Introduction
“La Leche Cuajada de la Martona” marks the first of many collaborations between the Argentines Jorges Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares, and the pamphlet, a broad yet succinct look at some of yogurt’s various incarnations throughout world history, seems a strange one to consider amid their famously imaginative works. The two writers, who met in 1931 through author and publisher Victoria Ocampo and her influential magazine, Sur, were then in quite different stages of their careers—Borges was publishing often in various journals, and Bioy Casares was penning fiction that he would later renounce. Neither had yet written any of the works for which he would be best remembered, and their relations with one another still sat somewhere between mentorship and friendship (Bioy Casares was seventeen years Borges’ junior).
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It was not until, in 1935, Bioy Casares’ uncle, owner of Argentina’s largest dairy company, La Martona, commissioned from his nephew a “semi-scientific, semi-commercial pamphlet about yogurt” that the two would meet to seriously discuss a collaboration. Bioy Casares was to be paid sixteen pesos per page, and, as Borges was struggling financially at the time, he invited his mentor to his father’s house in Buenos Aires’ Las Flores province so they could write the pamphlet together. As Bioy Casares tells it, the project was so boring that they could not help using the time to fantasize about novels and short stories that they would one day write together. In his preface to Bioy Casares’ 1940 novella, The Invention of Morel, Borges praises the story as an exemplary piece of “reasoned imagination.” One could say the inverse about “La Leche Cuajada de la Martona.” Unable to tread outright into their preferred realms of whimsy and fantasy,
Borges and Bioy Casares used imaginative reason to imbue the pamphlet with a sense of great possibility. Through use of mythology, a wide historical and geographic scope, and the language of contemporary microbiology, the work teems with images of other worlds: humans inhale entire societies, God gives food directly to his subjects, and (apparently) real people live to superhuman ages. This dairy-centric pamphlet, a commission whose backstory is now something of a legend, had even then hinted at the boundlessness its authors would soon be exploring. Borges and Bioy Casares, each on the brink of producing works that continue to influence the imaginations of posterity, had gotten the best of their boredom. Regarding treatment of the text, I have left the Spanish as it appears in Emecé Editores’ Museo: Textos inéditos (Buenos Aires, 2002), leaving the erratic capitalizations
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intact and letting the recipes remain vague and inept. I have brought the style of the English into more readable form, and I spent some time working with the recipes to bring them up to speed and permit less room for error. I have also appended (in English) a recipe for homemade yogurt, as the text is primarily concerned with yogurt’s probiotic benefits, and all of the recipes require baking, which kills the bacteria. I vacillated on how to translate each instance of the titular leche cuajada—or whether to do so at all. Simply substituting “yogurt” did not seem favorable in each case, the literal “curdled milk” evokes images of rottenness, and “fermented milk” or “cultured milk” would be tiresome to read repeatedly. I have chosen, therefore, to use these terms, as well as a few others (“acidophilus milk,” “yogurt cultures,” or sometimes just “milk”), to best suit the context of each particular use.
I owe thanks to Bryce Maxey for helping me to obtain the original text and to Samantha Beardsley and Michelle Ishikawa for their assistance regarding the recipes. Brandon Wilner Chicago, IL February 26, 2013
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La Martona’s Yogurt
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Elías Metchnikoff
Ilya Metchnikoff
Elías Metchnikoff nació en Ivanowca (Rusia) en 1845. Fue Profesor de Zoología en Odesa en 1870. En 1890 entró al laboratorio de Pasteur, del que era subdirector en tiempo de su muerte. Conquistó celebridad universal por su teoría de la fagocitosis, que revolucionó la medicina, por su teoría de la vejez, según la cual esta última depende de causas fisiológicas y patógenas—intoxicaciones intestinales—y es, por tanto, evitable por su fórmula para la preparación de la maravillosa leche cuajada que lleva su nombre. En 1908 obtuvo el premio Nobel. Miembro de una familia perseguida por muertes anticipadas, vivió 85 años. Aunque no fue a la guerra, estuvo en el tributo de vidas que dio la Humanidad para su fiesta horriblemente misteriosa, del año 14. El grupo de sus discípulos se dispersó por el campo de batalla; para muchos de ellos fue
Ilya Metchnikoff was born in Ivanovka, Russia in 1845. He was a professor of zoology in Odessa in 1870. In 1890, he started working in the Pasteur Institute, of which he was the assistant director for the rest of his life. He achieved universal celebrity for his theory of phagocytosis, which revolutionized medicine; for his theory of old age, according to which aging depends on reasons physiological and pathogenic—intestinal infections—and is, therefore, prevented by his eponymous recipe for the marvelous cultured milk. In 1908, he was awarded the Nobel Prize. A member of a family pursued by early deaths, he lived to be eighty-five years old. Although he did not go to war, he was in the death toll that gave humanity its horribly mysterious holiday of 1914. His group of pupils left for the battlefield; for many of them it was like going to hell without return.
