Milk!: A 10,000 Year Food Fracas
Overall Ranking 4) Totally optional
Would I Recommend Reading It?
Approach reading this book as you would a gallon of milk. Do not attempt to consume it all in one sitting. Conquer it piece by piece. Glass by glass. Don't be worried if you find yourself needing more naps than normal. Nearly four hundred pages talking about milk will do that to you. You are going to get sleepy. And you better not complain about it. Do not forget it is why you bought the book after all.
However, a little drowsiness does not mean that the history of milk is boring or simplistic. Kurlansky takes you on guided tour throughout time where you are going to discover that milk and its byproducts are anything but boring.
Before cooing for mother or even opening our eyes we all scream for milk. When we are born, we must have it or we will die. So, we howl for it. So much so that often mom can't make enough. So, we outsource. Other moms, cows, goats, anything to feed the baby. Abundance is preferred to scarcity. Abundance of milk saves lives. Then one day we can walk away from it potentially never 'needing' it again. We fully rely on milk until we don't so what do we do with the excess? Milk goes bad FAST and refrigeration won't be invented for 10,000 years.
You don't want your milk to go to waste, that's for sure. It's a lot of work getting milk. Correctly letting milk 'go bad' can create cheese, the greatest thing on earth. Letting good milk go bad incorrectly can get you buried in six feet of earth. Creating powdered milk can have armies conquer nations faster than ever seen in recorded history. Burning powdered milk is watching a weeks' worth of labor turn to ash. Significantly increasing your chances of dying from starvation.
The world of milk is rich. It's raw. It is a keystone to our very survival.
If that line interests you at all, then pick up this book. If that line makes you walk away, then you aren't missing out on anything lifechanging. Milk! is incredibly well researched, well orated, but despite the multiple hmmmmm's and interesting's you'll utter you likely aren't going to feel like your life is changed. Your habits will stay the same. And for that I am going to give this a recommendation of totally optional.
If at this point you are undeterred then congratulations on your curiosity. Likely, you are familiar with Mark Kurlansky, so you know exactly what to expect. Milk! follows his typical chronological pattern but doesn't center on as many stories as Cod or Salt. Instead, you'll be surprised to find over a hundred recipes. All of which are directly tied to the times and subject you're learning about. You will not try a single one. Mark says they are great. You won't try them, guaranteed.
Overall, I had three major takeaways. Without spoilers (pun intended) they are: the history of powdered milk, our relationship with raw milk both past and present, and the homogenization of milk.
PRO TIP: Pay attention to when powdered milk comes up. It isn't that those are the most interesting sections, but for whatever reason when someone learns you're reading about milk their first question is going to be about it. Couldn't tell you why, but it happened while reading in the airport, the bookstore, and twice more with different family members.
Additional Information on the Author
Books to Bowls OUT!
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