Enter your email address to follow The Baby Biochemist and receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address:. Follow The Baby Biochemist. The Science of Milk Foam Even though milk looks like a solution, it is actually a colloid. Froth your own milk at home If you want to make coffee drinks, there are tons of different ways to make espresso- from fancy machines to just using strong espresso grounds in your drip coffee maker. Jars Yup, you can just heat milk, then put it in a mason jar or some other sealable container and shake it.
Ball Pint Jar, Regular Mouth, Set of 2 No matter what way you choose to froth your milk, how you like your foam, or how you like you coffee, let this be a stress-free process.
Frothed Milk Recipes for Kids To bring your kid into this because mine LOVES frothed milk here are some kid friendly drink ideas you can easily make along side your caffeinated version so you can find another excuse to cuddle up this season with your little ones.
Drink it plain if your kid loves milk. Add a spoonful of pumpkin puree, some cinnamon, and maybe some honey Add some cocoa powder and sugar for a frothy hot chocolate Add turmeric for yellow milk this stains if it spills!!
But my daughter loves it Add orange zest for a hint of creamsicle Depending on the age of your kid, you can discuss the science of the process with them, too! Share this:. Like this: Like Loading Free Halloween Science Coloring Pages! Fall Leaf Chromatography. The science behind your latte. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:.
Email required Address never made public. Name required. We'd love to have you! Follow Following. Brave the Elements Join 57 other followers. Sign me up. Already have a WordPress. Log in now. Loading Comments Unfortunately, these differences in protein content don't appear in the Nutrition Facts tables, since they are minimal and the numbers are rounded off.
However, they do help to explain why we don't always get the same quality or the same quantity of foam for our coffee from one milk carton to the next. Even if you always use the same kind of milk or the same technique, sometimes the milk simply does not cooperate, forming foam that disappears in seconds.
This is not only frustrating but mystifying. Part of the explanation is the presence of free fatty acids, monoglycerides and diglycerides, which are compounds that form when enzymes or bacteria attack the milk fat in a reaction called "lipolysis.
There are several reasons for this phenomenon, including the way in which the dairy cows are fed, the phase in their lactation cycle, poor weather conditions and even the technique used to chill the raw milk at the farm. At home, lipolysis can also occur when milk has been improperly stored. Also keep in mind that fresh milk usually froths better than milk that's been refrigerated for several days. In other words, when milk refuses to froth, there's not much you can do about it—other than hope that your next litre of milk will yield better results.
Unlike the fat in whipping cream, the fat contained in milk doesn't contribute to the formation of foam as such. All forms of milk can produce foam, regardless of their fat content. It is not the quantity so much as the quality of the foam that will vary greatly from one type of milk to another. We decided to put whole milk and skim milk to the test to see which one made the better foam. Rather than using the steam wand of an espresso machine subject to variations in temperature and technique we used an electric frother Nespresso Aeroccino under identical conditions for both types of milk, and took photos of the foam a few minutes after it was made.
Our findings? Both types of milk gave great results, producing an abundance of foam, with skim milk yielding slightly more foam than whole milk. Both foams were also quite stable—meaning they didn't disappear too quickly. This is significant because ideally the foam should be present right up until you finish drinking your coffee.
The real difference between the two foams was their smoothness and taste, which basically comes down to personal preference. Produces foam that is softer, creamier and thicker than skim milk foam. Thus, the bubbles remain intact. Barista pouring late-art. When milk is foamed between 30 o C and 40 o C o F , it is unstable. Within minutes, large bubbles are formed. Raising the temperature to 60 o C o F stabilizes the foam and improves texture and density.
At higher temperatures, smaller bubbles are formed, which are better dispersed. Bubbles are responsible for stabilizing the bubbles. At temperatures above 40 o C o F all lipids in the milk melt.
These liquid fats prevent the bubbles merging into one large air pocket from merging, creating a film on their surface.
Foamed milk is poured into the coffee. Photo by Tim Wright. But be careful not to overheat the milk. Burnt milk not only has a sulfuric taste but also stops foaming. Proteins in their natural state cover air bubbles and protect against fusion. If the milk is overheated, the proteins are denatured and not enough to stabilize the bubbles.
That is why you cannot re-foam the milk — after heating, proteins with an organized structure are not enough to create a stabilizing layer. Latte art tulip. Photo: Drew Coffman. It may seem that high-fat milk is better suited for stable foam. But butter, the main type of fat contained in milk, is a large and heavy ball globule.
The fat content can be so large and heavy that it presses on the bubbles, destroying the foam. Fat can mask other flavors, so if you combine your coffee with cream, it will lose the flavor profile. But before you reach for skim milk, remember that it is the fat that leaves a pleasant tactile impression that many like cappuccino or latte.
Add cold milk to a glass of coffee. Photo: Alberto Bogo. When choosing espresso based milk, pay attention to the protein content. Without protein, your milk will not foam. Coffee for coffee is a specific product which for this reason has a high protein content. But you can also use regular milk if you are careful with the temperature. The ideal temperature for foaming milk is o C o F.
Below, you will get unstable foam with big bubbles. Above, and too much protein is denatured.
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