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como el Hades, sin retorno. Y su laboratorio, laboratorio de la vida, se convirtió en silenciosa y vacía antesala de la muerte. El corazón del sabio, atávicamente débil, se reinstió. Elías Metchnikoff murió en el año 1916 en París. Dejó las siguientes obras: Leçons sur la Pathologie comparée de l’inflammation (París, 1892), L’immunité dans les maladies infectieuses (París, 1901), La Vieillesse (París, 1903), Études sur la Nature humaine: essai de philosophie optimiste (París, 1903), Quelques Remarques sur le lait aigré (París 1905), Bacterotherapie, vaccination, sérothérapie, en colaboración con otros médicos. En italiano, publicó: Le Desarmonie della natura e il problema della morte (Bibe. Gen. Di cultura, Milano, 1906); en alemán: Beiträge zu einer optimistischen Weltanschauung, de B. Michailoski (1908).
And his laboratory—a laboratory dedicated to life—was converted to a silent and empty waiting room of death. His wise heart, atavistically weak, deteriorated. Ilya Metchnikoff died in Paris in the year 1916. He left behind the following works: Leçons sur la Pathologie compare de l’inflammation (Paris,1892), , L’immunitee dans les maladies infectieuses (Paris, 1901), La Vieillesse (Paris, 1903), Études sur la Nature humaine: essai de philosophie optimiste (Paris, 1903), Quelques Remarques sur le lait aigré (Paris 1905), Bacterotherapie, vaccination, sérothérapie, in collaboration with other physicians. In Italian, he published: Le Desarmonie della natura e il problema della morte (Library of General Culture, Milan 1906); in German: Beiträge zu einer optimistischen Weltanschaaung, by B. Michailoski (1908).
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La Leche Cuajada
Cultured Milk
La LECHE CUAJADA limpia el organismo del hombre; adentro de él, ensancha su vida. Los mayores arcanos suelen estar a nuestro alrededor; también algunas maravillas; la costumbre excusa la conciencia, miramos sin ver y, lo que es peor, creyendo que nada queda por ver y vamos a lo remoto, menos inalcanzable que lo inmediato, en busca de esfinges y de maravillas. El elixir de la larga vida, de los cuentos y de algunas débiles fallas de nuestra desesperanza, es por todos conocido: la LECHE CUAJADA, alimento de Matusalén. La tan frecuente putrefacción de los alimentos en el aparato digestivo causa intoxicaciones; las intoxicaciones, como un aluvión de la vida, están edificando nuestra muerte. MARFÁN ha escrito: “El tubo digestivo es una fuente permanente de intoxicación”. ROCASOLANO, el eminente químico aragonés, corrobora: “La muerte es
Yogurt cultures clean the human body; inside it, they lengthen life. The oldest remedies are typically near us, as are many other wonders. The custom is to suspend awareness, look without seeing, and—what is worse—believe that nothing remains to be seen, and we go to the remotest areas, less attainable than the immediate, in search of sphinxes and wonders. The fabled elixir of life, cure for some weaknesses of our hopelessness, is well known: fermented milk, Methuselah’s 1 nourishment. The frequent putrefaction of foods in the digestive system causes poisonings, and these poisonings, like a flood of life, are constructing our death. Marfan2 has written: “The alimentary canal is a permanent source of poison.” Rocasolano, the eminent Aragonese chemist, corroborates: “Death is 1 The longest-lived person in the Bible, Methusaleh died at age nine hundred and sixty-nine, seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood. 2 Antoine Marfan was a French pediatrician who first conducted studies of the hereditary disorder of connective tissue that would later bear his name.
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un fenómeno de coagulación lenta de la albúmina, provocado por tóxicos”. Los medios alcalinos favorecen las putrefacciones; para contrarrestarlas convienen, por consiguiente, los medios ácidos. La formulación de esta verdad se debe a la ciencia moderna, pero empíricamente la conocieron muchos pueblos y muchos años. Desde la más remotas edades los hombres eligieron como acidificante la LECHE CUAJADA. Hay pruebas de ello en la Biblia. Cuando Abrahán, “sentado a la puerta de su tienda en el calor del día”, vio que tres hombres o tres ángeles se le acercaban, les ofreció LECHE CUAJADA. Dios mismo incluye entre los alimentos concedidos al pueblo de Israel, la LECHE CUAJADA. (Deuteronomio, capítulo 32, versículo 14). No imaginemos, sin embargo, que se trata de un alimento relegado a los anaqueles de la Historia. A lo largo del tiempo la humanidad se ha mantenido fiel a este fiel defensor de su vida.
