Additives to aid milk frothing

[DougL]

So, let's talk milk frothing. I use a Vava frother and it *sorta* works on fresh 1% milk. Would like more froth.  Lots of words about temperature and milkfat content, and how they relate to frothing efficiency. As in, not much. But nothing about possible additives. My understanding is the froth is due to milk proteins. Might addition of a bit of whey protein to the milk improve frothing? I believe that a whey milkshake froths a lot, which some people find annoying. Any other additives that might help?

Edited February 2, 2023 by DougL (log)

[liuzhou]

39 minutes ago, DougL said:

Might addition of a bit of whey protein to the milk improve frothing?

 

Try it and let us know.

[Dave the Cook]

Soy lecithin (at around 0.5% of the weight of the liquid) is often used to make foams. 

[Midlife]

Following with interest. I have a Nespresso Aeroccino 4 and get great froth with Coffeemate Italian Sweet Cream, although only about 80% of the time.  The 20% I get 2/3 froth, 1/3 liquid. I keep trying different kinds of oat milk but none has yet to deliver full, thick foam to any degree. 
 

I get the milk protein part of this discussion but wonder why Coffeemate works AND why it doesn’t work consistently. 

[DougL]

Soy lecithin is pricey stuff! Interesting that Italian Sweet Cream is protein-free, but is mainly sugar and vegetable oil. Now cooking oil can foam, but usually when it's overheated. Allegedly sugar does increase foaming, though, e.g. Dalgona coffee. Might try sweetened milk.

 

On second thought, Dalgona coffee is a different beast. It isn't foam. It's more like thin frosting.

Edited February 1, 2023 by DougL
more info (log)

[Dave the Cook]

4 hours ago, DougL said:

Soy lecithin is pricey stuff!

 

I don't know what the alternatives cost, but soy lecithin powder is $8/50g at Modernist Pantry. If you figure a (generous) 1/2 cup milk per frothing session, I figure the cost of soy lecithin powder like so:

125 g of liquid (about 1/2 C milk) * 0.05% = 6.25 g

$8 / 50g = 16 cents/g

16 cents * 6.25 g = $1 per 1/2 C application 

That's at a pretty high price for soy lecithin powder. Were you to move up to the much more economical 400g pouch at Modernist Pantry ($16), the cost per application would be 25 cents.

[DougL]

I call it pricey when my foam costs twice as much as the coffee it's sitting on.

[Dave the Cook]

Fair enough.

 

So no fancy balsamic on your salad? Or good extra-virgin olive oil on your pasta? No caviar on your toast points? Truffle in your scrambled eggs?

[DougL]

Yep, those things are pricey too.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, DougL said:

Yep, those things are pricey too.

 

Why not try to find a better frother and skip using the additives?

 

[DougL]

These are supposed to be good frothers. Why not suggest a better one, and give me evidence that it really is better. I hear lots of complaints about plain milk frothers.

[dcarch]

My Pasquini espresso machine does a very good job using 2% milk.

 

dcarch

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, DougL said:

These are supposed to be good frothers. Why not suggest a better one, and give me evidence that it really is better. I hear lots of complaints about plain milk frothers.

 

I am not a coffee drinker (and when I do indulge the coffee is black).  However I have a Blendtec Frothing Jar that works well for everything I've used it for:

 

https://www.blendtec.com/products/frothing-jar

 

Your mileage may vary.  As for evidence you are on your own.

 

 

 

 

[DougL]

Interestingly, after using exclusively 1% milk, I tried 2% milk. Works noticeably better. Strangely, most people say that milkfat doesn't make a difference in foaming, because what foams is the proteins, and 1% and 2% have the same protein content.

[DougL]

I will add that I ordered some whey protein powder, but it never came. Thanks, Amazon! But I've also noticed that if you do the frothing cycle TWICE, with any milk, the amount of froth is significantly increased.