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  • Whats with skim milk?

    Ok this is mainly for the girls out there on the forum!

    What is with skim milk? Isnt it just watered down, what difference does it make to a coffee?
    Also i get better froth with the skim milk then the full cream!

    Thanks
    HCK

  • #2
    Re: Whats with skim milk?

    Lesson number 25 HCK - Dont assume only girls drink skim milk.
    It is a sure fire way to get yourself into trouble making these kinds of assumptions.

    I seem to recall Chris telling me that it is the protein strings in milk that cause the froth.
    Therefore, it is not really dependant on the cream content.
    This is why Soy will froth even though it aint really milk!

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Whats with skim milk?

      Lesson 25 recorded! Thanks fb!

      Ahh so then it is more ideal then full cream for frothing.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Whats with skim milk?

        I believe that many of the other types of milk like low fat, no fat, skim and soy, have higher protein contents than full cream.
        Not sure if it is an additive thing or just part of the process, but the end result seems to be that some skim and low fat products seem to froth better than full cream.

        However, I usually steam a full cream and a low fat when making coffee at home and personally find that the full cream gives me glossier milk than the low fat.

        They both create pretty good microfoam, its just that the pour looks better with the full cream. Perhaps that is just me.

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        • #5
          Re: Whats with skim milk?

          Originally posted by HCK link=1217806780/0#0 date=1217806780
          Ok this is mainly for the girls out there on the forum!

          What is with skim milk? Isnt it just watered down, what difference does it make to a coffee?
          Also i get better froth with the skim milk then the full cream!

          Thanks
          HCK
          Napoleon Dynamite: "I see youre drinking 1%. Is that cos you think youre fat?" ;D ;D

          Hmmphh, yeah, bad assumption, I wont touch skim milk, and Im pretty sure Im a girl.

          No its not just watered down, the fat is skimmed off.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Whats with skim milk?

            Also, Ive read that the foam will stay around for longer with full cream and tend to be smaller...is that right at all? And that going over full-cream fat content will see foaming ability rise again?

            So many questions

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Whats with skim milk?

              "skim" milk is milk with the cream centrifuged out (at which point it used to be called "separated" milk; dunno what they call it now ). The dairy companies will then usually add powdered milk and other stuff to make it less "watery", plus selling points for particular markets like extra calcium, protein, etc

              "Straight" separated milk is therefore just milk without the cream -- very low-fat, rather thin, and a bit tasteless, and very very frothy! You could have it climbing out of the vat all by itself if the milk pumps were working well. We are not talking microfoam here though -- big fat stiff meringues of foam is the natural state of affairs with this stuff!

              But very little "lite" milk on sale now is anything like plain separated milk.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Whats with skim milk?

                Originally posted by boingk link=1217806780/0#5 date=1217836840
                Also, Ive read that the foam will stay around for longer with full cream and tend to be smaller...is that right at all? And that going over full-cream fat content will see foaming ability rise again?
                Um -- yes and no. Milk froths on account of the *protein* content, but the size of the bubbles is apparently partly dependent on fat content. Im a bit (alright, a lot ;D) vague on this; but it does seem that getting microfoam is more difficult with low-fat milk, while getting froth is, as I said above, absolutely no trouble whatsoever.

                So -- "Farmhouse" milk == easy microfoam (must be easy, coz I can do it )

                "Lite-start" milk == utter failure (aka instant-sinking meringue-achino) on all attempts to date

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Whats with skim milk?

                  I use A2 lite milk with 2% fat it works very well but at nearly $5 for 2litres its pricey. And I am no girl. I use it to help lower my colestrol, and its great for aiding digestion, as I have no large bowel. every little bit helps it may do nothing for me but its steams very well.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Whats with skim milk?

                    Originally posted by martybean link=1217806780/0#8 date=1217882629
                    and its great for aiding digestion, as I have no large bowel
                    Oooh, nooo, its not funny, I know I shouldnt laugh, it was just the way you said it, aarrggh (simone slides slowly to floor, still tittering helplessly...)

                    Sorry. Anyway, whats that about not being a girl? There some problem here with being a girl? :

                    Now: a semi-serious question -- where does the "A2" come into this?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Whats with skim milk?

                      Ok Simone, here is the guts of it ;D, go to this site http://www.a2australia.com.au/ . Its the site for the company who produces A2 milk.

                      As for the girl thing some people might just like to throw so bait out there and see if they get a bite.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Whats with skim milk?

                        Ill bite

                        I only use skim UHT milk at home. (Yes, I hear all the groans and cries of dismay.) Although sometimes I get brilliant microfoam and lovely sweet milk, other times the bubbles are a bit bigger than Id like. I wonder if the steam temperature makes a difference.

                        If I do one lot immediately after another lot of milk, using the same technique, one will be smooth velvet microfoam and the other a bit rough. Usually its the second pour thats better. Not sure which is hotter / higher pressure. But then steam is steam isnt it? Does the temperature of steam vary?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Whats with skim milk?

                          Anyone tried sungold? It is pretty nice, much better than pure.
                          I had that in the country but its rather hard to find it in melbourne...

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Whats with skim milk?

                            Originally posted by bogongtiger link=1217806780/0#11 date=1218638830
                            Ill bite

                            I only use skim UHT milk at home. (Yes, I hear all the groans and cries of dismay.) Although sometimes I get brilliant microfoam and lovely sweet milk, other times the bubbles are a bit bigger than Id like. I wonder if the steam temperature makes a difference.

                            If I do one lot immediately after another lot of milk, using the same technique, one will be smooth velvet microfoam and the other a bit rough. Usually its the second pour thats better. Not sure which is hotter / higher pressure. But then steam is steam isnt it? Does the temperature of steam vary?
                            Yes, depends on the steam-pressure, and of course on whether theres still any water in your boiler!

                            Steam will be "hotter" (superheated) if you keep pouring heat into it -- but if theres any water still in the system then most of your heat will just go into boiling more of that. But if the system is closed then the pressure will rise, water will be more reluctant to boil, so the steam produced will be hotter (or so I understand :)

                            But there has to be *room* for steam in the boiler for this nice equilibrium to get going -- my usual mistake is to forget to pull some water out of the boiler before flicking the steam switch, so the 1st attempt at steaming is pathetic, but the 2nd is ferocious (this isnt such a problem when Ive just pulled a shot, but if Im just doing milk (for hot chocolate, say), it gets me every time! :-[ )

                            The other possible explanation for big-bubbles the 1st time is that, since the 1st steam out the wand must be at higher pressure, maybe its just a bit too enthusiastic. Ever blown the milk right out of your jug? ;D

                            BTW, my only cry of dismay is on hearing that microfoam is even possible with "lite" milk -- all my attempts have been abject failures

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Whats with skim milk?

                              Originally posted by simone link=1217806780/0#13 date=1219591112
                              BTW, my only cry of dismay is on hearing that microfoam is even possible with "lite" milk -- all my attempts have been abject failures  
                              Ive just recently changed my technique a bit, with the help of this forum, and now I get pretty good microfoam almost every time with skim; no more big bubbles. Previously I was stretching the milk too much. Now I just go for double expansion and then a quick dip to heat it up. The Oscar has a four hole tip, so its very fast with not much room for mistakes.

                              Anyway, now I know that in my case at least, I cant blame the milk or the machine when things go wrong.

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