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Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by chicob on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @08:22AM (#15905382)
People 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.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by jdavis703 on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:30AM (#15905757)
Sure, 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.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by nnq on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:55AM (#15905933)
it's not about what you call it... it about not adding s to it to make it more like "cow milk" now that you call it milk

like in, "look, kids are eating this for breakfast, we need to fortify it vitamins and stuff to prevent deficiencies"... nevermind that those extra vitamins will just increase the risk of cancers or stuff in adults. it's becoming hard to find the "un-enhanced" sortiments of many products.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by athenot on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:14AM (#15906089)
While I'm generally a fan of leaving foods as untouched as possible, I have not seen any link between vitamin D3 in the dosage applied to milk and cancer. Conversely, vitamin D deficiency is a population health problem (widespread), so the tradeoff is warranted.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by nnq on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:32AM (#15906249)
> vitamin D deficiency is a population health problem (widespread)

...despite the study that got very popular on HN lately this is far from a clearly agreed upon theory. There's still only retrospective data and with enough confounding factors to make drawing any inference on the causality of things very very hard. Until we all start wearing blood-analyzing implants for a generation or so, >50% of nutrition related studies will continue either being bullshit or not meaning what we think they mean,

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by lawlessone on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @11:18AM (#15906699)
In fairness if we're reading hacker news we're probably D3 deficient.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by chicob on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @01:19PM (#15907999)
Of course, I forgot vitamins. Who needs doctors when we have corporate nannies telling us how to eat healthily.

I don't know about cancer, but food additives aren't always a good idea.

Extra calcium is not really absorbed without vitamin D3 (more specifically, calcitriol), but I imagine that if one has a kidney condition one would have to avoid such food additives.

Even the addition of iodine to salt is not without consequences.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by chicob on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @12:42PM (#15907616)
There was a time in the US margarine had to be dyed pink, so that consumers wouldn't take it for butter. Of course no one would confuse the two: it's just a disingenuous way of using antitrust law against the very competition it's supposed to protect.

The same thing happens here: soy yoghurt is 'soy dessert', soy/rice/* milk is '* beverage'.

I'm not sure this is actually enforced, or brands are just covering their asses.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by calvano915 on Wednesday December 13, 2017 @01:22AM (#15912444)
I don't get this whole "don't call plant-based milk 'milk'" meme

I'm on both sides of this. I think it should be called milk, and the public should understand that the nutrition is very different, but perhaps for public interest not calling it milk is better because cow milk does offer more bang-for-buck and nutrition (particularly protein and vit D fortification) and the public could easily overlook this. I lean toward not calling it milk, because everyone who wants almond milk knows what to buy or can figure it out quite easily, even if it's not called milk any more.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by LunaSea on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:39AM (#15905818)
They should really call almond milk: "drought inducing almond juice" to fully reflect the consequences of that choice.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by devmunchies on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:47AM (#15905871)
Drought inducing? Are you forgetting that feeding cows is much more inneficient than growing crops? They drink lots of water and eat lots of corn/soy, and that corn and soy requires lots of water to grow.

AND you have to feed the calf a milk substitute because we're stealing it's meal.

If you must have milk, drink dairy substitutes if you care about drought.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by JoeAltmaier on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:49AM (#15905882)
Depends on whether you already have pasture for cows. They ate grass in the middle ages, which people couldn't eat.

Even today, they eat grass for the bulk of their lives. They are 'finished' with corn/soy to add marbling.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by devmunchies on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:02AM (#15905985)
If you don't have pastures for cows or for the corn/soy then you make it right? Also terrible for the environment.

It's a massive system beyond simply "eating the grass which people couldn't eat". People consume many times more dairy and eat many times more beef than in history.

There's not enough land for all of the cows to free graze. It was estimated we would need something like 7 Earths to feed the world on the Western diet.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by JoeAltmaier on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:41AM (#15906320)
Feedlots feed out with hay/grain, molasses and silage. The grain was (nominally) edible by humans; the rest is not. Over 100 days they eat ~1500kg per head total and gain around 140kg (meat).

So when counting the grain used against the cost of meat, include the dry material as well for a fair comparison.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by maxerickson on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:16AM (#15906107)
Per capita consumption was likely quite a bit higher in the early US:

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/06/how-ameri...

