Camel Milk

The camel is a unique animal that was domesticated more than 4000 years ago and traditionally used as the “ship of the desert” in arid and semi-arid areas, because they can drink more than 100 L of water at one sitting and survive without water intake for more than 1 week. Camel milk, likened to “white gold of the desert,” has for a long time been a precious beverage and nutrition for nomadic people who move around under the harsh climatic conditions in Africa, and south-east, west and central Asia. Recent studies have reported high contents of vitamin C, long-chain unsaturated fatty acids, and lack of β-lactoglobulin in camel milk as being nutritionally relevant. An abundance of iron in camel milk confirms its potential medical properties, conventionally believed among the nomadic peoples. Fermentation of camel milk with endogenous microorganisms can confer health beneficial properties from the resulting dairy products.