After Drinking Milk, Stay Still to Prevent it From Curdling in the Stomach?

In ancient Europe, many people believed that milk should be consumed on an empty stomach. The reason was that the milk would be hardened by the food in the stomach, making it dangerous.

Galen, a Greek physician during the Roman Empire, was one of those who popularized this idea. He said,

"To prevent milk from curdling, it is better to drink fresh milk mixed with honey, salt, or mint."

-- Galen

His idea influenced many medieval cooks and medical doctors. Platina, a medieval cookery researcher left a note that

"Drinking milk after a meal is not good because the milk is quickly damaged in the stomach and carries food that has not yet been digested to the bottom of the stomach. After drinking, one should remain quiet so that it does not become rancid and sour due to the vibrations in the stomach."

-- Platina

In fact, when we drink milk, it does not putrefy in the stomach, but it is not wrong to say that it hardens. We know nowadays that milk naturally hardens and is digested in the stomach because it mixes with stomach acid and is broken down into solids containing water and protein.The one reason why they thought milk would be hardened in their stomach is butter is made with shaking from milk, I think.

References

• Milk!: A 10,000-Year Food Fracas