The next coffee you have milk in your coffee or with a bowl of cereal, it might come from a team of Australian scientists and not a cow.
Bovine University might not be the only place you can go to learn about cows, as Australian scientists show off some interesting research that could change the way we consume milk.
Milk already comes in forms not made by a cow, and your local barista probably knows this all too well. Soy, almond, and oat dot the regular lists, but there’s also rice and others, and while they may be great to drink, they also may not be as good for coffee. Texturing milk for coffee works on dairy substitutes, but it may not be as good as the real thing, injecting air as it’s heated for a frothier milk.
However, alongside the rise of plant-based meats, Australia’s science division is working with a start-up to make a variation of milk that not only tastes like regular cow-based dairy milk, but froths up like it, as well, all while managing to be animal-free, lactose-free, and cholesterol-free. It’s good news for folks who love coffee with a splash of milk, but might be looking for something animal-free that looks and tastes like the real thing, handy whether you use a big coffee machine or something smaller with encapsulated pods.
The idea comes from a Victorian company that the CSIRO is a part of, Eden Brew, which is working on the a dairy-substitute with yeast, producing proteins that can ferment cheese and foghurt. Working at the CSIRO’s Food Innovation Centre, researchers say they can produce the same proteins found in cow’s milk, and when combined with minerals, sugars, fats, and flavours, the result is a dairy-free milk that tastes more like dairy milk.
Eden Brew’s work on a dairy-free, lactose-free, and cholesterol-free milk could see its milk substitute joining others late next year, and hitting cafes in the following one, with 2023 being the time when an Australian-engineered dairy-like alternative to dairy pops up in coffee shops ready for layering in coffee.
