Plastic Milk!

‘Little Miss Muffet Sat on her Tuffet Eating her Curds and Whey”

But what are curds? This experiment lets us milk turn into into a solid and make plastic milk so we shall find out!

To make plastic milk you will need:

•skimmed milk
•white vinegar
•microwave proof bowl
•strainer/sieve

 

Method:

• 1. Add 4 teaspoons of white vinegar to one and half cups of skimmed milk.

• 2.Microwave the mixture for about a minute/ or heat over a stove to warm.

• 3. After a minute, the milk and vinegar will be separated into a liquid part (the whey) and the solid part (the curd)

• 4. Now, when you stir the milk, the solids become a “blobs.”

• 5. Strain the liquid off, you squeeze the blobs into one big lump. Squeeze out all the left over liquid.

 

 

• 6. Let it cool off, and then you can play with it. It feels like rubber.

• You can form the blob into shapes. If you leave it out, it will harden.

The Science bit

Here’s what happened to the milk. By adding the vinegar, you have created a chemical reaction which caused the milk to separate into two parts, a solid-the curds-and a liquid-the whey.The protein in the curds is what makes it act like rubber. A really simple experiment that gives you something very touchy and feely to do. It also makes a great sensory tool for little ones to play with.

Have fun and let us know if you try to make plastic milk.