Aeroccino: Milk Frothing Perfection
I love me some good ol' fancy coffee drinks made with milk, but I don't like steaming wands or battery operated wire whisks. Thankfully, whether you use a Nespresso coffee maker or not, they make the perfect little device for warming or frothing your way to latte perfection.
The Aeroccino almost looks like any other metal milk pitcher, except on closer inspection, you'll find that it is indeed electric and works very much like an electric kettle...with some ingenious alterations. The Aeroccino has a clever mechanism that uses one of two magnetic impellers to rotate milk at high speeds while it also heats it. One of the impellers is simply for rotating the milk to heat it evenly without burning it, and the other acts as a whisk to froth the milk while it is being heated.
Whichever impeller you select, the other clips nicely to the inside top of the lid to keep from losing it.
To froth milk, for example, simply drop the whisk attachment onto the magnetic post on the inside bottom of the pitcher. Pour just enough milk to cover the whisk, and put the lid on.
Then, just like on an electric kettle, set the Aeroccino onto it's electric base, and press the on button. The pitcher jumps into action, but you'd never know it because it runs silently. That's right, unlike battery powered frothers and steam wands, the Aeroccino makes practically no sound at all.
In just over a minute, you have quite a copious amount of froth and a little hot milk at the bottom, provided you use skim milk.
Best of all, since the inside surface is non-stick, I simply rinse with water and turn it over to dry. Keep in mind, that since this device is electric, you cannot submerge it or stick it into the dishwasher.
And at a retail price of about $89, I can't think of a better device for adding that extra little kick to your coffee drinks.
Some Tips
I've tried milk with more fat content, but had very little luck. Your basic skim milk is what works best.
One of my favorite things to do is add flavoring to the milk prior to frothing it. For example, you can sprinkle a little cinnamon into the milk, and even sweeten it. Just a pinch of brown sugar works best and let it sit for just a couple of seconds before turning it on. If you add regular granulated white sugar, or any other sugar that doesn't dissolve quickly, it affects the whisk impeller and causes it to stop spinning.
Another nice addition is a little bit of vanilla extract in the milk prior to frothing it.
One other use I've found for it is making the milk for the liquid chai mix you can purchase. Instead of pouring the milk directly in the chai and heating them together, put the milk into the Aeroccino and add just a touch of chai to it. Heat the chai mix in the microwave, and turn on the Aeroccino. What's delightful is that you not only get some warm milk, but you get a chai flavored froth as well. Delicious!
