Donkey’s Milk in History: A London Tractate from 1754

The 50-page pamphlet translates the work of Halle physician Friedrich Hoffmann into English. It contains simple comparative experiments: From 12 ounces of donkey milk, Hoffmann obtained barely 2 drachms of curd, while from cow milk he obtained 10 drachms.

The source in brief

• Author: Friedrich Hoffmann (1660–1742), English translation by an anonymous translator
• Work: A Treatise of the Extraordinary Virtues and Effects of Asses Milk
• Passages: Preface pp. iv–viii; experiments pp. 14–15; directions for use pp. 45–47 (London: J. Whiston & B. White, 1754)
• Time and place: 1754 (London) · England (London)
• Type of source: Medical pamphlet

Verbatim

On the contrary, the same weight of cows milk, treated in the same manner, thickened into a grosser and heavier curd, which ... weighed ten drachms.

In contrast, the same quantity of cow milk, treated in the same way, yielded a coarser and heavier curd, which … weighed ten drachms.

English, pp. 14–15

German translation: own, sense-for-sense translation by the DON DONKEY'S editorial team.

Background

Friedrich Hoffmann was a professor in Halle and personal physician to the King of Prussia; he died in 1742. The present pamphlet was published in London in 1754 as an English translation of a Latin text by him, supplemented by a preface summarizing the opinions of other physicians (Moffett, Lemery, Arbuthnot).

The pamphlet was intended for a lay audience and was available for one shilling. It belongs to a time when donkey milk was delivered to homes in London by specialist dealers and when medicine still relied on humoral theory and case reports—without controlled studies.

What the source reports

The title alone promises—very much in the style of the time—effects in a number of diseases. The text relies on ancient and early modern authorities as well as individual cases from Hoffmann's practice. The pamphlet presents such statements as the author's opinion; they are not evidence in the modern sense.

More interesting is an early comparative experiment (pp. 14–15): Hoffmann allowed twelve ounces of donkey milk to curdle; the dried curd weighed barely two drachms, while the same quantity of cow milk yielded ten drachms. He concluded from this that donkey milk contained significantly less "cheesy" substance—an observation confirmed by later chemists.

At the end (pp. 45–47) are directions for use, as was customary in the 18th century: information on the time of day and quantity to be consumed. We deliberately do not reproduce them in detail, because today they are neither suitable as a recommendation nor have they been verified.

Numbers and facts

• 1754 – year of publication of the English edition, London
• 50 – pages, price one shilling
• 2 : 10 – drachms of curd from 12 ounces of donkey or cow milk
• 3 – physicians quoted in the preface: Moffett, Lemery, Arbuthnot

Critical assessment

• Transmission: The copy in the Wellcome Collection is fully digitized. Hoffmann's Latin original is mentioned in the title; the translation is anonymous and contains the translator's own additions.
• Promotional character: The title and preface are clearly promotional. The pamphlet was published by a publisher who also distributed other health guides, and it fits the flourishing London donkey milk trade of those years.
• What of this holds true: The simple curdling experiments indicate the low casein content of donkey milk, which modern analyses confirm. The healing promises of the pamphlet, on the other hand, are an expression of its time, are not scientifically proven today, and cannot be applied.

Our assessment

A typical example of the "donkey milk fad" in 18th-century England: much promise, little evidence. We present the pamphlet primarily because of Hoffmann's early comparative experiments with cow milk.

Source: Digital copy, p. 14 (archive.org, Wellcome Collection); Digital copy, pp. 45–47 (archive.org) · Summarized by the DON DONKEY'S editorial team, as of November 2026.

End of source summary. The source does not refer to DON DONKEY'S® or our products. Our donkey milk is a food.