a phenomenon of a slow curdling of albumin, triggered by toxins.” Alkaline halves stimulate putrefaction, and in order to counteract it, consequently, acidic halves come together. This truth owes its formulation to modern science, but many peoples have been aware of it for many years. Since the remotest ages, people have chosen to acidify milk. There are experiments with it in the Bible. When Abraham, “sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day,” 3 saw three men or three angels approaching, he offered them yogurt. God also includes cultured milk in the foods given to the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:14). We don’t imagine, however, that it is a food relegated to the annals of history. Over time, humanity has remained loyal to this faithful defender of life. The following examples attest to it: 3 Genesis 18:1, New International Version.
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La Leche Cuajada y la Geografía
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Cultured Milk and Geography
En Rusia, existen dos variedades: la prostokvasha, leche cruda espontáneamente cuajada y agriada, y el varenetz, leche hervida preparada con levadura.
In Russia, there exist two varieties: prostokvasha, raw milk spontaneously curdled and soured, and varenetz, boiled milk prepared with yeast.
El alimento fundamental de diversos pueblos de Sud África es la leche cuajada. Los Mpseni la ingieren casi solidificada. El Doctor LIMA de Mossamedes (África Occidental) refiere que los indígenas de muchas regiones de Angola se alimentan casi exclusivamente con leche cuajada. El Doctor NOGUEIRA confirma esa observación. En Armenia se consume el Mazun, leche de sabor ligeramente ácido y con olor de queso. Es un fermento láctico débil.
The fundamental food of diverse peoples of South Africa is cultured milk. The Mpseni eat it almost solidified. Doctor Lima of Mossamedes (Occidental Africa)4 recounts that the indigenous peoples of many regions of Angola eat cultured milk almost exclusively. Doctor Nogueira5 confirms this observation. In Armenia, many people eat Mazun, milk with a slightly acidic flavor and the smell of cheese. It is a weak lactic ferment.
Quien tiene salud tiene esperanza y quien tiene esperanza tiene todo—dicen los árabes, esos musculosos halcones del desierto,
Those who have health have hope, and those who have hope have everything— say the Arabs, those muscular hawks of the 4 Modern-day Angola. Borges and Bioy Casares apparently wanted to distinguish this Mossamedes from that of western Brazil. 5 A.F. Nogueira was a Portuguese colonial liberal who conducted anthropological studies of peoples in Portugal’s African colonies, most notably modern Mozambique.
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peros ellos tienen detrás de la esperanza algo que lucha por su salud: la LECHE CUAJADA.
desert, but beyond hope they have something that fights for health: fermented milk.
El Leben Raib de Egipto
The Leben Raib of Egypt
Inmemorialmente se toma en Egipto esta manjar preparado con leche de cebú, de vaca o de cabra. Hace siglos que lo preparan del mismo modo. Hervida la leche, se pone enfriar en vasijas y cuando está a 40º se añade Lében viejo. En el verano el coágulo se forma a las seis horas; algo más tarde en invierno. Contiene un poco de alcohol; el sabor es muy agradable. Los Argelinos fabrican un Lében distinto del Egipcio.
Since time immemorial, Egyptians have consumed this delicacy prepared with milk of zebu, cow, or goat. It has been prepared the same way for centuries. The milk is boiled, place to cool in earthenware vessels, and when it is at forty degrees, aged leben is added. In summer, it curdles after six hours; in winter, a bit later. It contains small amounts of alcohol; the flavor is very nice. Algerians make a leben different from that of the Egyptians.
El Alimento de los Bretones
The Summer Aliment of the Bretons
El gross-lait o leche gruesa es el alimento estival de los Bretones. A la leche reciénordeñada le agregan fermento y la
Gross-lait, or gross milk, is the summer food of the Bretons. They add ferment to fresh milk and stir it; at a temperature of seventy-
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agitan; a una temperatura de 25º la coagulación queda hecha a las 12 horas; entonces apartan la crema acumulada arriba y la destinan al consumo. Se trata de una leche gelatinosa, de sabor ligeramente agrio y con olor a crema fermentada. Como el kéfir, el lében tiene el inconveniente de estar preparada con fermento impuros. Un Restaurador de la Flora Fisiológica
El bubeurre [sic] es un suero de manteca y que sufre, si antes no la esterilizaron, la fermentación láctica natural; en caso de haber sido esterilizada le añaden fermentos lácticos, hasta llegar al 7 por 1000 de ácido láctico. Contiene poca grasa. Con harina y azúcar sirve para preparar la sopa de babeurre. Obra favorablemente en las afecciones gastrointestinales. Restaura la flora fisiológica y hace menguar y desaparecer los trastornos.
