careful about serving breast milk ice cream or cheese to friends, but using it to make products for the baby is a great idea. My baby loves yogurt and cheese, and if I'd had the option of making these from my own milk, all the better!
As a mom with 3 children. I just wanted to say that with my first 2 I was lucky to barely get 2 ounces total. But with my 3rd child I have been blessed to have just enough for her along w/some formula while I'm at work. I feel that breast milk should be kept soley for the child. Afterall that is what it's for. If someone is lucky enough to have that much extra then they should donate it to milk banks or I agree w/giving it to chemo patients who would need it. As opposed to making ice cream or whatever else for adults.
Too far! Too far!
I agree with Alisa - please consider donating first. Either to NICU babies or to a milk bank. I too have had supply issues myself and have done everything (and still doing everything) to get my supply up. A friend of mine gave me 200oz of her freezer stash and for the last two weeks my baby has been receiving breast milk exclusively and the difference is amazing. Her digestion is so much better, her skin cleared up (no more baby acne), she is happier, ...
I know if I can't manage to get my supply up enough in the next two weeks I will have to go back to giving her some formula and it breaks my heart. So please, please, please if you are able to donate some to babies in need, please do.
To each their own but....
Eeeewww!
I mean, boogers are technically edible but I'm not gonna sprinkle them on my salad!
@akay
um, what are udders but cow breasts?
that said, I'm not judging anyone for being grossed out. I myself am intrigued.
I read this with real interest - and I will use some of my freezer stash to supplement kiddo's diet when she starts eating food. BUT, that said, I have had two premature babies that both spent time in the NICU and I KNOW the incredible benefit of breastmilk on these children. I know because my daughter, born nearly 2 months early was out of the hospital in 2 weeks and has fattened up to be a very normal and developmentally current baby.
That said, I donated a large amount of my stash - more than 1000 oz - to a milk bank in Austin. It feels so good to have done that and know that I can help and in a small sense repay my cosmic debt for two such healthy hearty premature babies.
Personally, I would be more comfortable donating any excess to a milk bank or those who are currently going through chemo. My reasons- it seems selfish to keep the extra to make food for myself to consume especially when there are children who need the milk. I kinda feel it's depriving babies of nutrition just so I can say I have breast milk ice cream.
But that being said, this is one of those topics which there is no right answer. I think everyone has their own opinions and preferences. Neither are wrong or right.
But I will say I'd be pretty mad if someone fed me breast milk without my knowledge. But that's my personal opinion. =)
@ laurabellk: you made me LOL.
please take note - there is a wonderful organization called Human Milk 4 Human Babies which is a milk sharing network for those of you who wish to donate excess or who are in need for milk. http://www.hm4hb.net/history.html
@sipalittletea
They're exactly what you said: udders.
Quadrupeds have udders. Bipeds have breasts. Both contain mammaries.
It's a matter of semantics, yes, but it seems like deliberately saying "cow breast milk" is meant to be inflammatory, so I'm going to also call (no pun intended) bull on this one and disagree with you: cows don't have breasts.
I am reading this as I nurse my 2-week-old. Last baby, I breastfed for 2.5 years and donated my extra to a milk bank (I work and pump 2 days/week and he wouldn't take a bottle after he started solids). I'm planning on doing the same thing this time around to share the good milk karma.
Interesting post - my 2 cents is that extra should go to those who need it most, like preemies and chemo patients. Although it would make some very creamy coffee, especially if you used only the skimmed fat!
This is a great post! And there are some really interesting comments on here too. I never thought of making ice cream! I'd love to try my own breastmilk ice cream someday.
There are a lot of comments about what "should" be done with breastmilk - bottom line is, breast milk is the property of the woman whose body created it. Some women who don't want to nurse choose to just toss it, until their breasts don't produce anymore. Some women may want to freeze it for when their kids are toddlers, or make cheese from it, or share it with their friends, or their partner, or drink it themselves. Some may feel that it's only for babies, or only for their own baby. None of us can decide for them, each woman gets to do what she wants with her own body's product. Man, this has gotten me all excited to produce milk someday! Woo hoo!
I'm breastfeeding right now, although I'm having supply issues and am having to supplement with formula.
I drink cow milk but I never plan on using my breastmilk for anything other than giving to my baby. Of course I also EAT cow's flesh and don't plan on eating human flesh. Different strokes.
