Foaming properties of milk samples collected at various processing stages in a dairy processing factory across two seasons

Abstract BACKGROUND A foam layer makes an essential contribution to the quality of cappuccino‐style drinks. Poor foaming of milk occurs quite often, however, especially in summer. The reasons for this are still unknown. Although a substantial number of studies on the foaming process of milk have been reported, these studies have been laboratory based and have used laboratory or pilot‐scale equipment to simulate the processing conditions of a dairy processing factory. This study collected about 40 different samples across different processing stages in a dairy factory over two seasons (two batches per season) and investigated their composition and physical and foaming properties by mechanical mixing and steam injection. RESULTS The results showed that milk samples collected in summer had a significantly higher content of fat, free fatty acids, and Ca 2+ ions, and larger particle sizes but a markedly lower concentration of protein and solid non‐fat, and surface tension than the samples collected in spring. These differences provided spring milk with a higher steam injection foamability than summer milk. However, steam injection foam stability, and mechanical mixing foamability and foam stability were not affected by seasonal factors. Milk samples collected in different batches within a season were almost identical with regard to the properties that were investigated. CONCLUSION The variations in composition and physical properties of milk collected between two seasons could be the reasons for their difference in foamability but not for foam stability. Processes such as standardization, homogenization, and pasteurization improved markedly the foaming properties of milk. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.