April 10, 2023

Eat This Podcast: Making Mr Song's Cheese

Hello

Digging into old Chinese texts, Professor Miranda Brown discovered recipes and advice on butter, milk and cheese. She even managed to successfully recreate some cheeses.

So what about the story, which I’ve long believed, that the reason there is no milk or cheese in Chinese food culture today is because ethnic Chinese people are likely to be lactose intolerant?

Yes, a study in 1984 concluded that 92% of Han Chinese exhibit “primary adult lactose malabsorption”. Nevertheless, milk consumption is growing rapidly in China and the genetic basis of intolerance may be more complicated than a simple, single gene.

Listen to my chat with Miranda Brown.

Take care.