What makes milk white?!
I've been wanting to know!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Answers:
Milk is an emulsion - it contains little bubbles of fat in water, as well as all kinds of proteins (casein), minerals, etc!. When light enters milk, it gets scattered by the various components, which means the angle of the light rays gets changed a little, making the milk appear white and opaque - some components can slightly change the tint of the milk!.
There's a good little blurb on wikipedia on milk color:
"Both the fat globules and the smaller casein micelles, which are just large enough to deflect light, contribute to the opaque white color of milk!. Skimmed milk, however, appears slightly blue because casein micelles scatter the shorter wavelengths (blue compared to red)!.
The fat globules contain some yellow-orange carotene, enough in some breeds — Guernsey and Jersey cows, for instance — to impart a golden or "creamy" hue to a glass of milk!. The riboflavin in the whey portion of milk has a greenish color, which can sometimes be discerned in skim milk or whey products!.Fat-free skim milk has only the casein micelles to scatter light, and they tend to scatter shorter-wavelength blue light more than they do red, giving skim milk a bluish tint!. " Www@FoodAQ@Com
There's a good little blurb on wikipedia on milk color:
"Both the fat globules and the smaller casein micelles, which are just large enough to deflect light, contribute to the opaque white color of milk!. Skimmed milk, however, appears slightly blue because casein micelles scatter the shorter wavelengths (blue compared to red)!.
The fat globules contain some yellow-orange carotene, enough in some breeds — Guernsey and Jersey cows, for instance — to impart a golden or "creamy" hue to a glass of milk!. The riboflavin in the whey portion of milk has a greenish color, which can sometimes be discerned in skim milk or whey products!.Fat-free skim milk has only the casein micelles to scatter light, and they tend to scatter shorter-wavelength blue light more than they do red, giving skim milk a bluish tint!. " Www@FoodAQ@Com
The protein (caesin) and the water, too!. the, butter is all the fat w/ little protein solids and only about 15% water, that's why it's yellow!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
