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NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York gallery on Sunday offered adventurous eaters the opportunity to sample cheese made from human breast milk, getting mixed reviews and some puzzled looks.

The Lady Cheese Shop is a temporary art installation by Miriam Simun, a graduate student at New York University who hopes to use the craft of cheese-making to raise questions about the ethics of modern biotechnologies.

"Cheese is the conversation starter," Simun said. "Some people are loving it, and some people are gagging."

Simun found three nursing women willing to have their milk turned into cheese. She screened the milk for diseases, pasteurized it and learned the basics of cheese-making.

Three varieties were available on Sunday -- West Side Funk, Midtown Smoke, described as "creamy and just pure heaven," and Wisconsin Chew, the taste of which apparently reflected the vegetable-filled diet of the woman who provided its milk.

Jocelyn James, of Manhattan, who works with expectant mothers, declared her favorite was Midtown Smoke, which she said was mild. She described Wisconsin Chew as bland.

"It's a lot healthier than cow's milk, which can be very suspicious," she said, although she conceded: "It does have a stigma."