seven degrees Fahrenheit, the curdling is done after twelve hours; they then separate the cream that has accumulated on top and set it apart for consumption. It is a gelatinous milk with a slightly sour taste and the scent of fermented cream. Like kefir, leben has the disadvantage of being prepared with impure ferments. A Restorer of Physiological Flora
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Bubeurre [sic] is a whey of butter that is prone, if it is not sterilized beforehand, to natural lactic fermentation; if it has been sterilized, lactic ferments are added until it contains seven parts lactic acid per thousand. It has little fat, and is served with flour and sugar to make the soup babeurre. It works well in treating gastrointestinal diseases. It restores physiological flora and prevents and cures many illnesses. 6 “Physiological flora” refers to the network of bacteria that populates a certain part of the body. Here, Borges and Bioy Casares seem to refer specifically to that of the intestinal tract.
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La Cuajada Criolla
The Creole Curd
Por regla general se prepara la cuajada criolla con elementos que hay en la flor del cardo: se obtiene así una cuajada alcalina y, con esto, la ausencia de todas las buenas cualidades que hacen a la leche cuajada implacable enemigo de las intoxicaciones intestinales…
As a general rule, the Creole curd is prepared with elements found in thistle flower: the alkaline curd comes from here and, with it, the absence of all good qualities that make yogurt a merciless enemy of intestinal intoxicants…
El Alimento de los Grandes Criadores de Caballos
El Kumis es el alimento principal de los Kirghises, Tártaros y Kalmukos, grandes criadores de caballos. Se prepara con leche de yegua o de burra y se hace fermentar en pellejos u odres agregando kumis viejo y removiéndolos a puntapiés o colocándolos bajo la montura del caballo. En dosis pequeñas es ligeramente laxante. En dosis grandes, astringente.
The Food of the Great Horse Breeders
Kumis is the principal aliment of the Kyrgyz, Tatars, and Kalmyks, great breeders of horses. They prepare it with milk of mare or donkey, and let it ferment in hides or wineskins, adding aged kumis and mixing it by kicking and placing it beneath their saddles. In small doses, it is a mild laxative; in large doses, an astringent.
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La Bebida Llammada Bienestar
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El Kefir ha sido durante siglos la bebida popular de los habitantes del Alto Cáucaso y de la Siberia. Su nombre deriva de una palabra que significa bienestar, aludiendo con ello a la sensación agradabilísima que produce. Una leyenda dice que es un don de los dioses. Para su elaboración se emplean los granos de mijo o semilla de kefir, mijo del profeta, conservados por mucho tiempo en sitio fresco y seco. Al mezclarse con la leche de vaca o recobran su actividad, parecen esponjitas desprenden olor y se multiplican rápidamente. A principios de siglo se pensó que beber kefir equivalía a tomar leche media digerida: ahora esta opinión es insostenible. Los microbios lácticos del kefir impiden las putrefacciones intestinales. Sin embargo, estas no pueden combatirse con el kefir pues
The Beverage Called Well-Being
Kefir has for centuries been a beverage popular among the inhabitants of the Caucasus Mountains and Siberia. Its name comes from a word the means well-being, alluding to the pleasant feeling it produces. One legend calls it the gift of the gods. To make it, they use millet grain or kefir seed—the grains of the Prophet—stored for a long time in a cool, dry place. By mixing them with cow’s milk, the grains regain their vitality, like little sponges, becoming aromatic and multiplying rapidly. At the turn of the century, common belief held that drinking kefir was the equivalent of drinking half-digested milk: nowadays this opinion is untenable. Kefir’s lactic microbes prevent intestinal putrefaction, and without doubt, this malady is no match for kefir, as it contains alcohol. Further, daily consumption of kefir is
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contiene alcohol. Además la absorción diaria de kefir es peligrosa porque las levaduras que lo producen se aclimatan en el tubo digestivo y pueden favorecer a algunos bacilos patógenos. HAYEM prohíbe el kefir a las personas en cuyo estómago permanecen demasiado los alimentos. “Retenido en ese órgano, el kefir sigue fermentando y se desarrollan en él, así como en todo el contenido estomacal, fermentaciones butíricas que agravan los desórdenes digestivos”. Ya que la utilidad del kefir reside en la fermentación láctica, no en la alcohólica, conviene reemplazarlo por la LECHE CUAJADA que no contiene alcohol. Una Leche a Medio Digerir
En la península Balcánica es muy popular otro alimento parecido: el Yoghurt. Se esteriliza la leche. Cuando la temperatura baja a 35º se añade maya búlgara (mezcla de bacterias y levaduras). La
dangerous because the yeast that it produces can acclimate to the digestive tract and become amenable to pathological bacteria. For this reason, Hayem7 discourages the use of kefir for people with gastroparesis. “Retained in the organ, kefir continues to ferment, and develops there, as well as in the entire contents of the stomach, butyric fermentation that can lead to digestive disorders.” As kefir’s usefulness resides in its lactic—not alcoholic—fermentation, it should be substituted with a fermented milk that does not contain alcohol. Half-Digested Milk
In the Balkan Peninsula, a similar food is very popular: yogurt. The milk is sterilized. When the temperature comes down to ninety-five degrees, Bulgarian maya 8 (a mixture of 7 Georges Hayem was a French hematologist best known for his early studies of anemia and hepatitis. 8 The starter culture for Bulgarian sour milk.
