Will a milk frother mix protein powder? Possibly, but there may be some stumbling blocks.
It can work with some of the hot chocolate and cappuccino-style machines that use steam to froth milk.
These kinds of milk foaming machines are designed specifically for mixing milk and foaming it up for hot chocolate or any other beverage recipe that uses heated or steamed milk as an ingredient.
A milk frother is like a tiny version of a commercial-grade blender. First, it will mix the ingredients to make a creamy, foamy texture.
To do this, it uses steam or hot water to heat the liquid and stirs it to aerate it with “frothing wands” that are mounted on the base or interior of the pitcher or other container where you’re mixing your milk-based beverage.
How Will A Milk Frother Mix Protein Powder?
There are two ways that foam-style machines can be used to mix protein powder. The first way involves using them as intended for milk-based foods, but instead of measuring out a cup of dairy product, add in one scoop (or more) of powdery weight loss supplement. Then, use the same amount of milk that the recipe calls for.
You’ll want to make sure you give it a good mix and shake it up if there are solid clumps of powder as they may not fully dissolve. The second way to use your frother to mix protein powder is by using it just like any other hot beverage maker.
In this case, you can put in all of the ingredients for whatever recipe you are doing, including proteins powders or weight loss supplements.
If you are going this route, then follow the directions on the box or package exactly as written regarding what kind of liquid to use, how long to heat or steam it at what temperature, etc.
Issues Around Heating Protein Powders
The proteins in heated protein powders denature when they come into contact with scalding liquid (around 170 degrees Fahrenheit), such as when you put them in your coffee with boiling water. The heat changes the structure of the protein, so it becomes functionally useless for building muscle tissue.
If you’re hoping to make a post-workout shake using protein powder, simply mixing it with milk isn’t going to do it. Adding the powder after you heat your coffee (or other hot beverage) will have the same effect.
Instead, use a frothed milk machine to mix the protein powder with your heated liquid, such as hot chocolate or cappuccino. The process of steam-frothing will warm up your drink without heating it over 170 degrees F, so the proteins won’t denature and become useless.
So yes – if you want to make high-protein hot cocoa or steamed caffe latte, just buy one of these machines! You can also use regular cold water instead of boiling water when making your shake, which will keep the protein powder from becoming denatured.
Microwaving Protein Powders
As a note, some cooking sources claim that adding protein powder to your drink heated in a microwave is fine because the heating process doesn’t heat the liquid above 170 degrees F, and they say this is good enough to preserve protein functionality.
However, we recommend against it since many microwaves have trouble heating liquids evenly – which means you could end up with extremely hot (and thus useless) protein powder floating on top of cold water or milk.
Additionally, suppose you don’t dissolve the powders thoroughly when using a microwave. In that case, you may also experience bloating as specific proteins won’t digest properly (one more reason to err on the side of caution!.
How to Use a Milk Frother to Mix Protein Powder
To summarize, to effectively mix protein powder into a hot coffee or other beverage using one of these kinds of milk frother machines:
- Use cold water when preparing your shake.
- Put the protein powder in after you’ve prepared the liquid and just before you add it to the top of your cup. In this way, you’ll avoid denaturing and mixing issues for your proteins.
