Weekly Poll: Breast milk cheese

While looking for obscure cheese facts, as I am wont to do since the beginning of this blog, I came across a site for a French farm that claims to specialize in cheese made out of human breast milk. Unfortunately, the good people at Snopes have determined that it is a hoax, which is too bad. Being that this is the internet, however, I was quickly able to find a blog entry in which the writer detailed her attempt to make Paneer (a.k.a. cottage cheese) out of her own breast milk. In the end she found that it's just not possible because breast milk doesn't curdle like cows' milk.

I was pretty disappointed to read her end results as I find the idea of making cheese out of your own milk a fascinating concept. Other people understandably do not share my enthusiasm, my group mate included. What are your thoughts on the matter? Vote in the new poll and feel free to share your two cents.

The Dreams of My Cheese, Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

Photo credit: arbyreed

Before I begin, allow me to apologize for the lack of updates these past few days. Things have been a bit hectic, school-wise.

The last time I checked in, I mentioned that I would conduct my own cheese and dreams experiment. True to my word, I had a slice of Swiss cheese (Sargento brand to be exact) every night before bed for three nights in a row, and then proceeded to record any dreams I might have had.

Before I disclose my findings, I should probably offer this disclaimer: For as long as I can remember, my dreams have always been fragmented, little snippets that have no relation to what came before or what is to come after. Now that you know, be aware that the dreams I'm about to describe won't be elaborate yarns but rather nonsensical bits that my sub-conscience was kind enough to cook up while I slept. Now, on to the dreams:

Night 1: One minute I was at school, then I was at work, and then finally I was reading a hybrid novel/comic book in which one of the characters looked just like John Krasinski.

Night 2: My dream on this night was rather meta in that I was telling a family member how different cheeses can affect what dreams you have. Weird.

Night 3: I got into a catfight with some unknown gal in a backstage dressing room, and fittingly enough, J. Alexander from America's Next Top Model made a small appearance. Shortly afterwards I found that one of my front teeth had grown to the point where it was four times the size of all of my other teeth. To make things even worse, it was threatening to fall out, which would in turn leave a massive gap between my front teeth.

So what have we learned? To be honest, the only things I took away from this experiment were that my dreams are either really banal or really fantastical, and that Swiss is not consistent compared to the cheeses used in the British Cheese Board study. But I will say this: Before doing this test, I hadn't had a dream in weeks, but as you can see, I found myself dreaming of something for all three nights during which I had some cheese before bedtime. If anything, this upholds the hypothesis that there is a connection between cheese and dreams, even if the cheese doesn't serve as a reference as to what your dreams will entail.

The Dreams of My Cheese

Photo credit: princess_of_llyr

Sweet dreams are made of cheese. No, they really are, according to a study conducted by the British Cheese Board back in 2005. The findings suggest that not only will eating cheese before bed help you get a good night's sleep (cheese contains tryptophan, the amino acid largely responsible for many a Thanksgiving turkey-induced coma), but that the type of cheese you consume can determine what it is you dream about.

Given that this study took place in Britain, it makes sense that the six types of cheeses used were all British cheeses. Here's a breakdown of what they were and what kind of dreams they were said to be responsible for:

Red Leicester: Anything nostalgic, such as memories, old friends, and past homes.

Stilton: This cheese was said to induce the most vivid and absurd dreams, especially among women. If you have some and later find yourself dreaming about "soldiers fighting with each other with kittens instead of guns" or "a vegetarian crocodile upset because it could not eat children", you know what to blame.

British Brie: Women participants reported having calm, relaxing dreams while men found themselves in silly situations such as having drunken conversations with dogs.

Lancashire: Two-thirds of the participants who ate this cheese found themselves dreaming about work, although only 30% of them dreamt of their real-life occupations. Unless you love your job so much that you actually want to dream about it, it's probably best to steer clear of this cheese before turning in for the night.

Cheddar: Cheddar eaters were said to have dreamt of celebrities. One gal even found herself forming "a human pyramid under the supervision of Johnny Depp." So that explains why Cheddar is the most popular cheese in the U.K.!

Cheshire: Last and actually somewhat least, Cheshire eaters reported having few dreams, but I suppose that it matters little given that 76% of them said that they enjoyed good sleep after having a bit of Cheshire before bed.

So... talk about weird results. I unfortunately don't have any of these cheeses on me at the moment, but I do have a bit of Swiss, and I'll make sure to report back on any interesting dreams I may have. In the meantime, here's a funny piece commissioned by BBC Radio about these findings.