9 ms·
In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond Milk
- Retric 9y agoI wonder how much of this was related to the risk that Milk killed a lot of people in the Middle Ages.
- pjc50 9y ago> Milk killed a lot of people in the Middle Ages [citation needed]
- cjsuk 9y agoI don't think it killed at lot of people but it was pre-pasteurization so fresh milk didn't keep in a drinkable state for very long. Most of it got turned into butter or cheese pretty quickly. Almond milk was almonds (with a long shelf life) and boiled water (relatively clean) so less risk. I'm sure people got sick buying hooky milk though.
- vinceguidry 9y agoAlmond milk goes bad pretty quickly too. Not quite as quickly as fresh cow's milk, but you still don't want to keep that stuff around.
- Retric 9y agoThis is pre-refrigeration, pre-pasteurization, and milk is an awesome growth medium for bacteria plus a direct vector to various cow born diseases. Even with refrigeration and a much better disease model, modern medicine, etc raw milk regularly kills people so historically you would expect a high lifetime risks even if people where drinking it within hours of milking it. https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/rawmilk/rawmilk-outbreaks.html https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/rawmilk/rawmilk-outbreaks.htm...
- coldtea 9y agoWith the access to fresh milk from their own farm animals that they had? Why would milk kill "a lot of people in the middle ages"? Lots of rural communities in Europe lived until the 50s or so not much unlike the middle ages (no fridges, no electricity, farming, etc) and they weren't harmed by their milk at all.
- emodendroket 9y agoSince this is also pre-pasteurization I'm thinking all kinds of diseases could be transmitted by cow's milk.
- spraak 9y agoPasteurization is only necessary for transportation. If you drink fresh milk from a clean source, the risk of disease is quite low. And I have nothing to gain by sharing this as a vegan :P
- emodendroket 9y agoThere's no risk from drinking milk from cows with open sores on their utters?
- emodendroket 9y agoI meant udders here but that's probably obvious.
- spraak 9y agoUgh. Can you read? I said a clean source and LOW risk, not NO risk.
- emodendroket 9y agoAnd as we all know it was really rare for cattle in the Middle Ages to be ill.
- myth_drannon 9y agoDo you mean lactose intolerance?
- erasemus 9y agoBlancmange and rice pudding? Yes, I'm definitely in favour of adding almonds to those delightful desserts.
- lvoudour 9y agoA similar (almost identical) dessert is the Turkish Tavuk Göğsü, which probably implies a common origin for both dishes
- grenoire 9y agoI'd say muhallebi is closer to blancmange than tavuk göğsü, which is literally made from chicken meat.
- pacaro 9y agoAnd currently the dairy industry in Europe is litigating to ensure that only mammalian milk is allowed to be sold as milk, this would appear to going in the face of hundreds of years of history of calling other things milk. I wonder what Milk of Magnesia will have to be renamed to
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- dalbasal 9y agoThis EU quasi-trademark system for food labeling is such a racket. I blame champaignians for kicking it off.
- ollybee 9y agoThe protected food names scheme makes a lot of sense If a food label highlights a regional traditional food then it must come from that area if they have applied for protection. Seems in consumers and manufacturers best interest. Here's a map of British protected foods, I see none I would contest: https://goo.gl/tyE4Bm https://goo.gl/tyE4Bm
- emodendroket 9y agoMy judgment is somewhat clouded by the fact that I have no idea what many of the things on this map are, but in general, I get it if we're talking about, like, Prince Edward Island oysters, but I don't think regional distinctions make much sense for preparations. I think it makes more sense to delineate the preparation required to call something by a particular name (so, for instance, if you wanted to really clamp down on Parmesan cheese, I'd prefer specifying the method you have to use over just saying if it's from Parma it's good but if it's from Wisconsin you can't call it that).
- mijamo 9y agoBoth are usually needed. This is because many properties of the final product are determined by the local fauna/flora as well. In addition there is the whole question of IP for names of cities/regions. I mean if a place makes efforts to ensure that good quality products are made there, it becomes like a brand that needs to be protected. So for me protecting Parma Ham is just the same as protecting Coca Cola, just that the moral person is the community living in the place instead of a multinational company. Nothing prevents you from making of copy of Parma Ham and building your brand, just like you can copy Cocal Cola or any other product. Just don't use the name.
- chicob 9y agoPeople insist in considering almond milk (and many other vegetable based milks for that matter) as a mere substitute for cow milk, and not for a kind of food in its own right. Where I live, with the exception of oat milk, all soy, rice or almond milk comes with tricalcium phosphate and sometimes sugar, some flavour and even vegetable fat. Same for yoghurt. This tendency to add stuff (particularly sugar and fat) to food is becoming more frequent in bread and other vegetable products that were healthier once.
- maxerickson 9y agoHere in the land of corn syrup we have 2 national brands of almond milk that have at least 4 varieties, combining plain or vanilla with sweetened or unsweetened. Similar for other vegetable milks. They have calcium and thickeners added though.
- emodendroket 9y agoWell, isn't that because the biggest consumers are people who've gone vegan or dairy-free but still want something milk-like?
- jdavis703 9y agoSure, it's not the same as dairy milk, but I don't get this whole "don't call plant-based milk 'milk'" meme. What about Milkweed, or the white oozing "milt" that comes out of a dandelion stalk? Can those also not be called milk? Maybe if there was a good word that quickly described what rice, soy, or oat milk was it would be OK. But simply calling them "juice" seems to be even more of a culinary misnomer.
- empath75 9y agoI’m not a big fan of almond milk in general but it’s quite nice to make oatmeal with.
- wvlia5 9y agoPut 1 cup of Almonds and 3 cups of water in a blender, blend, filter and you have almond milk. Substitute Almonds for Peanuts or Coconut and you have Peanut or Coconut Milk. Easy and not expensive.
- dsego 9y agoDon't forget soaking to remove phytic acid.
- ddorian43 9y agoIsn't same thing released when chewing/eating ?
- spraak 9y agoNo, phytic acid is the acid seeds have to protect themselves. Perhaps you could see this as a biological protection against being eaten. The acid inhibits digetion. It's present on many grains etc. such as lentils, rice, and so on.
- mathw 9y agoAssuming you already have a sufficiently powerful blender, anyway.
- tdb7893 9y agoJust fyi to people making almond milk this way is often more expensive than just buying almond milk from the store unless you have a cheap way to buy almonds in bulk.
- dsego 9y agoStore bought is often watered down and has a really small percentage of almond, at least where I looked.
- sametmax 9y agoUnless you have a very good blender, you won't have the same texture.
- Kurtz79 9y agoInteresting article! In Sicily (especially in the eastern part of the island) almond milk is quite a common beverage, it also makes for a killer "granita".
- hoytech 9y agoThe book "The Lost Art of Real Cooking" by Alabala and Natziger describes how to make what they claim to be medieval-style almond milk and almond butter (apparently quite different from what we buy in stores today).