Well..! You are a such dude, you would like to do froth without any expensive machines & frothers… Right? Maybe that’s why you come across this question “How to use a manual milk frother?”
Even if not, I am telling you the truth…! ok
Making frothed milk in machines by using a steam wand is challenging for most people. Knowing how to use manual milk frother? and frothing milk manually is the best alternative to that.
Although the coffee machines do froth well, In a manual way, we are operated through the hand which results in its taste and quality.
Also going with the manual method will have an advantage over the other methods that we will see later.
Anything which is doing in a real-time practical way is good to understand and make a decision wisely.
So, you will see the result of this manual frothing method at the end of this article and see the real outcome of how it is, rather not just by reading this article.
The overall goal of ours is to prepare good frothy milk(Especially cappuccino in this article) as much as possible getting close to the coffee shop level of coffee by using a manual milk frother.
Before getting into the question, How do you use a manual frother? & what is milk frother used for? You should get explained the following to get the best outcome.
Which milk is best for frothing?
Rather than non-dairy milk, the most commonly used one is dairy-based milk for cappuccinos and coffee-based drinks in the shop.
In dairy-based milk, foam formation will be based on the various factors, predominantly the fat percentage of the milk that too varies from farm to farm and how the cows were fed regularly.
However coming to the bottom line, we will get a good result on full-fat milk are the best one for getting well-frothed microfoams which made the whole body to the drink. Skimmed & low-fat milk forms large bubbles and less textured in nature.
You can use full-fat milk from a local farm. This is the answer to the question when you ask “What kind of milk do you use in a frother?”
Do you froth milk hot or cold?
What’s your intent? Whether you want to prepare ice cold coffee or hot coffee beverages for a while.
Both the hot and cold coffee froth when you do. The cold milk encapsulates the air molecules more than hot. You will not get the sweetness to the fullest.
The best practice is heating the milk in the oven or saucepan before frothing. I.e., Froth hot milk.
Heat the milk to 70 deg. C and start doing froth. Once you complete the frothing process temperature of the milk reduces to 57- 66 degC which is where the milk at its fullest sweetness.
As practiced by a professional barista and our findings to get the well-frothed milk, we need to heat the milk before frothing. So I hope that next time, there will not be any questions like “Can you froth cold milk?” will hang on in your mind. However, if you are intended to do froth cold and hot, it is good to choose one of the best milk frothers in the market which will help you to do both.
How do you use a manual frother?
Manual frothing is the process of frothing milk without an espresso machine and can be froth using a simple manual milk frother. The process requires human work and a few commonly used kitchen appliances. Ready with the below components.
- Microwave oven or Saucepan – To heat the milk to the desired temperature.
- Strong coffee extract – To make cappuccinos, use your favorite coffee bean to extract or get the readymade coffee powder and extract the essence.
- Milk – Use any full-fat dairy milk. We are using the local farm milk.
- Milk pitcher – It is a mug used to measure, serve & fill in the frothed milk and pour back to the coffee mug as latte art. Typical milk pitcher image as below.
- Coffee mug and spoon – To get served.
Let us see the steps involved in the french press frothing method.
Step 1:
Take the milk and pour it into the glass to heat. Keep it in a microwave oven & heat up to 60 deg. celsius. It took up to a minute to attain the desired temperature.
Step 2:
Pour the hot milk into the frothing flask.
Step 3:
Do the frothing process by moving the plunger up and down. Do the 20 aggressive presses by moving the plunger from top to bottom fully.
Step 4:
Followed by doing 20 presses at medium speed by pressing the plunger where it gets submerged inside the milk. It takes some time to figure out the right technique.
Step 5:
After the frothing process, open the lid and collect the frothed milk in the pitcher. Fill the coffee extract into the coffee mug.
Using the pitcher, pour the frothed milk into the coffee mug which is already filled with coffee extract. Get served with simple latte art. Enjoy the cappuccino.
As a result, you will see a rich, thick, and creamy foam and looks like it was made in a coffee shop.
It is ok to froth milk manually if you have tough times in having coffees at the shop every time! Good to know the manual way.
Summary:
Manually frothing milk is one of the fastest methods but also it has its good and downside as well.
The manual milk frother is a relatively cheap option.
The method produces the rich, thick and creamy foam, very close to the coffee shop.
Easily portable. You can use this during travel & enjoy coffee.
It can be used more than a cup of coffee depending upon the flask size.
No electric power is required.
You can control the volume of milk foam.
Good durability because it operates mechanically.
The downsides are as follows.
Milk cannot be heated while operating through the plunger. We need to heat the milk separately on the stove.
It takes time to master the right technique.
It’s a messy technique & takes more time to clean. If you want to explore more budget based options on milk frothers, Check out our article “Best milk frothers and steamers”