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coagulación tarda de 8 a 12 horas según las estaciones del año. El Yoghurt es obra de una fermentación algo análoga a la digestivo una leche a medio digerir. Es un alimento completo, algo laxante, diurético, antipútrido. Puede tomarse puro o diluido en agua. Contodo hay otros leches cuajadas cuya elaboración obedece a principios más racionales y que por consiguiente la aventajan. Aludimos a la LECHE CUAJADA según el procedimiento de ELÍAS METCHNIKOFF. Antes de pasar a considerarla, conviene recordar a grandes rasgos algunos datos fundamentales de la flora microbiana.
bacteria and yeast) is added. The curdling process takes eight to twelve hours, depending on the time of year. Yogurt is made from fermentation similar to gastric digestion, which provides the digestive tract with a half-digested milk. It is a complete food: part laxative, part diuretic, and part antiseptic. It can be consumed by itself or diluted with water. There are yet more yogurts whose productions subscribe to the most rational principles and therefore improve on it. We here refer to yogurt according to the procedure of Ilya Metchnikoff. Before moving on to consider his method, we should recall in broad terms some facts fundamental to understanding the mysteries of microbial flora.
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El Hombre, País de Microbios
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El aire entra a la boca con la primera inspiración y con el primer grito; el aire trae millones de seres que hacen su habitación en el hombre y que perduran más allá de su muerte. Esa vertiginosa invasión no es forzosamente maléfica; de las bacterias innumerables que nos pueblan, algunas son hostiles al organismo, otras lo defienden. Entran por múltiples vías: por la piel, por el conducto auditivo externo, por las fosas nasales y, sobre todo, por la cavidad bucal, con los alimentos. ¿Podemos Gobernar Nuestros Microbios?
El estudio de la flora intestinal de los niños establece que ésta varía según el régimen alimenticio. De ahí se desprende la posibilidad de una acción inteligente del hombre sobre su flora microbiana. Ya hemos indicado al principio que las putrefacciones
The Human: Nation of Microbes
Air enters the mouth with the first breath and the first cry, bringing millions of beings that take up residence in a person’s body and endure even beyond his or her death. This vertiginous invasion is not necessarily evil; of the innumerable bacteria that inhabit us some are hostile to the organism, others defend it. They enter through many routes: the skin, the ear canal, the nasal cavity, and especially through the mouth, with food. Can We Govern our Microbes?
The study of intestinal flora of children establishes that the answer varies according to one’s diet. Hence follows the possibility of a person’s control over his or her microbial flora. We have already indicated at the beginning that intestinal putrefaction is a perpetual enemy of our lives.
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intestinales son perpetuos enemigos de nuestra vida. Nuestros Aliados Invisibles 32
Los Microbios lácticos impiden esas putrefacciones. Conviene ingerirlos vivientes: encuentran materias azucaradas que los mantienen, continúan viviendo en los intestinos y producen ácido láctico. El ácido láctico fue utilizado eficazmente por HAYEM, LESAGE, MARFAN, GRUNDZACH, SINGER, THALER, SCHMITZ, en el tratamiento de la diarrea verde de los niños, de las fiebres gástricas, de las tifoideas, de las enteritis tuberculosas, de la diabetes, de la difteria, de las úlceras, del lupus, del cáncer, de otras neopláceas malignas y de la infección puerperal. Sistema Metchnikoff
Ahora se prefiere en general dar el
Our Invisible Allies
Lactic microbes prevent this putrefaction; it is beneficial to ingest them while they are alive: they find sweet matter that sustains them, continue living in the intestines, and produce lactic acid. Lactic acid was used to great effect by Hayem, Lesage, Marfan, Grundzach, Singer, Thaler, and Schmitz 9 in the treatment of children’s diarrhea, gastric fever, typhoid, gastric tuberculosis, diabetes, diphtheria, ulcers, lupus, cancer and other malignant tumors, and puerperal infection. The Metchnikoff System
Nowadays it is generally preferred to administer lactic acid in yeasts, especially those with Bulgarian bacillus10 and paralactic acid. 9 Presumably all accomplished European clinicians of the era, not much information exists about a few of these names. Metchnikoff cites articles by Grundzach, Schmitz, and Singer in The Prolongation of Life: Optimistic Studies (Paris, 1903). 10 First identified by the Bulgarian doctor Stamen Grigorov, Metchnikoff came to be a proponent of this bacterium when he began studying the relationship between Bulgarians’ longevity and their consumption of yogurt.
