Posted Thu Jul 2, 2009, 12:16pm Subject: What kind of milk is best for frothing?
I'm a bit new to creating espresso at home and I was curious to know for when I get my first espresso machine (hopefully a Gaggia Evolution, so long as my wife follows through for my birthday!), what milk is best for frothing? 1%, 2%, 4%? Can you use half and half or even alternatives such as soy or rice milk? Any help is much appreciated! (((sorry about the double post, browser problems)))
+1 for us amateurs! LOL Actually, I'll go one step farther, Organic whole milk..soooooo sweet tasting, and i don't really like milk much. But I have no problem with my cappas now...no sugar added. I believe the por's go with 2%, as it might be easier for cleanup, and they're.....PROS.
Around here, if the pro's don't ask, they're using 4%. I normally get either 2% or 10% when I'm at a cafe, 2% at home.
Ran out of 2% ("coffee milk") this morning and had to make do with skim; very very foamy and airy, less sweet. The wife liked it, but I'm not sold on it.
# Non-Fat Milk will be the easiest to foam. It will not however be as decadent a combination with your coffee and for this reason I don’t ever really like to use non-fat milk. # 2% Milk will foam quite easily and is a nice balance between ease of foaming and some fat in the milk making for a creamy and tasty drink # Whole Milk is going to be the most challenging to create foam with. It will however be some kind of tasty when combined with coffee. The extra fat in the milk makes your latte or cappuccino a special treat.
10% (half-and-half) is amazing stuff when foamed. (US definition of half-and-half is 10.5% - 18% - and FDA definitions of Milk and Cream is some fascinating reading when you feel compelled to take your geekdom to the next level)
IMAWriter Moderator Joined: 4 Jul 2002 Posts: 2,897 Location: Brentwood, TN Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Olympia Cremina, Reg, Penney... Grinder: KYM manual, Vario (on... Vac Pot: Silex, Adcraft SS, Yama 8... Drip: Chemex, Newco, Clever cup Roaster: Behmor 1600, CO/UFO combo
Posted Fri Jul 3, 2009, 7:42am Subject: Re: What kind of milk is best for frothing?
William...it was lovely reading...right up there with Jim Schulman's (another_jim) "Water FAQ." LOL Kidding Jim...I printed out your whole damn thing! Back to milk. For whatever reason, I've had better luck with organic milk than 2%, and my pitcher isn't chilled. I blieve the Cremina is just a frothing demon.
Posted Fri Jul 3, 2009, 10:31am Subject: Re: What kind of milk is best for frothing?
IMAWriter Said:
Back to milk. For whatever reason, I've had better luck with organic milk than 2%, and my pitcher isn't chilled. I blieve the Cremina is just a frothing demon.
Any insight from the dairy as to why that's so? Is it unseparated whole (i.e. "right from the cow" strength, which I seem to remember a farmer telling me was around 7% for his herd), minimally processed, or something magical like that?
My humble understanding: -Milk expands better when it's cold -Higher milkfat = easier to get smaller bubbles (I'll admit that I could very well be wrong on this one) -Because low-end steamers make steam slowly, you have to go through extra steps to keep the milk cold longer, to get the milk to expand
Posted Fri Jul 3, 2009, 2:02pm Subject: Re: What kind of milk is best for frothing?
Technically, as the fat content goes down, the easier it is to froth. As previously discussed in the cold pitcher thread, the milk foam consists of elongated milk whey proteins surrounding air bubbles, and there is a slightly increased percentage of whey in non-fat/low-fat milk in comparison to whole milk.
LifeandPeace Senior Member Joined: 9 Nov 2007 Posts: 340 Location: heartland, west coast, heartland, east coast
Espresso: coffee Grinder: is Vac Pot: culinary Drip: not Roaster: commodity
Posted Wed Jul 8, 2009, 8:10pm Subject: Re: What kind of milk is best for frothing?
Chang94598 Said:
Technically, as the fat content goes down, the easier it is to froth. As previously discussed in the cold pitcher thread, the milk foam consists of elongated milk whey proteins surrounding air bubbles, and there is a slightly increased percentage of whey in non-fat/low-fat milk in comparison to whole milk.
I've frothed pretty much anything that can be frothed (rice, soy, every percent, incl. breve).
Yes. Agreed in the sense that skim really produces the volume. I like the way whole or 2% produces its microfoam. As above says, skim has a higher ratio of protein (notice the protein content in 8 oz of skim milk vs. whole milk--it is usually more). Protein's where the frothability comes from. The homogenized fat just makes a more consistent slurry. Anyone who's experienced has seen how you can overflow a pitcher with light froth from skim. Too much, and it separates.
2% is my personal favorite, sippin' wise!
Agreed with IMAWriter on the organic milk. One of the bombest capps I've had (and most memorable milk) was a Barefoot cappa with Element 114 with organic Strauss milk. Fo' sheezy baby!
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 