Skin on Milk - yeuch!
By GreenMoo
@GreenMoo (11833)
May 16, 2008 9:55am CST
My microwave has recently gone to wherever microwaves go when they die, and I'm having to heat milk for my coffee in a pan on the stove. But the milk always develops a disgusting skin on it when I heat it in a pan. I can't stand milk skins, they are absolutely foul!
So, does anyone know how I can stop one forming?
1 person likes this
6 responses
@madlees (1377)
• India
16 May 08
Use a milk cooker for boiling milk. The skin will not form then, it'll form only when you leave it in the cooker for sometime.
It'll be just like you boil it in the microwave. As soon as the milk cooker starts to whistle simmer it till it starts whistling again. After that you can use it the way you want to. If you leave the cooker open, the skin will form.
Just remove the skin when it forms and add a little sour curd to that. You can use it like sour cream or if you whisk it after some time you can get butter.
2 people like this
@GreenMoo (11833)
•
16 May 08
I'm sorry Madlees, I've absolutely no idea what a milk cooker is! I'll have to look it up.
And sour curd? Do you buy that, or prepare it yourself from a different batch of milk?
Goodness, I didn't realised such a simple sounding question would generate so many questions for me!
1 person likes this
@madlees (1377)
• India
17 May 08
Milk cooker is like a double boiler. You have water underneath and the milk in the upper part. When the water boils the milk also comes to the boiling point.
We make curds ( yoghurt ) at home. We have a little culture kept from the previous curds which we mix into the milk ( room temperature or warmed slightly ). After about 4-5 hours your curds are ready. Not only just drinking we use milk for many things. Its by products are very tasty, like butter, ghee, paneer or cottage cheese etc.
Yes, see how much your simple question of skin on milk has brought about. There are lots more. If you like to know I can tell you, that is if you are interested. For that matter any Indian can tell you all these, not only me. 
1 person likes this
@GreenMoo (11833)
•
17 May 08
Now you call it a double boiler, I know exactly what you mean. You don't see many of them around these days, and i don't have one, but at least i now know what we are discussing!
I do make yogurt, but I'm afraid that I am very idle and use a packet mix! It is very good, and better than the stuff you can buy in the supermarket, but I'm sure not as good as the stuff you can make yourself from scratch.
Making yogurt properly is something I'd love to try as soon as we have our own milk (soon I hope!).
Thanks so much for your answer. This is a fascinating subject, so don't be surprised to hear from me again asking more questions :-)
@GardenGerty (160953)
• United States
16 May 08
For puddings they say to put plastic wrap over it, but I do not know if that will help the milk by itself. Good luck.
@ruby222 (4847)
•
17 May 08
Now if my memory serves me rightly Moo..you used to get a small `glass weight`...now this was made from thick glass and shaper like a small weight,then you put it into the bottom of the pan and it stopped a skin forming.Im not sure where you would get one from nowadays though..they kinda went out with Noah I expect!!But maybe a local ironmongers store or someone like that.Im totally abnormal,as you may have gathered anyway,I quite like the thick skin that forms on the milk,to the point where i would watch the pan biol in order to get the skin first...sad innit..
