Achieve Frothy Milk For Your Coffee With Nothing But Your Microwave

There's just something undeniably special about a thick layer of frothy milk foam layered on top of a delicious shot of espresso or cup of strong, freshly brewed coffee. Even if you happen to prefer regular drip coffee, that thick, frothy milk can kick your cup of joe up a notch or two. But if you don't have a milk frother or your steamer is out of order, you might feel like you have to skip the delicacy. That's not the case, however. There's actually a pretty reliable and easy way to make the stuff without either of those two contraptions. Instead, turn to your microwave.

It might be hard to believe, but as long as you have milk and a microwave, there's no reason to deny yourself that delicious foam you're no doubt craving for your coffee. Even better, if you've been spending your time and money having someone else whip up your morning cappuccinos and lattes, that won't be necessary anymore. Take a French press to work and you'll also be able to satisfy your afternoon caffeine cravings without wasting your break in a drive-thru (assuming there's a microwave in the break room, of course).

Making foamy milk in the microwave boils down to shaking the milk until it froths and then microwaving it to essentially set the foam in place. You'll want to use a jar with a tight-fitting lid for the shaking step. A mason jar will work perfectly but so will any clean, empty jar. If you do re-use an old spaghetti sauce jar or something to that effect, then you might want to give it a smell test to make sure that it won't impart any tomato, garlic, or other odors in your milk.

Pour just as much two percent or skim milk that you'll use in your coffee into the jar (whole doesn't work quite as well, sorry to say). Since you want the milk to double in size as it foams be sure not to go past the halfway mark. Then give the jar a good strong shake until it does just that: Doubles. This should take between 30 seconds and a minute.

Next, put the jar in the microwave for 30 seconds, but don't forget to take the lid off first. And there you go — warm, foamy milk perfect for your coffee. This process can also work in reverse. To do it that way, microwave half a cup of milk for a minute. You should see bubbles at that point. Then, instead of shaking the warm milk, whisk it until it's properly frothy.

Once you've got your frothy milk made, pour the milk into your coffee while holding the foam back with a spoon. If you dump it all in at once you'll end up blending the foam into the coffee, completely defeating the purpose of making it in the first place. Once you've added the milk to the coffee (or other drink) use the spoon to guide the foam out of the jar, creating a nice frothy layer on top.

Even if you don't like coffee drinks, you can use this same technique to add a layer of airy foam to other types of your favorite beverages. Quite a few teas taste great with warm milk, and they'll be even better with a frothy top. Try it on chai, ginger, matcha, or any other tea that benefits from a bit of creaminess. Another option is to use the warm milk to make hot chocolate, replacing the usual whipped cream with the delicious and easy microwave foam. The options are almost limitless, so don't be surprised if you find yourself adding frothy milk to all sorts of drinks from here on out.