Every so often, we come across a recipe that asks us to scald the milk before adding it to whatever custard or bread recipe we happen to be making. This always seems like an annoying extra step without an obvious function in the recipe, so we started wondering: is it really necessary?
In a lot of recipes, especially older ones passed down from family members, scalding the milk is likely a hold-over from the days before milk was pasteurized and distributed commercially. These days, if you're buying your milk from a store, scalding milk for health reasons isn't really a concern.
But there are some other reasons why you still might want to scald the milk going into a recipe!
Milk is an excellent carrier of flavors, and in many recipes, the real purpose of the milk-scalding step is to infuse it with flavor - and therefore bring the flavor into the final dish. Vanilla beans, fresh mint, lavender buds, cinnamon, and any number of other dried and fresh ingredients can be used. You'll see this technique used a lot in ice cream recipes, pastry cream, and other dessert recipes.
Scalding the milk can also help cut down on cooking time. Milk is an easy and relatively forgiving ingredient to heat, and when making a sauce or custard, it can help jump-start the cooking process. Be careful though - if you're mixing the milk into something with eggs, be sure the milk isn't so hot that it will cook the eggs.
In bread making, scalding the milk serves a more scientific purpose. The whey protein in milk can weaken gluten and prevent the dough from rising properly. Scalding the milk deactivates the protein so this doesn't happen.
Are there any other reasons you know of to scald milk?
Related: Why Milk Boils Over...And How to Stop It!
(Image: Flickr member Banalities licensed under Creative Commons)
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My basic ricotta method involves scalding milk before adding the acid that causes it to separate. It's an essential step, the one time I rushed and didn't bring it all the way to a boil before cutting the heat, the curds wouldn't form completely and my ricotta (or paneer if I press it) was a mushy mess. On the other hand, scalding ruins milk for yogurt. I guess it must have something to do with denaturing the proteins?
I'm so glad you wrote this post! I didn't know about whey protein weakening gluten and had always assumed we scald milk because the recipe was passed down from a time before the pasteurization of milk. I make yoghurt regularly and simply heat it in the microwave for about 10 minutes. Contrary to Tatterhood's findings, I haven't found that it ruins the milk. However, I have experimented with yoghurt making without first heating and then cooling the milk, and it didn't ever work. This lead me to believe that the scalding is essential to kill bacteria that start growing in milk even when it is fresh and pasteurized.
How convenient of a post. I usually use water when I bake a loaf of bread, but I had some milk to use up yesterday... didn't work out as well as I had planned.
Milk is an easy and relatively forgiving ingredient to heat, and when making a sauce or custard, it can help jump-start the cooking process.
Not for me! I have a really hard time heating milk on the stove without it getting burned. I've tried with all kinds of thick bottomed pans, stirring, etc., it always burns. Any foolproof tips?
As far as scalding the milk before adding it to a bread recipe - will heating it in the microwave do the same thing? I made brioche a few weeks ago, which called for milk in the preferment, and had no problems.
@hiiyaa: that's why I always microwave my milk instead - I'm hopeless with a pan and I hate all the cleanup.
@hiiyaa:
pasteurized milk doesn't need to be scalded. Just milk that is fresh from the cow. When they pasteurize the milk they heat the heck out of it for you.
And just to be a little bit more technical it's actually the serum proteins(Which is one of the proteins found in whey) that slows down(and can almost stop) the yeast when making bread.
The reason I now scald my milk when making pies, custard and quiches: (I hope I can express this correctly) It isn't just about thickening the liquid or a jump start. I now scald my milk 20 to 30 minutes at 185 degrees F. I use a candy thermometer gently stirring all the while. This scalding processes has made all the difference in my pies, custard and quiches. Something molecularly changes and binds... the proteins... I believe. It adds strength and stretchiness to the milk. Now I never have puddles of liquid in the bottom or on the top of my pies, custard and quiches. It isn't about evaporation or thickening. It is about changing its nature.