On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 22

ingenuityhaveteasedfrommilk.Asipof
milkitselforascoopoficecreamcanbea
Proustiandraftofyouth’sinnocenceand
energyandpossibility,whileamorseloffine
cheeseisarichmeditationonmaturity,the
fulfillmentofpossibility,thewayofallflesh.
MammalsandMilk

TheEvolutionofMilk
Howandwhydidsuchathingasmilkever
cometobe?Itcamealongwithwarmbloodedness,hair,andskinglands,allof
whichdistinguishmammalsfromreptiles.
Milkmayhavebegunaround300million
yearsagoasaprotectiveandnourishingskin
secretionforhatchlingsbeingincubatedon
theirmother’sskin,asistruefortheplatypus
today.Onceitevolved,milkcontributedto
thesuccessofthemammalianfamily.Itgives
newbornanimalstheadvantageofideally
formulatedfoodfromthemotherevenafter


birth,andthereforetheopportunityto
continuetheirphysicaldevelopmentoutside
thewomb.Thehumanspecieshastakenfull
advantageofthisopportunity:weare
completelyhelplessformonthsafterbirth,
whileourbrainsfinishgrowingtoasizethat
wouldbedifficulttoaccommodateinthe
wombandbirthcanal.Inthissense,milk
helpedmakepossibletheevolutionofour

largebrain,andsohelpedmakeustheunusual
animalsweare.
MilkandButter:PrimalFluids
When the gods performed the sacrifice,
with the first Man as the offering, spring
was the melted butter, summer the fuel,
autumn the offering. They anointed that
Man, born at the beginning, as a sacrifice
on the straw…. From that full sacrifice
they gathered the grains of butter, and
made it into the creatures of the air, the
forest, and the village…cattle were born