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The unique benefits of water buffalo milk, where to find it, and how to make a nourishing homemade baby formula using this special mammalian dairy that is loaded with cream!
When it comes to the next best thing to breastmilk from a well-nourished mother, a homemade baby formula recipe made with raw cow milk is the most popular option by far.
This original formulation was developed and tested by Dr. Mary Enig, a PhD Nutritionist, and published in Nourishing Traditions cookbook in 1996.
Surprisingly, depending on where you live, other forms of mammalian milk may be far easier to source than cow milk.
For example, a family farm in my area has raw pastured water buffalo milk available.
It is offered in the frozen section of my local urban farm, as you can see in the photo above.
As it turns out, water buffalo milk is the second largest resource of milk supply for humans around the world!
New parents in my community recently asked me how to make homemade formula using this particular type of milk, so I thought I would post it here in case others have similar availability where they live.
Water Buffalo Milk Benefits
The biggest benefit of buffalo and water buffalo milk is that it is higher in cream than almost any other form of mammalian milk.
Below is a comparison of the cream content of the most commonly consumed mammalian milks from around the world.
Please note that these are general ranges, as fat content can shift due to factors like quality of feed (good pasture from rich soil results in the most cream), breed specifics, animal health, and farming practices.
- Holstein Cow: 3.5%
- Jersey/Guernsey Cow: 4.5–5.5% (known for much higher cream content than Holsteins)
- Goat: 3.5–4.5%
- Camel: 2.5–4%
- Sheep: 6–8%
- Buffalo: 7–8%
- Water Buffalo: 7–9%
As you can see, under the best conditions, water buffalo milk has nearly double the cream content of even old-fashioned cows!
Thus, raw water buffalo milk is an excellent choice for homemade formula, as the more cream the better for baby’s optimal development (if breastmilk from a well-nourished mother is not available).
Note that only reindeer milk is higher in cream (averaging a whopping 22%), but it is not widely consumed by humans for obvious reasons!
Because the fat content of water buffalo milk is so high, it is not necessary to add any additional cream to the formula.
Cream is normally a key ingredient when making baby formula from other types of dairy milk (especially camel milk or Holstein milk, which are the lowest in fat, comparatively speaking).
If you live in the Central Florida area and would like to know where to find this uniquely special raw milk from water buffalo, please reach out in the purple chatbox (lower right-hand corner of the screen).
Homemade Water Buffalo Milk Baby Formula
How to make a nourishing homemade baby formula using raw water buffalo milk that mimics human breastmilk as closely as possible.
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw water buffalo milk
- 1 7/8 cups filtered water
- 1/4 cup liquid whey
- 4 Tbsp lactose
- 1/4 tsp Bifidobacterium infantis powder
- 1/2 tsp cod liver oil unflavored
- 1/4 tsp butter oil unflavored
- 1 tsp sunflower oil preferably organic
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil preferably organic
- 2 tsp virgin coconut oil preferably organic
- 2 tsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp gelatin
- 1/4 tsp acerola powder
Instructions
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Fill a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup with filtered water and remove 2 Tbsp (this will give you 1 7/8 cup water).
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Pour about half the water into a pan and turn burner on medium.
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Add the gelatin and lactose and let dissolve, stirring occasionally.
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When gelatin and lactose are dissolved, remove pan from heat and add the rest of the water to cool.
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Stir in the coconut oil and butter oil until melted.
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Put remaining ingredients in a glass blender.
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Add the water mixture and blend for about 3 seconds.
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Place formula in glass baby bottles or a glass jar and refrigerate.
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Before giving to baby, warm glass bottle in a pan of hot water or a bottle warmer. NEVER microwave baby bottles!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Do not use high oleic sunflower oil. Use only the brand recommended in the ingredients list which is cold pressed, organic, unrefined, and low oleic.
*Do NOT use powdered whey from the store as it is denatured. Avoid whey from making cheese as it will curdle the formula.
*Do not substitute pasteurized or powdered milk as these are heavily processed, denatured and allergenic foods.
*Do NOT use fish oil or krill oil instead of high vitamin cod liver oil as they do not contain any Vitamin D and very little to no Vitamin A.
If you are wondering where is the iron in homemade baby formula, this article provides an explanation.
If baby experiences constipation using this formula, try adding 1 tsp of organic molasses to each batch.
References
(1) FAO Dairy Production and Products
(2) Composition of Water Buffalo Milk
(3) USDA National Nutrient Database
(4) Journal of Dairy Science, Genome-wide association studies to identify quantitative trait loci affecting milk production traits in water buffalo
How does it taste compared to cow milk? Gamey?
Very creamy but the taste isn’t much different compared to cow milk where the cows are grazing on excellent pasture.