[alt-photo] Re: casein

[Richard Knoppow]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alberto Novo" <alt.list at albertonovo.it>
To: "The alternative photographic processes mailing list" 
<alt-photo-process-list at lists.altphotolist.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 11:03 AM
Subject: [alt-photo] Re: casein


Hi Chris,

about making homemade casein, I tried this some years ago 
when I began
experimenting casein printing.
My first approach had been preparing casein from powdered 
milk, finding a
dry casein yield of 23% by weight. I don't know if changing 
powdered milk
the yield may be different.
 From the yield, I calculated that Franklin Enos/Ernest 
Theisen recipe is
equivalento to about 5% solution of casein, while Bob 
Schramm
(www.usask.ca/lists/alt-photo-process/alt95/0831.html if 
still there...)
cited by Laura Blacklow in Alternativephotography.com is 4%, 
and that in
"Spirit of Salts" is 10%.
In Italy we have not cottage cheese and use ricotta instead. 
But ricotta is
not casein, being made warming the whey up to 90°C, and 
lightly acidifying
it (ricotta means "cooked two times") so that albumin and 
globulin
denaturate and become insoluble. So, I did not investigate 
about a potential
"ricotta printing" :-)
For me, powdered milk was not easy to buy, and fresh low-fat 
industrial
cheese (a possible substitute of cottage cheese) are often 
treated with
lactic or citric acid, alginate and cream. Finally I ended 
using dry casein
in order to avoid all my problems of supplying and purity.

BTW, I am still without my darkroom, so that I have not yet 
had the
opportunity to give a try to your ammonium caseinate.

Alberto
www.grupponamias.com
www.alternativephotography.com/wp/photographers/rodolfo-namias-group

     If cottage cheese is unavailable you might consider 
making your own.  I don't think its too difficult, my mom 
used to make it.  A Google search got a lot of hits but one 
seems pretty specific about the method and procedure:
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G9550

This cautions against using aluminum or iron pots, I don't 
know why, perhaps they react with the acid.


--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
dickburk at ix.netcom.com