Why is milk white?
Moment of Um
American Public Media
4.4 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 30 November 2023
⏱️ 5 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Milk! It’s a cookie’s best friend. It’s a key part of a creamy cup of hot chocolate. And it’s delicious, whether it comes from a cow, a goat, an oat, or a coconut. But no matter where your milk comes from, one thing is probably the same – the whitish color. What’s up with that? We asked science writer Stuart Farrimond to help us find the answer.
Got a question MOO-ving through your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll milk the answer for all it’s worth!
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From the brains behind brains on, this is the moment of um. Moment of um. comes to you from APM Studios. I'm Theodore P. Crumbles, Master Cookie Taster. |
| 0:17.0 | In my career, I've tasted just about every flavor of cookie there is. |
| 0:24.3 | Chocolate chip, old meal raisim, snickerdoodle, peanut butter, |
| 0:31.9 | those little shortbreads with the sticky jelly in the middle, and so many more. |
| 0:37.0 | Being a professional cookie taster is a tough job. |
| 0:42.0 | It's not as easy as you'd think to find the fudge cookie with just the right |
| 0:46.7 | silky texture or the ginger snap with enough ginger and snap. |
| 0:53.0 | But the worst part is getting a dry sticky mouth |
| 0:58.0 | after too much tasting. |
| 1:00.0 | That's why I always make sure I have a tall, cool glass of milk next to me. |
| 1:08.0 | A sip of creamy white milk turns a plain old plate of cookies into a symphony of the senses. |
| 1:17.0 | It just wouldn't be the same with water or juice or pickle brine. |
| 1:22.0 | And it has to be white but and gosh this is embarrassing for an |
| 1:28.4 | expert like me I don't know why. Milk is white. |
| 1:34.0 | My friend Claire just asked me the same question too. |
| 1:37.0 | My name is Claire from Brooklyn, New York, |
| 1:39.0 | and my question is why I smelled white. |
| 1:41.0 | Milk contains quite a lot of fat and quite a lot of protein and these are bundled up in little balls, |
| 1:50.0 | microscopic little balls within the milk. |
| 1:52.0 | And when light hits these little balls, the milk and when light hits these little balls the light |
| 1:54.3 | reflects off it and so it looks white. |
| 1:57.0 | My name is Dr. Stue Ferrimond. |
... |
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