Milk · 5 min read
Microfoam
Milk that shines rather than froths
Good milk for a cappuccino does not look like bubble bath. It looks like wet paint: glossy, smooth and heavy.
What you are actually doing
Steam does two things: it draws air into the milk and it heats it. For the first few seconds you draw in air, and for the rest of the time you mix and heat. Microfoam forms when the air is broken into bubbles so small that you cannot see them.
Step by step
- Start with cold milk.
- Purge the steam for a couple of seconds to let the condensed water out.
- Tip of the wand just below the surface. You hear a quiet hiss, like paper. This is how you draw in air until the milk visibly rises: more for a cappuccino, less for a flat white.
- Lower the wand a little deeper and tilt the jug so the milk spins. The whirlpool breaks up the larger bubbles.
- Stop at about 60 °C, when the jug becomes almost too hot to touch. Above roughly 65 °C milk loses its sweetness and takes on a cooked taste.
- Tap and swirl the jug until the surface shines, then pour straight away.
When it is not working
- Big foam, bubbles: too much air, or drawing it in for too long. A shorter hiss, a deeper wand.
- Flat, no foam: the wand too deep from the start. Hold it shallower for the first seconds.