2024 AIChE Annual Meeting
(634h) The Life and Death of Animal and Plant-Based Milk Foams
Authors
Sharma, V. - Presenter, University of Illinois At Chicago
Hassan, L., University of Illinois Chicago
Reynoso, M., University of Illinois Chicago
Xu, C., University of Illinois at Chicago
Al Zahabi, K., University of Illinois at Chicago
Maldonado, R., University of Illinois Chicago
Milk foams are fragile objects, often stabilized in frothy cappuccinos by proteins such as caseins
and whey. The life and death of these desirable foams are scripted primarily by the forces that
drive the drainage and rupture of the thin foam films that separate individual gas pockets. In this
study, the bulk foam drainage kinetics of two animal-based milks (cow and goat) was compared
to popularly sold plant-based milks: almond, oat, soy, pea, coconut, and rice. Foam creation
methods involving mechanical agitation (via electric frother) and sparging (via dynamic foam
analyzer) at different temperatures were employed and compared to obtain quantitative measures
of foamability and foam stability of the various milks. An understanding of the temperature-
dependent differences in bulk drainage behavior for animal and plant-based milks sheds light
onto the macromolecular interactions and networks of proteins/lipids at liquid-air interfaces and
can ultimately lead to the improvement of vegan milks.
and whey. The life and death of these desirable foams are scripted primarily by the forces that
drive the drainage and rupture of the thin foam films that separate individual gas pockets. In this
study, the bulk foam drainage kinetics of two animal-based milks (cow and goat) was compared
to popularly sold plant-based milks: almond, oat, soy, pea, coconut, and rice. Foam creation
methods involving mechanical agitation (via electric frother) and sparging (via dynamic foam
analyzer) at different temperatures were employed and compared to obtain quantitative measures
of foamability and foam stability of the various milks. An understanding of the temperature-
dependent differences in bulk drainage behavior for animal and plant-based milks sheds light
onto the macromolecular interactions and networks of proteins/lipids at liquid-air interfaces and
can ultimately lead to the improvement of vegan milks.