People say turning plant-based alts into microfoam is more difficult. People are right, but what's the science behind? Manufacturers are on it cause nowadays, half of milk coffees served are plant-based. And that's a lot.
What happens when you steam mi*lk. And who's that Maillard guy?
When plant-based milk is steamed, the foam and how well it holds together depends on both the type of protein and the balance between fat and protein.
Cow’s milk works differently - it uses the proteins (casein and whey) to form stable foam and gets extra flavor from milk sugars (lactose) browning. This is a chemical process called the Maillard reaction. It gives the milk that characteristic sweetness and depth.
In plant-based milks on the other hand, the Maillard reaction is less pronounced. Plant milks often need added ingredients like xanthan or guar gum to help create foam that feels good and holds up well. These added ingredients can be sensitive to heat and acidity, which might make them affect the foam's quality.
Milk foamers and plant milk: a steaming challenge
When steaming plant milk, foamers need to consider a couple of important things. It’s always about finding the perfect combination of heating, aeration, emulsifying and texture control.
The Perfect Moose controls - amongst other things - two main factors:
1. how the milk is aerated and
2. the final temperature during the texturizing process. It uses an infrared temperature sensor to make sure the temperature is just right.
This infrared sensor helps the smart steamer control the exact temperature of the milk.
Since plant-based milks are more sensitive to heat, even a small change in temperature - by just 1 or 2°C - can make a big difference. If the temperature is too high or too low, the foam might turn bubbly instead of smooth, or it could lose its nice, shiny texture. Lowering the temperature too much can make the foam unstable.
By managing both the aeration and temperature, you can create perfectly textured microfoam for plant-based milk. When Perfect Moose recipes are created, all this is taken into account. The user doesn’t notice a thing, but the info is all there to create the perfect steaming cycle.
Tips for using plant milk to make latte art
If you're making latte art with plant-based milk, general rule is to always start with cool milk. This gives the manually steaming barista or the automated steamer enough time to properly texture the milk after aerating it.
Another thing to keep in mind is that people expect similar mouthfeels in both dairy and plant-based milk coffee drinks. This is where Perfect Moose really shines. The smart steamer lets you adjust the foam texture and final temperature to suit different plant-based milks, which all froth a bit differently. You can stick to the standard, or play around with it yourself - but always within preset quality foam limits.
How the Perfect Moose keeps up with milk market changes
Since day one, the Perfect Moose has been ahead of the curve by using smart pitchers with RFID technology to keep dairy (white) pitchers separate from plant-based milk (green) pitchers. This forward-thinking approach allowed Team Moose to meet the growing demand for non-dairy, vegan, and plant-based milks as they became more popular over the years.
What about the risk of cross contamination
The Perfect Moose completely eliminates the risk of cross-contamination by using colour-coded, smart pitchers. Contamination is also a non-issue because there’s no milk running through the Perfect Moose device – there are no tubes to rinse, no containers to clean, and milk always goes directly into the dedicated smart pitcher.
Unlike with the steam wands on semi-automatic espresso machines, no milk is ever sucked into the steam wand. The automated movement of the wand makes sure of that. It's also cool touch so no sticky milk. After each steaming cycle, there is an automatic steam flush immediately cleaning the nozzle. Easy peasy. Clean as your conscience.
pics by Anna Fedyk 💛
