in suspension, and prevents curds from forming.

Milk and heat

A common problem when heating milk is how easily it scorches on the bottom of the

pan. The thinner the pan and the higher the heat, the more scorch you have to scrub off. What

happens is that the heat precipitates heavy proteins in the milk that sink to the bottom, and burn

on the hot surface of the pan. What can you do? Heating the milk in a double boiler works,

because there’s no direct contact with the hot metal surface of the outer pan, but it takes forever.

Constant stirring keeps the proteins from settling on the bottom, but this also takes time and

attention. Try heating milk at a bare medium heat while occasionally stirring. This at least

minimizes the pot scrubbing afterwards.

The other common problem with heating milk happens on top. A skin forms on the

surface of the milk as it heats, and if you are not watching it carefully, the milk boils over. The

two events, bottom scorching and top skin, are connected. Heat precipitates proteins and

calcium. The heavy casein sinks to the bottom while the light proteins and calcium precipitates

rise to the top and form the skin. The skin in turn creates a tight seal over the upper surface of the

milk all the way to the sides of the cooking pot. The air bubbles that form below the skin in the

liquid cannot escape, so they accumulate as steam, which lifts the skin up like a hot-air balloon.

The next thing you smell is the erupting milk pouring down the outside of the pot and onto the

burner. When you see the skin forming over the surface, stir it back in the milk to prevent it from

boiling over. Don’t skim it off, or you lose valuable nutrients.

You can buy a ceramic disk (size of a tuna can and thickness of a finger) that sits on the

bottom to prevent boil-overs. It has a clever design, that allows air bubbles to collect below the

disk and are released in big pockets instead of many tiny bubbles. These large bubbles stir the

milk enough to keep the skin from forming. This stirring action also helps with the bottom

scorching problem.

Scalding milk

Why do some recipes call for scalded milk before using it in baking? You see these

particularly in older cookbooks. This was an essential step before pasteurization to deactivate

enzymes in the milk that interfered with the action of other ingredients, like yeast. Scalding is no

longer necessary because pasteurization deactivates the offending enzymes. In some recipes it is

helpful to warm the milk to speed a process, such as activating yeast, or starting with warm

liquid in custards and puddings. But if you need to scald milk, heat it to near boiling. Tiny

bubbles on the surface are your trigger. If you actually boil the milk, the flavor becomes insipid.

(Note, however, that heating milk to make yogurt has a different purpose. Heating here is to

destroy all competing microorganisms before adding the bugs that culture the milk.)

How to whip cream

Many cooks reach for the aerosol can filled with whipping cream in the market’s

refrigeration section when the shopping list says “whipped cream”. What a shame! If they tasted

the difference just once between that very convenient dispenser can and the so much less

convenient whip-yourself heavy cream, they would never sacrifice convenience for flavor.

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