Now I'd like to think that I'm an logical, intelligent, rational person, however comma, everyone one has their moments. Mine was tonight. It was around 11:30 when I found it to be the perfect time to indulge in some of the hot chocolate powder mix with mini marshmallows that I bought the day previous as a little treat. Now, I have never made hot chocolate before in my entire life, and I have only had access to an electric kettle that I usually use for tea for the past year, so unfortunately I am not very well versed in either. This however, did not stop me from my late night hot chocolate endeavor, as most things don't.
Now here is where my logic fails me. I needed the milk to be hot, I have a kettle that makes things hot, milk goes in kettle and boom, I've got hot chocolate. Now here is where I wish things had gone right, because it would've made the next 30 minutes of my life a lot easier, unfortunately the world is cruel and unjust. So instead of getting milk that was warmer that average, I got what appeared to be some sort of chemical smell(we'll get back to this later). As the kettle turned off, I took a whiff and promptly ignored it in favor of pouring the milk into my mug with my hot chocolate powder. As this is happening, something at the bottom of the kettle catches my eye. A Ginormous Scorch Mark at the bottom of the Kettle.
Baffled, Confounded, Puzzled, Confused, all words that would be accurate to the state of my being as these events unfolded. You see, milk, unlike water, has loads more fat and sugar content. One specific sugar that it is know for is Lactose, which when heated up, it rapidly caramelizes, as all sugars do. This is known as the Maillard reaction, which is how we get the brown crust of a loaf of bread, the dark roast of coffee beans, and soft gooey caramel. Once the heat from the kettle start breaking down the sugars and proteins in milk, and those compounds start reacting with each other, they release volatile compounds that create the distinct chemical smell that some say give off an almond like aroma(to me it just smelt like burnt). Along with the lactose caramelizing and creating the "burnt chemical nut smell", the main protein of milk, Casein, when overheated starts to denature. Denaturing: the breaking down of a proteins folded(3-D) structure. These denatured proteins can created a thin layer on the heated surface and creates the illusion of burnt milk.
Now you'd think that I would just leave it on that note, would you? Well technically yes, but I made the executive decision to call my mom to get her executive decision on what I should do about my burnt kettle bottom. Now my mother isn't THAT old, however I knew for a fact she would be asleep at 11:30 at night. When she answered the phone she was at her most heightened worried state, because why would one of her children be calling her so late at night if something weren't incredibly wrong. This emotion was quickly replaced by complete and utter bafflement over her child's stupidity, and then disappointment over her child's lack of experience in the kitchen. She said that the kettle was toast, that it's as good as gone, and should be thrown out. But I said, momma didn't raise a quitter(it's worse, she raised someone that's more stubborn than smart) and I spent the next 30 minutes boiling water and dish soap while scrubbing away at the bottom of the kettle to clear away the denatured casein and after all that, the kettle lives on to boil another day.
Now this was a learning experience for every(me) involved. In these college years I have lived and learned almost half as much as I should have, but if one thing has stuck with me, its that
tldr; milk can be scorched when boiled in a kettle, avoid at all costs(and don't tell mom next time)