Of course the total consumption has gone up because of the massive increase in population.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by devmunchies on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:24AM (#15906177)
But we hardly ate cheese in the early US. There were only a handful dairies. Now we are the #1 cheese producing country.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by maxerickson on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:01AM (#15905971)
In lots of feedlots they are gaining several hundred pounds. It's more than marbling.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by aklemm on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:25AM (#15906188)
Wait a minute, does this mean my diet containing a lot corn and some soy has marbled me? Hmm, that can't be good.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by LunaSea on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:32AM (#15906248)
> It takes 1.1 gallons (5 litres) of water to grow one almond, and thanks to the big profits they bring in, almond orchards continue to be planted (this isn’t to say cow’s milk, which takes about 100 litres of water to produce 100ml of milk, is more environmentally friendly – more that its production is not concentrated in one area of the globe).

cf: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2015/oct/...

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by TrisMcC on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:46AM (#15905860)
What would you call cow's milk then? It takes more water to make cow's milk than almond milk.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by neaden on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:57AM (#15905947)
To be fair though, the milk I drink comes from Wisconsin, which isn't have a drought, while the almonds I eat/drink come from California which is having a drought. Unfortunately we can't grow almonds in most of the parts of the country that have plenty of water, but we can raise cows.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by TrisMcC on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:04AM (#15906005)
There are plenty of farm animals in California. That contributes more to the drought of California than almonds.

http://veganstart.org/wp-content/uploads/vs-graphic-truthord...

Sourced PDF: http://pacinst.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2013/02/ca_ft...

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by maxerickson on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @08:50AM (#15905534)
Here 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.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by emodendroket on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:26AM (#15905737)
Well, isn't that because the biggest consumers are people who've gone vegan or dairy-free but still want something milk-like?
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by ousta on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:16AM (#15906110)
almond milk is water and almond + sugar
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by pacaro on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @08:00AM (#15905271)
And 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
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by gwbas1c on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @08:53AM (#15905552)
That happened in the US. Immediately after, "soy milk" became "soymilk" and "almond milk" became "almondmilk."
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by pacaro on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:00AM (#15905590)
Wow. Goes to show how things can go unnoticed. I just went the the fridge to fact check your comment (!) and discovered cashewmilk, coconutmilk, and soymilk. I had never noticed the disappearing space
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by tom_mellior on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:29AM (#15906220)
> And currently the dairy industry in Europe is litigating to ensure that only mammalian milk is allowed to be sold as milk

Not sure what you mean by "currently" and "the dairy industry" and "litigating", but a (the?) relevant case was decided by the ECJ back in June. Press release: https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/201... full judgement: http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&doc...

For whatever it's worth, the lawsuit was brought by a German society that aims to ensure fair competition by truth in advertising. (Were they bought by the dairy industry? Possible.)

The judgement is clearly based on the definition "The term “milk” shall mean exclusively the normal mammary secretion obtained from one or more milkings without either addition thereto or extraction therefrom." from EU law made by the European Parliament and the Council. (Were they bought by the dairy industry? Possible. But given this sentence that is part of EU law, the court didn't have much choice.)

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by chicob on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @02:12PM (#15908481)
Many languages are spoken in the EU (as anyone can check by the several translations available for the many documents published by the EU: https://curia.europa.eu), so this sounds really silly.

I say this because most meanings are lost in translation if we're to use them literally.

Take the english word 'oil'.

- In Spain, oil would be translated to 'aceite': olive oil is 'aceite de oliva'; engine lubricating oil is 'aceite de motor'. The same thing happens in French, but a literal translation would sound weird in Portuguese, because

- In Portugal, olive oil is simply called 'azeite', a word that is not used for sunflower seed oil, called 'óleo de girassol', or motor oil, called 'óleo' or 'óleo de motor'.

A similar thing happens with the word 'cream', translated to 'natas' if it refers to the solid phase of cow milk, or 'creme' if it refers to some form of paste, be it an edible spread, a soup, or some body lotion.

So the very fact that they translated 'cream' as 'natas', in the portuguese version, means that the context is everything and that people are not unquestioning automata.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by ManuelKiessling on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:55AM (#15906463)
As if customers were too stupid to understand what the term "milk" means.

/drinks from his sunmilk

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by dalbasal on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @08:36AM (#15905450)
This EU quasi-trademark system for food labeling is such a racket.

I blame champaignians for kicking it off.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by ollybee on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:14AM (#15905650)
The 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
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by emodendroket on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:30AM (#15905759)
My 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).
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by mijamo on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:49AM (#15905888)
Both 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.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by emodendroket on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @12:45PM (#15907656)
I mean, ultimately I don't agree with this perspective. Nobody would maintain that only Burgundians can make Beef Burgundy, or only Ukrainians (what's the demonym here, Kievites?) can do Chicken Kiev, right?
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by pmyteh on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:31AM (#15905770)
It's an interesting bunch that.

