Comments on: I want my micro-foam

By: J

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:40:28 +0000

AH! I’m losing my mind!
AND…
Fat stablizes proteins is what I meant to say – proteins make bubbles, but fat will keep those bubbles small and keep them from “burning” and becoming hard and large…

By: Jordan - again...

Jordan - again... — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:33:42 +0000

The problem is… if your milk doesn’t have fat you are essentially burning some milk proteins into submission around really really hot air/steam bubbles. And burnt protein bubbles are not small, not tasty, and are not “soft” like micro foam. Furthermore, lower fat contents in milk make it more acidic… and acids do not like to be bubbly. Think of them as being kind of bitchy and dark. Where as basic liquids are very bubbly (and quite charming) – soaps are basic and hence they bubble and foam up! Milk and egg whites are two of the very few basic foods.

For example – remove too much fat from cream and you can’t get whipped cream. Remove too much fat from milk and you can’t get good micro foam.

Embrace the milk-fat!

By: Jordan

Jordan — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:26:36 +0000

Have you been using fat-free lactaid?… because that would explain why you’re getting large-drink-ruining-evil bubbles!

Maybe try one of lactaid’s 1% or 2% milks. That or give Land o’ Lakes lactose free milk a try (personally I think it tastes better) but be sure it isn’t fat free.

By: Reasons to go on living | Omnivore Atlanta

Reasons to go on living | Omnivore Atlanta — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:12:59 +0000

[...] I’ve solved my micro-foam problem. I reported recently that I wasn’t any longer able to make good foam for my morning latte with Lactaid, a [...]

By: Cliff Bostock

Cliff Bostock — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:03:43 +0000

But does it make micro-foam?

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 02:27:01 +0000

Try Smart Balance Lactose Free Milk, I have only seen it at Publix, its available at most but not all of them. Its the best tasting and creamiest lactose free milk I have found.

By: brian

brian — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 01:35:31 +0000

Huh, maybe they are still working their way through that bad china batch!?

By: Cliff Bostock

Cliff Bostock — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:13:26 +0000

A man of wealth??? A friend and I were just congratulating ourselves for a lifetime of adventurous but impoverished living, since we don’t have investments to watch shrink like our friends. We just watch our memories and libido shrink.

You know, I will visit Octane and try the recommendation, but I can’t take this criticism of my taste seriously when the flavor of blueberry muffins is being advocated. There’s little I like less than muffins.

Brian: I had no regular trouble frothing the Lactaid until the last month or so.

By: brian

brian — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 13:13:32 +0000

Our local barristas will know better, but I believe it also has to do with the composition and size of solids suspended in the liquid you are steaming. I have my cappuccino every morning too. I find that the quality of froth varies with different brands, and even within the same brand of skim. You might just be pickled given Lactaid’s composition.

By: AtlBen76

AtlBen76 — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 03:49:20 +0000

Cliff,
You’re obviously a man of wealth and taste but, with your preference for a frickin’ latte for breakfast, it’s hard to sympathize with you on this one. Seriously, espresso is an inferior product made from the burnt beans real coffee drinkers won’t touch. If you want the best part of waking up to be the coffee in your cup, try a good, naturally sundried, ethiopian coffee brewed in a french press–if you must, a mere tablespoon of half’n'half will help bind to the tannins with it’s delicious milk fat (if that’s your thing). The fine folks at Octane will be happy to put you on the right path, but real coffee drinkers do it at home, before dawn, in the dark.

Besides, naturally fermented Ethiopian coffees taste like blue berry muffins–how can you beat that?