Donkey Milk in History: Krünitz’s Encyclopedia (1777)

The extensive German Oeconomische Encyclopädie describes donkey milk in 1777 as being closer to human milk than cow milk in terms of being "lean" – and reproduces a typical substitute recipe for "artificial donkey milk".

The source in brief

• Author: Johann Georg Krünitz (1728–1796)
• Work: Oeconomische Encyclopädie, Vol. 11
• Location: Article "Donkey", Vol. 11 (1777), pp. 547–548; cross-reference article "Donkey milk"
• Time and place: 1777 · Prussia (Berlin)
• Type of source: Encyclopedia

The original wording

Donkey milk is leaner than cow milk, and for this very reason doctors use it to restore the health of patients whose stomachs cannot tolerate the fattier cow milk.

According to Krünitz, donkey milk is leaner than cow milk; therefore, doctors gave it to patients whose stomachs could not tolerate the fattier cow milk.

German, Vol. 11, p. 547

In terms of nourishment, it is much closer to human milk than cow milk is

In terms of its nourishing properties, it is much closer to human milk than cow milk.

German, Vol. 11, p. 547

Background

The "Oeconomische Encyclopädie" was started by Johann Georg Krünitz in 1773 and was published in 242 volumes until 1858. It is a very extensive German-language encyclopedia and a key source for agriculture, household, and everyday life during the transition to industrial society. The University Library of Trier has fully digitized and indexed it.

The section on donkey milk largely follows Buffon's French natural history (1753) verbatim and supplements it with German literary references from the 1760s and 1770s.

What the source reports

Krünitz describes donkey milk as leaner than cow milk and closer to human milk in its nourishing properties. Its use as a medicine has "been preserved from the Greeks down to us". For good milk, one should choose a young, healthy donkey that had recently given birth, had the foal weaned, and was fed hay, oats, barley, and herbs.

Literary references follow, including "Remarks on the medicinal use of donkey milk" (Leipzig 1767) and a report in the Leipzig Intelligenzblatt from 1775 about under what conditions "milking donkeys were procured for patients".

Since donkeys were not available everywhere and some people had an aversion to the drink, the article – according to a Hamburg magazine from 1765 – provides a substitute recipe for "artificial donkey milk" based on cow milk with ingredients such as deer antler, plantain root, and snails. We reproduce it only as a cultural-historical curiosity, expressly not for imitation.

Figures and facts

• 1777 – Year of publication of Volume 11
• pp. 547–548 – Section on donkey milk in the article "Donkey"
• 242 – Number of volumes in the Encyclopedia (1773–1858)
• 1767 – Cited work on the use of donkey milk (Leipzig)

Critical assessment

• Dependence on Buffon: The core section is an almost verbatim translation from Buffon's Histoire naturelle (Vol. IV, 1753, p. 402). The German literary references and the substitute recipe are original.
• "Artificial donkey milk": The recipe shows how popular donkey milk was – and how little was known about its composition. A mixture of deer antler, snails, and cow milk has nothing in common with donkey milk in terms of substance.
• Modern assessment: Krünitz's comparison with cow and human milk is based on observations of his time; today, the composition is examined with modern analytical methods. The described medicinal use corresponds to the state of knowledge of the 18th century and is not scientifically proven today.

Our assessment

Krünitz shows how knowledge about donkey milk traveled through Europe in the 18th century – directly from Buffon into the German reference work. The snail recipe is a nice reminder of how much has changed since then.

Proof: Article "Donkey" (Krünitz online, UB Trier); Article "Donkey milk" (Krünitz online, UB Trier) · 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.