How to Make Freeze-Distilled Milk at Home Easy!!!
Freeze Distilled Milk | Calculated Recipes
We believe that Coffee is beautiful because of its simplicity. However, even in seemingly simple things there can be many nuanced details that go unnoticed. In coffee, it is only two ingredients that go into a single cup: coffee and water. Thus, sourcing great coffee beans and water is the start to making great coffee! From there, you can really start to go down the rabbit-hole of extraction methods, grinder styles or machines! We believe this goes one step further when making milk-based drinks such as lattes or cortados; sourcing great quality milk is the start to making truly fantastic drinks.
But what kind of milk should I use, you ask? We personally opt for lactose free milks, or locally produced milk! The reason for local milk is twofold: these cows often tend to lead a happier life and produce a sweeter final milk. Lactose free milk on the other hand is a great alternative for those who cannot digest lactose, and you will find it is also sweeter than regular milk as well! This is because the lactose in the milk has been broken down into glucose and galactose which our brains perceive as sweeter in taste. We know that sounds super science-y, but the main take-away is that lactose free milk is more sweet than regular milk.
Now let's say you wanted to take your milk the next step further. What is there to be done except buying great milk? Imagine a milk that was more concentrated, sweeter, and creamier. There is something called ‘Fractional Freezing’ or ‘Fractional Distillation” that can actually achieve this effect in milk. While it sounds complicated, it is anything but. If you have ever frozen a sports drink like Gatorade, you know that it freezes in layers: One that is syrupy and sweet, and another that is mostly water. The reason this occurs is because the different components in that drink freeze at different temperatures/rates. We are going to essentially be doing that with milk and then extracting that ‘syrupy and sweet” layer.
By freezing milk and then allowing it to partially defrost, you are left primarily with the proteins, sugars and fats in the milk, leaving a good chunk of the water content of that milk behind. The result? Sweeter, creamier milk that makes some of the best drinks we’ve ever had. This all happens because the sugars, fats and proteins all have a lower melting point than that of water. Here’s how we make our freeze-distilled milk at home:
What You’ll Need | Materials
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One Gallon of Lactose-Free Whole Milk
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Freezer-Safe Container
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Strainer
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Large Bowl
How to Freeze-Distill Milk | Instructions
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Clear space in your fridge and freezer large enough to fit the large bowl/container you will be using.
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Pour one gallon of milk into a freezer-safe container (such as Cambros or Deli Containers), leaving some headspace as liquids expand when frozen.
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Wash and sanitize the milk jug and leave aside to dry.
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Freeze the milk completely solid (this should take at least 12 hours)
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Once frozen (at least 12 hours), run hot water on the outside of the milk container to loosen it from the sides.
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Transfer the large block of ice and milk into a strainer sitting over a large bowl.
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Place the bowl and strainer in the fridge.
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Allow the milk to slowly defrost and begin melting in the fridge.
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When the block of ice is as roughly HALF the volume it initially started at, remove the now mostly-ice block from the strainer.
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Taste the milk in the large bowl; if it is too sweet for your liking, re-incorporate some of the ice back into the concentrated milk.
*Note: if incorporating ice back into the mixture, Scrape ice from the center of the block where there will still be fairly-concentrated milk-solids. Doing this and avoiding the outer edges will prevent any excess dilution from occurring in the final product.
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Once the milks sweetness is to your liking, pour it back into its initial jug and place back into the fridge.
Freezer safe container (Above)
^ Milk in Freezer safe container (Leave some headspace!) ^
^ Frozen Milk Right out of the freezer ^
^ Milk after thawing for roughly 3 hours ^
^ Milk thawing after 18 hours ^
^ Concentrated final product (note volume change) ^
Congratulations!!! You have just made yourself some Freeze-Distilled Milk! Now go enjoy the fruits of your labor with a creamy and sweet latte that won’t need anything else!
Need a good iced latte recipe? Here's ours below:
- Chilled Glass FILLED with ice
- 250 ml of freeze-distilled milk
- 36 g espresso
- 5-15 g sweetener (optional, to taste)
Note: If you find that you do not want to use an entire gallon of milk or simply do not have the space to defrost that much milk, feel free to use a smaller container for less freeze-distilled milk (it'll freeze faster this way too).
Comment below how you decided to use this milk and let us know how you liked it!