Just about every day I make coffee at work using the company Keurig machine. These days I prefer my coffee with a little bit of skim milk - just something to take the bitter edge off. Sometimes I'm out, so I endure the spark of purist black coffee, but if I am so prepared, the luxury of milk is where it's at. Until, that is, it starts to look like this:
What you see there is not exactly "chunks" of super old milk, one of the most horrifying experiences of the first world, but rather a coagulation of sorts, a ball. In this photo most of the ball of coagulated milk is lurking under the surface of the coffee, much like you might imagine the Loch Ness Monster. Anyway this has happened a few times, with multiple types of milk - I used to think it happened only with soy milk, not so. Interestingly, it doesn't make the coffee taste nasty - it's really just fine, except you wind up sipping in a modified fashion so as to avoid slurping up the solid oddity in the middle.
I have so many questions. Do I have to toss it immediately? K Cups are expensive! I don't want to just throw it out if I can stomach drinking around the blob. Is it harmful? I doubt it. But seriously what is going on?
After wondering about this for approximately 4 years (first time I can remember was sophomore year in college with library vanilla soy milk), finally, someone on the Internet has answered my question as to what exactly is happening:
"The clumping is not a function of fat separating, but protein clumping
together in curds (curdling). Even though your milk is not 'off' yet, as
milk ages, the acidity increases, and when you put into something
acidic and hot (like coffee), the milk can curdle. Fresher milk will be
less vulnerable." (
Original here.)
User szep_ilona of chowhound.com, I thank you. Now I know. Seemingly it is safe to drink around, just gross.
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