I'm not convinced that 'Welsh Lamb' is in any real sense a regional traditional food that differs from English lamb, but on consumer protection grounds I also don't reckon that you should be able to label random lamb as Welsh anyway. And some others ('Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb' is the one I know best) really are quite distinct from their equivalents elsewhere and really should be recognised as its own thing.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by rlonstein on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @11:26AM (#15906786)
> 'Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb' is the one I know best

* https://www.thespruce.com/yorkshire-forced-rhubarb-history-4...

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhubarb_Triangle

Interesting. I've only had the summer/outdoor variety.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by dalbasal on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:12AM (#15906069)
Manufacturers (esp agricultural) are the ones protected. We don't have the same "food fraud" issues that have become a problem in the states (mislabeling fish, etc.).

People used to say "french campaign," they knew some of it was made elsewhere. I would wager more people knew that some champagne was made elsewhere than people who knew that champagne is a region. Same for Greek Yoghurt or feta cheese. These were considered types of products.

Good or bad, these are pure agricultural lobby initiatives, not consumer protection. IMO, it's not too different from Hollywood getting regional trademark protection for to word "romantic comedy."

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by jdavis703 on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:35AM (#15905798)
No it's not in the consumer's best interest. I really don't care if I'm drinking Champagne or Prosecco, as long as it tastes good.

Instead of this current racket, where food names become less clear, the regional food manufacturers should be forming associations that build brands. These brands can then utilize logos, trademarks, anti-counterfeiting designs and other enforceable IP to stand out as being "Original Champagne" or "English Cheddar," or whatever is needed.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by pmyteh on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:45AM (#15905851)
> No it's not in the consumer's best interest. I really don't care if I'm drinking Champagne or Prosecco, as long as it tastes good.

I'm not sure that's the best example. In addition to being made in different places, Champagne and Prosecco are made from different grape varieties, and Prosecco is normally made using a different process (Charmat rather than 'traditionelle' - fermented in tank rather than in bottle). They're really quite different products. The generic term that covers both kinds is 'sparkling wine', and if you don't care which kind you get as long as it's good, that seems fine.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by seszett on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:49AM (#15905885)
> I really don't care if I'm drinking Champagne or Prosecco, as long as it tastes good.

Well I do, because even if both taste good, they don't taste the same and I don't want to discover which one I have really bought only after having spent 50€ on my bottle.

If the name has no importance, then why insist on calling your product that doesn't come from Champagne, "Champagne"? And if it has a real importance, then it makes sense to respect it.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by GuB-42 on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:52AM (#15906427)
I am French and I am very happy with the quasi-trademark rules.

This way, when I buy a product named "X", I know that it follows a standard without having to look at all the details. If I think "X" is overrated, I will buy the lesser known "Y" that I know is just as good, because it has its own standard. Same as with name brands, really.

Speaking about Champagne, fundamentally, it is just a sparkling wine. No one forces you to buy Champagne if you want sparkling wine. In France, we have alternatives that can be just as good: Cremant, Blanquette, Clairette,... or even generic "mousseux".

The only thing that makes Champagne Champagne is that it has to meet a certain standard, and part of it is that it has to be made in the Champagne region.

I mean, it's like buying a Swiss watch that has nothing to do with Switzerland. It may be a very good watch, but don't call it a Swiss watch unless it is Swiss.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by chicob on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @02:37PM (#15908734)
Being Portuguese, I too am in favour of geographic indications.

Like Port, or Madeira. There is no such thing as Champagne in Portugal. We too have sparkling wine, but we could not call it Champagne if we wanted.

Unfortugnately, we now have CETA. So if things go wrong, Canada will be able to export to the EU many protected products not included in CETA's (largely incomplete) Annex 20.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by Retric on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @06:52AM (#15904868)
I wonder how much of this was related to the risk that Milk killed a lot of people in the Middle Ages.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by coldtea on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @08:17AM (#15905352)
With 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.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by emodendroket on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:31AM (#15905772)
Since this is also pre-pasteurization I'm thinking all kinds of diseases could be transmitted by cow's milk.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by spraak on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @03:15PM (#15909052)
Pasteurization 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
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by DanBC on Wednesday December 13, 2017 @08:41AM (#15914101)
This is incorrect. Raw milk is not a low risk product. Raw milk is sold in tiny quantities, but regularly causes harm. That harm isn't limited to a bit of diarrhea, sometimes it's life-changing permantent damage.

The risks of raw milk are more severe for children, and children are often not asked for, nor able to give, consent to engage in this risky behaviour. Many outbreaks of raw milk poisoning included a child under 5. (Some of these children needed kidney transplant).

