Beestings

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

beestings for which the correct technical name is colostrum, is the milk produced by a cow, or any other mammal, immediately after giving birth: it is markedly different from normal milk and contains various substances which favour and protect the newborn animal. For cooks the important point is that it contains much more of the lactalbumin proteins than usual, so that it is thick when raw and sets to a custard when cooked.

Tradition attributes mystical curative powers to beestings, and it has often been used to make special curds and other dishes for invalids.