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ácido láctico en fermentos y en especial con bacilo búlgaro y con el paraláctico. El bacilo búlgaro se caracteriza por su gran poder acidificante (hasta 25 y 30 gramos por litro de leche), es el fermento láctico de mayor potencia. BELENOWSKY ha llegado a la conclusión de que el bacilo búlgaro vivo mantiene en buen estado de los intestinos. Sin embargo el bacilo búlgaro ofrece el peligro de producir ácido butírico. Este riesgo se anula mediante el bacilo paraláctico o estreptobacilo, que no se encuentra en el Yoghurt y sí en la LECHE CUAJADA METCHNIKOFF. El bacilo paraláctico da a la leche un sabor más grato y no ataca a las grasas. Los análisis realizados por FOUARD en el Instituto Pasteur, confirman las buenas cualidades de la LECHE CUAJADA preparada con cultivos puros de bacterias lácticas. Lo anterior evidencia la superioridad de la LECHE CUAJADA por el procedimiento de METCHNIKOFF sobre todas las otras.
Bulgarian bacillus is characterized by its great acidic power (up to 0.88 or 1.05 ounces per quart of milk); it is the most potent lactic fermentation. Belenowsky11 has concluded that live Bulgarian bacillus helps keep the intestines in good condition. Bulgarian bacillus undoubtedly offers the danger of producing butyric acid. This risk is mitigated by paralactic bacillus or streptobacillus, which is not found in yogurt, but is in Metchnikoff’s cultured milk. Paralactic bacillus gives the milk a more pleasant taste and does not attack the fats. The tests carried out by Fouard at the Pasteur Institute confirm the healthy qualities of yogurt prepared with pure cultures of lactic bacteria.12 The results prove the superiority of the Metchnikoff method of cultured milk over all others. 11 A Russian microbiologist who worked on developing a serum that would increase red blood cell counts in people with anemia. 12 It seems Borges and Bioy Casares pulled this fact from Metchnikoff’s Prolongation of Life, in which he refers (without indicating a first name) to Fouard, an assistant at the Pasteur Institute.
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El Caso Perdido del Acidófilo
The Lost Case of the Acidophilus
Hace algunos años estuvo en boga en los Estados Unidos la leche acidófila. Se había comprobado la acción benéfica del acidófilo en el aparato digestivo de los niños. Ciertos facultativos lo incluyeron en el tratamiento de los adultos. Se argumentó que, a diferencia de los bacilos búlgaro y paraláctico, bastaba ingerirlo unas pocas veces para perdurara en el organismo. Ese aparente mérito comporta, en realidad, una desventaja, ya que las leches fermentadas pueden llegar a producir acidez. En el caso de la LECHE CUAJADA por el sistema Metchnikoff basta suspender por unos días el tratamiento; en el de la leche acidófila, hay que resignarse a un largo período de trastornos agravado por la aclimatación del acidófilo en el estómago.
For some years now, acidophilus milk has been en vogue in the United States. It had been found that acidophilus has favorable effects on the digestive tracts of children, and some physicians included it in their treatments for adults. It was argued that, unlike Bulgarian bacillus and paralactic acid, it was enough to ingest it just a few times for the organism to endure. This seemingly valuable property acts, in fact, as a disadvantage, as the fermented milk can come to induce heartburn. In the case of the Metchnikoff method of cultured milk, one should simply suspend the treatment for a few days; but for acidophilus milk, one must resign oneself to a long period of ailments produced when the acidophilus acclimates to the stomach.
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Vuelta a Matusalén
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El término medio de la vida del hombre varía según el régimen alimenticio, asombrosamente. La creencia general de que los antiguos vivían más que nosotros es del todo infundada. En el siglo XI el promedio era de 20 años (los hombres eran más pequeños también: las armaduras medioevales que se conservan, nos quedarían chicas). En el siglo XVII el promedio ascendió a 26 años, a 34 en el XVIII, a 45 a fines del XIX. No sólo hay diferencias cronológicas; las hay también geográficas. Los centenarios abundan en Bulgaria, donde la LECHE CUAJADA constituye el alimento esencial; en 1896 había cinco mil. Es clásico el ejemplo de los Petkof, once hermanos que rebasaron todos los 100 años, excepción hecha de María Petkof, que murió a los 91.
