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Preservation of Milk

A method for preserving milk by adding bicarbonate, heating, sealing with pitch, and storing in a cool place.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Preservation of Milk

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 194°F (90°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

  1. Add 1½ ounces of bicarbonate of soda or potash to 1 liter of new milk.

  2. Close the bottle and place it in a hot water bath at just below 194°F (90°C) for about 4 hours.

Seal and store

  1. Remove the bottles from the bath and dip them in melted pitch to seal.

  2. Store the sealed bottles in a cool place.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

New milk
Provides the liquid base and protein that the preservative acts on.
Bicarbonate of soda or potash
Raises the milk's alkalinity, which helps slow spoilage during heating and storage.

The step that matters

Keeping the bath just below 194°F (90°C). Holding the water hot but under boiling keeps the milk heated enough to reduce microbes without boiling over or forcing bottles to burst. Too much heat risks pressure and loss of the sealed bottles.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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