Donkey milk or dog milk? 16th century British revered cheese, and this quirky textbook is proof

A 112-page manuscript entirely dedicated to cheese from the 1580s doles out advice on all things related to the sometimes stringy, sometimes chewy and at other times crumbly food item. The oldest known book on cheese is titled A pamflyt compiled of Cheese, contayninge the differences, nature, qualities, and goodness of the same.

The manuscript was never published, but it offers an insight into how much cheese was revered even in the 16th century by food lovers. It talks about how to make the right cheese, which kind of milk to use, what to pair it with and more.

Its previous owners include a physician to Queen Elizabeth I, a member of parliament, and a member of another parliamentary family.
The book was extremely special to the owners, with the MP noting that the book should be returned to after being "perused."

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The vellum-bound manuscript was acquired by the University of Leeds at an auction in 2023. "I’ve never seen anything like it," author and food historian Peter Brears said in a statement.

A Cheese manual: What to do, what not to do

The book has some interesting suggestions about cheese. One of them is about using the right milk and how the wrong milk can trigger unwanted consequences. It suggests using milk from camels, donkeys, and horses to make cheese. However, it warns that if cheese made from a dog’s milk is consumed by a pregnant woman, she might have early contractions and give birth early.

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For some strange reason, the writer also talks about women's milk, and that he isn't aware if someone uses it to make cheese. Alex Bamji, associate professor of early modern history at the University of Leeds, says that people in the 16th century also seemed to be aware that cheese is not everyone's cup of tea.

The book also tells the right time to eat cheese. “Generally, the view was that it was best towards the end of a meal," Bamji said.

One of the portions talks about how to curdle milk, suggesting the use of fish guts, and the best method to make hard cheese.

The author of this cheese manual remains a mystery. However, Brears says it is possible to decode that by looking at "handwriting style, evidence of regional dialects, which modern locations are actually being referred to".

He wants somebody to undertake a Ph.D. on it to figure out the writer.