🥛 Pig milk
Also known as: sow milk
Pig milk: almost nobody has tasted it.
Almost no one has ever tasted pig’s milk, even though the pig is one of the most numerous domestic animals. The reason lies in the physiology of lactation. According to a review by Grahofer and Plush (2023), a sow’s milk ejection itself lasts only about 20 seconds and is triggered by the piglets massaging the udder, which releases oxytocin. Nursing bouts are frequent — by the end of lactation about once every 50 minutes on average — and some bouts are “empty”, with no milk let down at all.
On top of that, a sow has many small teats (usually 12–16), and in the first days of life each piglet claims its own: according to the same review, by day four 85–95% of piglets have a fixed teat. All this makes machine milking of pigs practically impossible and economically pointless.
According to rough pooled data, pig’s milk is richer in fat and protein than cow’s milk (about 7–8% fat and 5–6% protein), which matches the piglets’ very fast growth. Reports of cheese made from pig’s milk refer to one-off experiments, and no such product is on the market.
Composition per 100 g
| Fat | 8.2 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 5.8 g | |
| Lactose | 4.8 g | |
| Energy | 116 kcal | |
| Calcium | no data |
Average values. Values vary a lot with breed, season, feed and stage of lactation. The bar shows the share of the maximum within this group of milks.
Sources: Zhang et al. 2018 (по Jensen 1995), Munchies (Vice): сыр из свиного молока
How it connects to milk
🥛 Pig milk → type of → 🥛 Milk
Links
- Whose milk
- 🐖 Pig
- A type of
- 🥛 Milk
- Part of
- 🔬 Milk of other animals
Frequently asked questions
Why don’t people drink pig’s milk?
Sows are practically impossible to milk: milk flows for only about 20 seconds per feed, and only in response to the piglets massaging the udder.
What is pig’s milk made of?
According to rough data, it has about twice the fat of cow’s milk and noticeably more protein.
Similar
🥛 Llama milk · 🥛 Alpaca milk · 🥛 Musk ox milk · 🥛 Elephant milk · 🥛 Polar bear milk · 🥛 Seal milk
ℹ️ Dairy products contain lactose and milk proteins: if you are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk protein, ask a doctor.