Milk and Honey (musical) for a project about Israel he hoped to mount on Broadway. He sent Herman and Appell there to absorb the culture and hopefully find inspiration. Herman was determined that the musical not be a patriotic love letter. Herman said: “We were there to soak up the atmosphere...Once we saw this group of little old lady tourists rummaging about, we knew that they had to be in our show.” Herman explained that "Everything about this place is not perfect. I had already written the song called "Milk and Honey" as a kind of an anthem, and I said, ... 'I have
Ancient Israelite cuisine dates in water for some time until they disintegrated and then boiling the resulting liquid down into thick syrup. The honey in the Biblical reference of “a land flowing with milk and honey” is date honey. Fresh, ripe dates were available from the mid- to late-summer. Some were sun-dried and pressed into blocks to dry completely, and then used throughout the year, especially as food for travelers. Dates were also fermented into one of the “strong drinks” referred to in the Bible as “shechar”. The date palm required a hot and dry climate and mostly grew and produced fruit in