Steaming Milk to Make a Caffe Latte

Video Transcript

"I'm going to make a latte with whole milk tonight, because I think it makes the smoothest, creamiest latte. But you can also choose to use milk with less or more fat content, or even a lactose-free alternative milk like rice or soy. And just so you know that these milks all foam a little differently from each other. So you'll just have to play around and find what you like. Take your milk and pour it into the steam pitcher with your thermometer in it, making sure the milk is nice and cold so you'll get a good foam. You want to make sure you also fill it up at least halfway. Take your rag, wrap it around your steam wand, and turn on the steam wand. This will get rid of any water that might be up in there, because you don't want that getting in your milk when you go to steam it. Take your pitcher of milk, and put your steam wand in your milk, and go ahead and turn on your steam wand and start steaming the milk. The first thing to note is that I'm not cranking my steam wand on all the way, and when the milk heats up slowly, the foam is more uniform and most importantly, the milk stays nice and sweet. Keep the steam wand at the surface of the milk and just below. You'll find that sweet spot by moving the pitcher very gently up and down. With this action you're creating foam. Use all of your senses to observe this process, and with practice, making good foam will be second nature to you. Keep your eyes on the thermometer and your hand on the outside of the pitcher. Notice the temperature of the milk rising with both your eyes and your hand. When the temperature reads about 90 to 100 degrees, sink your steam wand down towards the bottom of the pitcher. Any large bubbles that formed during your foaming period should smooth out, fold into the rest of the milk creating a rich, creamy texture. Heat the milk to 140 degrees, then shutoff the steam wand, extracting it from the milk. The milk continues to heat to about 155 degrees. Clean your steam wand immediately after you're done steaming the milk. Take your rag, wipe excess milk off, and turn your steam wand on to clear it of milk that has gotten up inside. Knock your pitcher of freshly steamed milk on the counter top to burst any little bubbles that may appear on the surface. Excellent steamed milk never has visible bubbles. As you can see, the consistency of the foamy milk should be stiff enough to cling to a spoon, but still very fluid and creamy. And now for the final pour. You want to aim for the center of your espresso, pouring slowly and steadily. You want the crema of the espresso to rise with the milk, almost enveloping it from the edges of the bowl. You should be able to see some of the white color of the milk foam coming out from the center of the drink once it's reached the top of the bowl and ready to present...an apple. "