Living · 6 pages · 12 min
Why steaming milk makes foam
Steam puts air into milk and unfolds proteins that can hold the bubbles.
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From the opening
Steaming makes foam because a jet of steam drives air into milk and heats it in the same pass. Unfolded milk proteins then sit on the bubble walls and slow the air from popping straight back out. The opening covers how steam adds air and heat, whey proteins as bubble films, and what fat does to the foam.
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Inside
- How steam adds air and heat
- Whey proteins as bubble films
- What fat does to the foam
- Why already-hot milk falls flat
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Heat denaturation of whey proteins in milk foam
- Fat globules as a disruptor of protein bubble films