After reading this article I was curious and searched for a local bank in salt lake. Turns out that they collect in salt lake but ship to denver. The distribution in denver is through a prescription program, $3.50/ounce. I understand that the process of shipping the milk and making sure it's safe to consume isn't free but the fact that it's a prescription, and an expensive one at that is a little discouraging considering that ultimately the source is free.
God, people freak out over natural bodily fluids. We have been growing up on breastmilk for thousands of years, long before the food industry got it in their heads to make that formula crap and try to convince you it was just as good or better.
And if you are of European descent, you are probably not lactose intolerant, thus it IS natural for you to consume dairy beyond early childhood.
Bottom line, do what you want with it. Reading all the comments, it seems NICU babies are the ones that really need it, but it's yours to do with what you will.
I am still breastfeeding my 2 year old and plan to continue until he is ready to stop.
I've used breastmilk for lots of things! It cures newborn eye gunk (I'm not sure what it's called), it helps heal cracked nipples, it helps heal sunburns, and you can use it to make milk soap!
I've also donated my milk to an adopted baby.
I've also tasted my own milk as has my husband (willingly). I knew someone locally who gave her milk to her older child and husband when she got swine flu and they did not - her doctor recommended she give them her milk to keep the rest of the family healthy when she got sick.
@jess13 sometimes a mother needs to go on a dairy free diet because the lactose upsets the baby she is feeding. Only do this under doctor's orders
LOL these comments are ridic. Breast milk is for whoever chooses to eat (drink) it. I haven't chosen to eat it since I was about 9 months. Interesting ideas I suppose.... :)
Oh yeah but me (Indian) and my hubby (Ghanian) are both lactose intolerant. So I shudder to think what are (future!) non-western children will do with my breast milk....or any milk for that matter.
http://www.hudsonvalleybreastfeeding.com/hudsonvalleymilkbank.html
Hudson Valley Milk Bank (New York) takes and distributes donations of mother's milk.
Also Eats on Feets: http://www.eatsonfeets.org/
Tessa Morales, Continuous Support Doula
Please donate excess breastmilk to a NICU. My daughter was born at 30 weeks and that donated breastmilk fed her there. As a "low-supply" mama, I struggled to produce enough for her, but I pumped what I could for 8 months. She also had about 200 oz from one of my friends. Unfortunately, she was mostly formula fed.
However, be careful about where you donate your excess breastmilk. Many milkbanks that you would assume would go to sick babies actually go to a for-profit milk processing.
The following is taken from this site http://justwestofcrunchy.com/2011/06/23/swindled-the-ugly-side-of-milk-donation/
If the website says “A Prolacta milk banking network. Every one of those “milk banks” is actually SELLING the donated milk they receive to Prolacta Bioscience."
This company processes the breastmilk and then sells it.
Taking something that you've given for free and selling it. Shady...
Drugs, diseases, nail polish remover, gasoline, etc have all been found in breast milk. Unless it's tested via a milk bank, or I'm very ill, I don't want your 'cheese' 'ice cream' etc that you made with it.
All this reminded me of Rose of Sharon feeding that old, dying man at the end of Grapes of Wrath... That said, I nursed my babies, but would not have have expressed milk and made cheese or ice cream for the rest of the family... The act of nursing a baby goes beyond nutrition -- it is about a human bond... That, I think is the basic symbolism in Steinbeck's novel. Seems nursing mother's who donate milk for sick people are evidencing that. I might have done that, if such things had existed back when I had my babies. Making cheese are ice cream, though -- don't think so.
kudos to the author of this article for 'pushing the envelope' with her culinary suggestions. It is a natural product with many benefits. My mother nursed us until we were 2 years old - even then some people get the ewww factor going when it really is the HEALTHY thing to do. As for adult consumption - it is something very intimate. Would I consume a breastmilk product? Yes, but as an adult I would only do it if I was willing to be just as physically intimate with the mother herself since I see it as erotica.
I can imagine making ice cream out of my milk if every have a baby--just out of sheer curiosity, not to serve to dinner guests. I don't really get the gross-out factor, but I agree with the intimacy aspect. I don't know that I would consume someone else's breast milk product, and I don't know that I'd offer my own outside of my family. Certainly no one should try to force any dietary or culinary choice on anyone else, but I don't think the creation of cheese or ice cream implies any kind of attempt to trick unsuspecting friends into consuming breast milk.