Back to Methusaleh
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The last half of a human’s life varies astonishingly according to his or her diet. The common belief that the ancients lived longer than us is completely unfounded. In the eleventh century, the average life expectancy was twenty years (men were smaller, also: the surviving medieval armor would fit modern-day women). In the seventeenth century, the average life expectancy went up to twenty-six years, to thirty-four in the eighteenth century, and to forty-five at the end of the nineteenth. There are not only chronological differences, but also geographic ones. In Bulgaria, where yogurt is an essential food, centenarians abound; in 1896 there were five thousand of them. The Petkof family is a classic example: eleven siblings each lived past 13 A reference to George Bernard Shaw’s series of plays written between 19181920. In the preface, Shaw says that societies of the twentieth century are so complex that no one can learn to govern them in a single lifespan, and he thought enhanced longevity to be the solution.
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En Francia se registran, entre muchos otros, los casos de María Priou que murió en 1837 a la edad de 158 años , y de Ambrosio Jante que murió en 1751 a la edad de 111. El alimento principal de los dos era LECHE CUAJADA, pan de centeno, queso y agua. Otro longevo memorable, GEORGE BERNARD SHAW, piensa que el promedio vital debe ascender a 300 años y que si la humanidad no alcanza esa cifra, “nunca llegaremos a adultos y moriremos puerilmente a los 80 años, con un palo de golf en la mano”. Cómo Debe Tomarse la Leche Cuajada
Los Griegos tomaban la LECHE CUAJADA con miel de himeto. La miel sigue siendo el mejor complemento de la CUAJADA. Pero, en términos generales, podemos decir que conviene tomarla consustancias azucaradas pues el azúcar, en
the age of one hundred, with the exception of Maria Petkof, who died at ninety-one. In France occurred, along with many others, the cases of Maria Priou, who died in 1837 at the age of one hundred and fifty-eight years, and Ambrosio Jante, who died in 1751 at the age of one hundred and eleven. The principal food of both was fermented milk, rye bread, cheese, and water. Another memorable long-lived man, George Bernard Shaw, thought that the average life should exceed three hundred years, and if humanity does not reach this number, “we will never become adults and we will die childishly in our eighties with a golf club in our hands.” How to Consume Cultured Milk
The Greeks took cultured milk with honey from Mount Hymettus. Honey continues to be the best complement. But, in
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aparato digestivo, se convierte en ácido láctico. Acompañándola unas veces con jaleas, otras con dulces, compotas de ciruelas, duraznos, se evitará la fatiga del paladar. 42
Se la puede ingerir con el almuerzo, a la hora de té o de la comida; también como desayuno pero conviene señalar que, así, es mal tolerada por algunos personas que a otras horas digieren con suma facilidad. Dosis
Puede empezar por tomarse 3 cuajadas por día; así se logrará infectar al organismo con los bacilos búlgaro y paraláctico, que es lo que se busca. Luego la ración diaria podrá rebajarse a dos cuajadas. En los casos de intolerancia, muy raros por otra parte, habrá que seguir el método inverso: tomar una cuajada, o media
general terms, we can say that it is favorable to eat it with sweet accompaniments, as sugar becomes lactic acid in the digestive tract. Eating it sometimes with jelly, others with pastries, plum preserves, or peaches will help keep the palate from becoming fatigued. It can be eaten at lunch, teatime, or with dinner; also for breakfast, but one should note that, consumed in this manner, it is sometimes not tolerated by people who experience easy digestion at other times. Dosage
Start by taking three cuajadas per day; this will introduce Bulgarian bacillus and paralactic acid into the body, which is the desired effect. Later, the daily dose can be reduced to two. In the case of intolerance, rare though it is, it will be necessary to continue
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si fuera necesario, durante los primeros días; luego ir aumentando la dosis, hasta llegar a 3; finalmente, estabilizarla en 2 cuajadas diarias.
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the inverse method: take a cuajada, or half if necessary, during the first days; then gradually increase the dosage, until three is tolerable. Finally, establish a regimen of two cuajadas per day. 45
Recetas
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Recipes
Pan de Maíz con Leche Cuajada
Cornbread with Yogurt
2 tazas de leche cuajada 2 tazas de harina de maíz 2 cucharadas de manteca 1 ½ cucharaditas de sal 2 cucharadas de miel 2 huevos 1 cucharadita de soda
This is a very simple recipe that yields a nice, moist cornbread. I recommend baking it in a larger, shallow tin. A ten-and-a-quarterinch cast-iron skillet worked well for me. –B.W.