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by spraak on Wednesday December 13, 2017 @11:10AM (#15915105)
Again, as a vegan I really don't care about (cow) milk, but please give evidence to that it "regularly" causes harm.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by emodendroket on Wednesday December 13, 2017 @11:31AM (#15915248)
https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/rawmilk/rawmilk-outbreaks.htm...

> From 2007 through 2012, 26 states reported 81 outbreaks linked to raw milk. The outbreaks caused 979 illnesses and 73 hospitalizations.

> From 2007 through 2009, 30 outbreaks were linked to raw milk. This increased to 51 outbreaks from 2010 through 2012. Among outbreaks in which the food or drink linked to the outbreak was identified, the percentage associated with raw milk increased from 2% from 2007 through 2009 to 5% from 2010 through 2012.

[...]

> Probably no more than 1% of the milk consumed in the United States is raw, yet more outbreaks were linked to raw milk than by pasteurized milk.

> If you consider the number of outbreaks associated with raw milk in light of the very small amount of milk that is consumed raw, the risk of outbreaks linked to raw milk is at least 150 times greater than the risk of outbreaks linked to pasteurized milk. [...] E. coli O157:H7, which can cause kidney failure and death, was a common cause of outbreaks linked to raw milk. Relatively mild viral infections and toxins were common causes of outbreaks linked to pasteurized milk.

This seems pretty high relative to the number of people regularly consuming raw milk.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by emodendroket on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @03:30PM (#15909173)
There's no risk from drinking milk from cows with open sores on their utters?
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by spraak on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:32PM (#15911808)
Ugh. Can you read? I said a clean source and LOW risk, not NO risk.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by emodendroket on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:34PM (#15911815)
And as we all know it was really rare for cattle in the Middle Ages to be ill.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by coldtea on Wednesday December 13, 2017 @08:33AM (#15914065)
Why would they be ill more frequently than not? If anything, their lives were much better, and the environment much better than today's cows in industrial production settings.

In any case, anybody who hasn't spent all their lives in western cities, but knows rural communities, can attest to millions drinking fresh milk with very low risk for ages...

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by emodendroket on Wednesday December 13, 2017 @09:12AM (#15914262)
Milkmaids commonly had cowpox, did they not?
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by emodendroket on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @06:34PM (#15910566)
I meant udders here but that's probably obvious.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by JoeAltmaier on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:46AM (#15905863)
Tuberculosis?
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by pjc50 on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @07:57AM (#15905254)
> Milk killed a lot of people in the Middle Ages

[citation needed]

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by cjsuk on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @08:15AM (#15905346)
I 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.

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by vinceguidry on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @08:48AM (#15905517)
Almond 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.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by cjsuk on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:44AM (#15905844)
It does but you can make it on demand.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by mathw on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:52AM (#15905914)
Yeah, the almonds themselves keep for a long time, so you store it in that form. Given the amount of labour involved you wouldn't be wanting to try to make six months' supply at once anyway.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by Retric on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:21AM (#15906150)
This 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.htm...

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by myth_drannon on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:15AM (#15905652)
Do you mean lactose intolerance?
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by wvlia5 on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @08:50AM (#15905532)
Put 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.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by tdb7893 on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @10:45AM (#15906356)
Just 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.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by dsego on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @01:17PM (#15907969)
Store bought is often watered down and has a really small percentage of almond, at least where I looked.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by dsego on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:15AM (#15905656)
Don't forget soaking to remove phytic acid.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by ddorian43 on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:59AM (#15905961)
Isn't same thing released when chewing/eating ?
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by spraak on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @03:13PM (#15909036)
No, 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.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by sametmax on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @12:09PM (#15907230)
Unless you have a very good blender, you won't have the same texture.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by mathw on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @09:51AM (#15905908)
Assuming you already have a sufficiently powerful blender, anyway.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by hoytech on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @08:56AM (#15905565)
The 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).
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by Kurtz79 on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @08:50AM (#15905537)
Interesting 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".

Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by lvoudour on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @07:56AM (#15905243)
A similar (almost identical) dessert is the Turkish Tavuk Göğsü, which probably implies a common origin for both dishes
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by grenoire on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @08:15AM (#15905344)
I'd say muhallebi is closer to blancmange than tavuk göğsü, which is literally made from chicken meat.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by erasemus on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @06:54AM (#15904878)
Blancmange and rice pudding? Yes, I'm definitely in favour of adding almonds to those delightful desserts.
Re:In the Middle Ages, the Upper Class Went Nuts for Almond ... by empath75 on Tuesday December 12, 2017 @08:34AM (#15905441)
I’m not a big fan of almond milk in general but it’s quite nice to make oatmeal with.