There is an ice cream shop in Covent Garden (London) where they served breast milk ice cream.. Not sure what happened there, but it was all over the news here for a little while :)
Please, if you have extra, donate it to families who need it (adoptive families, bio moms who can't breastfeed for various reasons, etc.)
There are milksharing communities online that are free and allow families to connect and do the shipping or pickup themselves.
I am whole-heartedly in favor of breastmilk becoming less "ewww". Human milk (aka breastmilk) is much more healthy and appropriate for human consumption than cow milk. I mean, would you ever REALLY consider sucking on a cow udder?
That being said, breastmilk is clinically a body fluid and can contain diseases, viruses, etc. This is why women with HIV can not breastfeed.
However, in the grand scheme of things, the typical American diet is likely more risky and full of chemicals, and harmful substances.
I would be happy to have my sister breastfeed my baby, and vice-versa. I think properly screened, trusted sources of the milk are imperative, but that there should be more sharing in general. It's too bad it is too cost-prohibitive (screening/shipping) to make it a widely purchased item.
Donation of breastmilk is admirable! Keep it up! And perhaps it should become more of the norm for family and friends to help those who cannot breastfeed.
While great for babies, adults can't really benefit from breast milk. Our stomachs are too acidic, which destroys most of its awesomeness. That being said, I've put it on my baby's skin and mine, and I've noticed it makes some of her rashes go away sooner than if I don't put it on, and it makes my zits smaller and less red.
@jmorris26 Feeding people breast milk without telling them is considered battery. My endometrium is great for nourishing a fetus and probably contains lots of iron, but would you enjoy me dumping the contents of my menstrual cup into a fruit smoothie I was planning to serve you? Doubtful.
I once knew a mom of twins, (both power nursers) and she made them nutricious fruit smoothies with breastmilk. I found a cute how to vid on youtube called Rosie's Breastmilk Smoothie Recipe.
Also, look into milk banks, there are many moms who are not able to breast feed or moms of adopted babies who would love to get your extra milk!
You have got to be kidding.
Just when I thought the religion of breast feeding couldn't get any more out there. . . .
In London, in Covent Garden one ice-cream shop made breast milk ice-cream and the sanitary and health system forbidden the sale immediatly.
I didn't know chemo patients could benefit from breastmilk.
It's battery to feed someone breastmilk without telling them?!
How about feeding them milk from a different species? How about milk that contains antibiotics? Or milk from a sick animal?
If someone cares about what they're going to put in their body, they're already going to be asking about what type of dairy the milk is from (organic, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, etc.), or just not consuming animal milk. It's perfectly legal and considered ethical by most people to feed someone factory-farmed dairy products from diseased animals and/or that contain antibiotics and artificial hormones, without stating what's in it and just saying "here, try this cheese/ice cream/cupcake/latte/etc." People do this all the freakin' time, and most people don't ask what's in it.
And just so you don't think I'm some zealot with an agenda, I at times consume factory-farmed dairy products and ingest all the gross and harmful things that come along with it. I also have a fairly strong background in biology and nutrition and know that human milk is somewhat better for a human, particularly since unlike the practices on factory farms, they aren't going to be getting it from a human who is too sick to eat or stand up, and because a nursing mother isn't going to be eating troughs of random farming waste that may or may not be providing nutrients and may or may not contain diseased and decaying matter.
Wow, did people actually liken boogers and menstrual blood to breastmilk? If an adult doesn't want to consume breastmilk, I can understand that. But the absurd comparisons make your aversions seem, well, absurd.
I love the suggestions in this post, but I realize without judgment that they are not for everyone. Animals are not meant to consume milk past weaning age, except in cases of illness where other things would be too harsh to digest, such as with chemo patients. Humans are the only species of animal to consume the milk of another species. Simultaneously being disgusted by their own milk makes no sense to me.
Healthy adults have no dietary need for any milk. I choose to consume processed dairy only because I have developed a taste for it and have chosen to go organic to avoid toxins. I am much more disgusted by the idea of what is in the commercial dairy supply that what is in the breastmilk of most women. That's partially why I literally laugh out loud at comment that suggested eliminating dairy only under the supervision of a physician. Hahahahaha, as if eliminating dairy is some sort of nutritional danger.