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Donkey Milk in Institutions: China's Milk Powder Standard 2024
China's 2024 milk powder standard includes donkey milk powder for the first time: at least 2.5 g of fat per 100 g and at...
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Knowledge about donkeys and donkey milk
Background on donkey milk, donkey cheese and our donkeys – with recipes, guides and tips for everyday life.
398 articles
Donkey milk in institutions: Answer in the Indian Parliament 2024
In a parliamentary response dated December 17, 2024, the Indian government cites two ICAR-NRCE research projects on donkey milk and a subsidy program providing...
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Donkey milk among institutions: ICAR technical meeting in India 2022
In December 2022, Indian research institutes held talks with the ILRI on donkey milk. The director of the Equine Research Centre called for the...
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Donkey milk at institutions: the Asino Romagnolo breed sheet
The official breed register of the Emilia-Romagna region lists 1,152 registered Asino Romagnolo donkeys on 350 farms and cites milk production as a new...
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Donkey milk in institutions: the 2017 guide for milk donkeys
The 2017 guidelines recommend, among other things, starting milking 20 to 90 days after the foal is born and not extending lactation beyond 270...
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Donkey milk in institutions: the EU definition of “milk”
EU market rules reserve the term "milk" for the product of normal mammary secretion. For milk that does not come from cows, the animal...
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Donkey milk in institutions: the 2013 FAO technical book
The 2013 FAO book lists donkey milk in Table 3.3 with an average of 90.8 g water, 1.6 g protein, 0.7 g fat, and...
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Donkey Milk in History: The Legend of King Francis I.
A frequently told story: A Jewish doctor from Constantinople allegedly prescribed donkey milk to King Francis I. The earliest versions we were able to...
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Donkey Milk in History: Parmentier and Deyeux (1799)
The two Parisian chemists compared milk from women, cows, goats, donkeys, sheep, and mares. In their ranking, donkey milk comes first in terms of...
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Donkey Milk in History: A London Merchant in 1789
In 1789, Robert Hammond of Knightsbridge issued a flyer defending himself against competitors who falsely claimed to be the successors to his firm. For...
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Donkey Milk in History: Krünitz’s Encyclopedia (1777)
The comprehensive German Oeconomische Encyclopädie describes donkey milk in more detail as “lean” compared to cow’s milk and human milk—and provides a typical substitute...
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Donkey’s Milk in History: A London Tractate from 1754
The 50-page tract translates the Halles doctor Friedrich Hoffmann into English. It contains simple comparison experiments: From 12 ounces of donkey milk, Hoffmann obtained...
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Donkey milk in history: Buffon (1753)
In the fourth volume of his Natural History, published in 1753, Buffon states that the use of donkey milk is rich “from the Greeks...
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Donkey milk in history: Madame de Sévigné
In two letters to her daughter, the Marquise de Sévigné mentions donkey milk as a remedy among her Parisian acquaintances—drunk “evenings and mornings.” The...
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Donkey milk in history: Cleopatra fact-checked
No ancient text reports that Cleopatra bathed in donkey milk. The sources mention Poppaea Sabina, Nero's wife, around 95 years after Cleopatra's death.
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Donkey milk in history: Cassius Dio
The historian Cassius Dio reports in the early 3rd century that Poppaea had 500 mares milked daily to bathe in their milk – as...
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Donkey milk in history: Galen
Around 175 AD, the physician Galen recommended that older people alternate between drinking goat’s milk and donkey’s milk, stating that donkey’s milk was thin...
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Donkey’s Milk in History: Juvenal’s Satire
Around 116 AD, the satirist Juvenal mocked a wealthy Roman woman who smelled of “Poppaea ointment” and pampered herself with donkey milk—and who would...
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Donkey Milk in History: Pliny’s Books of Remedies
In Book 28 of his Natural History, Pliny calls donkey milk “the most efficacious” milk and lists about a dozen uses attributed to it...
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Donkey Milk in History: Pliny and Poppaea
Pliny reports that around 77 AD, Nero's wife Poppaea had 500 female donkeys brought in with her and bathed in their milk. He also...
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Donkey milk in history: Varro
The Roman scholar Varro ranked the types of milk in 37 BC: sheep's milk was the most nutritious, mare's milk the strongest laxative –...
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Donkey milk in history: Aristotle
In the 4th century BC, Aristotle classified types of milk by their thickness: camel milk was the thinnest, followed by human and donkey milk,...
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Donkey milk in history: the Hippocratic Corpus
The Greek medical treatise from around 400 BC mentions donkey milk in more than ten chapters—mostly as a drink given after a laxative, often...
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Donkey Milk Study: Protein Profile and Whey Proteins (Polidori 2013)
In milk from Martina-Franca donkeys, lysozyme decreased from 1.34 mg/mL (day 60) to 0.76 mg/mL (day 190); β-lactoglobulin averaged 3.75 mg/mL, and lactoferrin was...
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