Pásense por el tamiz los ingredientes secos. Agréguese leche cuajada y huevos batidos, cocínese durante 50 minutos en un horno de calor moderado.
Two cups yogurt Two cups finely ground cornmeal One and a half teaspoons salt Two tablespoons butter, melted Two eggs, beaten One teaspoon baking soda Preheat oven to four hundred degrees. Sift and combine the dry ingredients. Mix in the eggs, yogurt, and butter. Bake in a well-buttered baking pan and for fifty minutes.
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Pan Moreno
Brown Bread
1 taza de leche cuajada 1 taza de leche fresca 2 tazas de harina integral ½ taza de harina blanca ½ taza de harina de maíz ½ taza de miel
This recipe produces is a very thick, caky bread, whose consistency I would liken to banana bread. As with the cornbread, I would advise using a wide, shallow baking tin. –B.W.
Tamizar los ingredientes secos, mezclarlos con la leche. Cocer el todo en una cacerola untada con manteca, en horno de calor moderado.
One cup yogurt One cup fresh milk Two cups all-purpose flour Half cup whole-wheat flour Half cup finely ground cornmeal Half cup honey Preheat oven to three hundred and fifty degrees. Sift and combine the dry ingredients and mix in the fresh milk, yogurt, and honey. Bake in a shallow well-buttered baking pan for fifty to fifty-five minutes.
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Bollitos de Harina de Maíz
Cornmeal Biscuits
1 ½ taza leche cuajada 1 taza harina de maíz 1 taza harina de trigo 1 cucharadita de sal 1 cucharada miel ¾ cucharada soda 2 huevos 1 cucharada miel [sic] 1 cucharada de manteca
These biscuits are pretty straightforward and are very similar to the cornbread in the first recipe, but with a bit more sweetness due to the honey. –B.W.
Tamícense los ingredientes secos, agrégueseles huevos batidos, leche, manteca derretida. Cocínese en una cacerola bien untada con manteca durante 15 minutos.
One and a half cups yogurt One cup finely ground cornmeal One cup all-purpose flour One teaspoon salt One tablespoon honey One tablespoon butter, melted Three quarters tablespoon baking soda Two eggs, beaten Preheat oven to three hundred and fifty degrees. Sift and combine the dry ingredients and add the yogurt, eggs, honey, and butter. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, and press it to a thickness of about three-quarters of an inch. Cut the dough into rounds about
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Pasteles de Arroz 2 tazas de leche cuajada 2 huevos 52
1 taza arroz hervido 1 taza harina maíz 1 cucharada manteca derret. 1 cucharada de sal 1 cucharada de soda Batir los huevos, añadir y mezclar los demás componentes, cocer en horno moderado.
two inches in diameter, brush the tops with melted butter, and place them on a wellbuttered baking sheet. Bake for twelve to fifteen minutes. Rice Cakes These light, airy biscuits are far from the dry, wafer-like rice cakes so common in grocery stores of the United States. Borges and Bioy Casares recommend baking them on a flat baking sheet, but because the batter is so thin, I think they fare better in a muffin tin. –B.W. Two cups yogurt Two eggs, beaten One cup rice, cooked One cup finely ground cornmeal One tablespoon butter, melted One teaspoon salt One teaspoon baking soda
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Preheat oven to three hundred and fifty degrees. Sift and combine the dry ingredients and mix in the yogurt, eggs, rice, and butter. Place two-tablespoon portions of batter in a well-buttered muffin tin and bake for twenty minutes. Homemade Yogurt Eight cups milk, either cow or goat Third cup powdered milk (optional, but will produce a thicker yogurt) Half cup starter yogurt (this can be any store-bought yogurt, as long as the packaging denotes that it is made with live cultures) Other materials: Two sanitized, quart-sized canning jars with bands and fresh lids Cooking thermometer
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Pour the milk into a large cooking pot and place it over medium-low heat on stovetop. Bring the milk to one hundred and eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Remove pot from heat and let the milk cool down to one hundred and ten degrees (this will take a while; placing the pot in a sink full of cool water will help to expedite the process). Add the remaining ingredients and stir until the mixture has a uniform texture. Pour the yogurt-to-be into the canning jars, fasten the lids, and let sit at room temperature for ten to twelve hours, without agitating the liquid. When the yogurt is firm, place and store the jars in the refrigerator. You should then be able to use your yogurt as a starter culture for subsequent batches.
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