A Study on Milk Unstable to Alcohol

I. Milk-Coagulating Action of some Organic Solvents

Abstract

In the alcohol test which is performed to distinguish the quality of raw milk, it has been considered that the coagulation of milk by alcohol is due to dehydration. The present experiments were carried out on the mechanism of coagulation by using a small amount of organic solvent and disclosed that the coagulation was due to the lowered rate of dielectric constant. The experimental results are summarized as follows.
1. Those neutral organic solvents which mix freely with water and the rates of dielectric constant of which are comparatively low coagulate milk.
2. When Such organic solvent is mixed with milk at a certain concentration so that the rate of dielectric constant may be equal after mixing, always the same degree of coagulation of milk can be observed.
3. When ethyl ether, which is mixed very little with water, is added to alcohol, the coagulating action of alcohol is increased. The reason for this may be that ether lowers the rate of dielectric constant of alcohol.