CHICCHI

Does all milk foam?

Yes, as long as there is protein present in the milk and the milk is fresh. All milk will foam: fully skimmed, semi-skimmed, whole fat, soya, goat milk etc. Steaming, which is forcing air bubbles into the milk, causes the protein to ‘connect’ with the air bubbles. This means that you can create as much foam as you like as long as there is protein left in the milk. It is advisable to use only fresh milk, that has not been steamed before, when you want to create foam.

You will get the most amount of foam from fully skimmed milk, this is because of the low fat percentage (the fat works against the protein). However, you will not get such a rich foam from fully skimmed milk as from whole milk. If your foaming technique is right than you should not really have any problem with any type of milk, as long as the milk is fresh and cold.

Milk foams best when it is below 40 degress Celsius or 100 Fahrenheit. This is simply because the milk is denser.

Why does milk taste sweeter after heating? Milk contains lactose and the solubility of lactose is increased when the temperature is increased which gives the milk more sweetness. Focus on heating up your milk between 60 and 65 degrees Celsius.

Why won’t my milk foam? Usually this is because the milk is too old. Fat will brake down in the milk and the free glycerol is working against the protein in the milk. Try to use your milk within 3 to 4 days.

UHT Milk

UHT milk is heated for 1-2 seconds to a temperature exceeding 135 C. This temperature kills the spores in milk. UHT stands for Ultra-high temperature processing or ultra-heat treatment.

UHT milk is not the only UHT product, UHT processing is also used for creams, yoghurts, wines, soups and fruit juices.

UHT processing gives a different flavour to the milk then fresh milk. The advantage with UHT milk is that the milk will stay fresh for up to 12 months unopened. This means that it’s easy to store, can be stored at ambient temperature. For barista’s and coffee shops this could be good, for it will almost always foam.

Milk Foaming Techniques – basic rules

There is a lot of information on the Internet about foaming milk. Many people have something to say about this and not everybody agrees with certain techniques. However, if you stick to some basic rules then you can have good quality milk for Caffe Latte’s and Cappuccino’s in no time.

The most important thing that you should think about is control. You need control over the jug, so you will need to control the jug with two hands. Do not do other things whilst you are steaming your milk, focus entirely on the milk.

You are looking for milk that is around 60 to 65 degrees Celsius and that has smooth and shiny foam without any visibile bubbles.

Here are some basic rules that you should stick to:

• - use fresh milk, the milk should come straight out of the fridge
• - start with a clean cold jug and use the right size of jug
• - steam only the amount of milk that you need. You can add extra milk if you like so you can texture longer to make the milk even smoother
• - foam the milk only when it is below 40 degress Celsius, foaming above this temperature will create hard bubbles that you don’t want
• - when you stretch the milk to create foam by just breaking the surface with the tip of the steam wand, do it bit by bit. You should hear the foam being created but you should not see any bubbles
• - when you have stretched the milk enough and you are happy with the amount of foam then place the steam wand a little deeper into the milk. Create a whirpool inside the jug, you should see the milk moving around a lot. This will break down any existing bubbles and makes your foam smooth and shiny. There is absolutely no need to move the jug up and down, just keep it still, the angle of the steam from the steam wand does the trick for you.

And don’t forget to turn the steam off before you take the steam wand out of the jug.

Best milk temperature for Caffe Latte or Cappuccino

Different temperatures of steamed milk will give different flavours to a Caffe Latte or Cappuccino. It is therefore very important that we achieve a temperature that, in general, gives the best flavour. A higher temperature will be harder for the tongue to analyze. This is because the tongue is a muscle and reacts to heat. Milk with a temperature well over 70 C can burn the tongue and is not desirable. Milk starts to boil around 80 C.

The best milk temperature for Caffe Latte or Cappuccino is between 60 C and 70 C.

A good way to reach the desired temperature is to use a good calibrated thermometer. There is a little delay with a thermometer which means that the steam should be turned of just a few degrees below the desired temperature. It is possible to judge the temperature by touch and usually the temperature is right when it is not possible to hold the jug for longer than two seconds.