Anne Mendelson: Milk

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Perhaps you have wondered... Why don't humans drink pig's milk? Why do the French have the greatest number of different cheeses? Why do Americans so rarely drink water buffalo milk? Maybe you have licked your lips thinking about a perfect Mango Lassi, a bowl of Dulce de Leche, or a plate of buttermilk biscuits. Anne Mendelson has thought about all these issues and more. She writes with clarity and detail in Milk (Knopf 2009). The subtitle exposes here wonderful obsession: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages With 120 Adventurous Recipes that Explore the Riches of Our First Food. The first part of the book covers the history of milk. It turns out that humans don't drink pigs milk for various reasons: One obvious reason is that pigs – as equal-opportunity scavengers of vegetable and animal matter – are the only nonherbivores in the lineup. No society has ever habitually consumed milk from any animal that doesn't live on grass and leaves. (p. 5) The other reason she mentions is that pigs, like carnivores, give birth to large litters and feed them lying on their sides, not upright like other milch animals - making them hard to milk. Most early milk drinkers used sour milk, not fresh. Some developed yogurt (Yogurtisan), and other started ripening cheese with rennet and brine. In France an impressive variety of forms appeared as objects of great culinary interest in their own right. This richness makes sense, because it was early French commercial dairyists who worked most intensively to exploit subtly differentiated strains of local bacteria – without microscopes and long before the advent of the large industrial laboratories that today maintain colonies of microorganisms engineered to manufacturers' preferences. (p. 27) It turns out that buffalo milk does make a lot of sense for American consumers: But because buffaloes' milk is more concentrated and gives higher yields of milkfat, protein, and virtually any other milk-derived product per original pound of milk, it is more commercially profitable. (p.15) Despite the dismal quality of much of America's milk, Anne sees hope that excellent quality milk from different milch animals (including buffalo) can increase in this country. Part II of Milk is full of recipes divided up between Fresh Milk and Cream, Yogurt, Cultured Milk and Cream, Butter and True Buttermilk, and Fresh Cheeses. The section on yogurt has a fine, witty essay on the remarkable stuff that has its origins in prehistory. The recipes range from how to make homemade yogurt, to soups like Tarator (p. 161) a Bulgarian garlicky walnut and cucumber soup, to various Turkish dishes like Cacik (p. 163), Cucumber Raita (p. 164) and various other similar yogurt side dishes. But she also adds Lamb Kofte in Yogurt Sauce (p. 168) and Cilbir (p. 169) or eggs cooked in yogurt. She not only has a recipe for Mango Lassi, but a whole section on Lassi (pp. 179-82) as well as recipes for Ayran or Doogh (p. 178), the refreshing yogurt and mint drink. Milk contains recipes that are even more obscure – and yet fascinating for how they show the versatility of milk. Anne has a whole section on Tarhana/Trahana (pp.183-88), the Turkish/Greek "proto-pasta" that is a dried mixture of bulgur, milk and yogurt, with added vegetables, used extensively in Turkish and Greek country cooking, especially in the winter when fresh vegetables are unavailable. Anne gives two recipes for Tarhana soup (pp. 187-188) that are definitely out of the ordinary. This is a serious study of milk, and yet Anne uses her own voice and her own quirky appetite to elaborate and investigate. Like Jennifer McLagan's books Bones and Fat, Milk is about really savoring one easy-to-overlook ingredient. Think of the power of the Milkman in Maurice Sendak's Brudibar when you read Milk and you'll get a good idea: MILK, OH! MILK, OH! FARM-FRESH MILK, OH! MILK FOR KIDDIES, MILK FOR MUDDERS, MILK FOR CATS FROM BESSIE'S UDDERS! FRESH COLD MILK, OH, MILK, OH, MILK, OH, BUTTER TOO, AND CHEESE. Previous articles: Fat: An Appreciation by Jennifer McLagan Bones: Jennifer McLagan [Cookbook Reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, cookbooks, cookbook reviews --> back to Cookbook Reviews --> back to Super Chef