[alt-photo] Re: casein

[Alberto Novo]

Hi Chris,
> I can't believe I did this but, I came across your notes referencing 23% casein, so to test this I took the casein from 1 cup of powdered milk (3T dry) and just finished drying the casein curd from skim milk to weigh it. Dried it is about 9 grams so I am going to assume that when looking at the nutrition label on milk or cheese, the protein content (the casein part of milk or cheese) is an accurate measure of the casein resulting in the wet mix. Does this make sense? 

1) What is "3T dry"?
2) Searching for milk + casein + percentage (in Italian), I have found an 
article on "Variation in casein percentage in reference to content of 
somatic cells in milk of cows bred in district of Bari" where the authors 
write that the proteic fraction (total proteins) of milk is about 3.3%, that 
casein is precipitated at 20°C at pH 4.6 as calcium caseinate, and that 1 g 
of casein corresponds to 3 g of seasoned cheese.
But the main goal of that article is to prove that in different seasons the 
cows produce milk with different amounts of casein and lactose (not 
mentioning the different milk -and hence cheese- produced by cows feeding on 
grassland or on hay, which I already knew). That is, milk is not ever the 
same. But I think that for printing purposes yes, the protein content of 
milk is a measure of casein yield. 

> I am currently working with cottage cheese in red, yellow, blue, to determine amounts. Some of Enos' formulas are too liquidy for my tastes. I am finding that the cottage cheese diluted 120ml to 8 oz feels almost like a 14 baume gum, and mixed equally with pot di 10% and 1/4 teaspoon dry pigment, has a nice coating feel, not too thin, not too thick and grabby.

You can set up a personal measurement/comparison of viscosity by means of a 
pipette with two marks (upper and lower) and a chronometre. Aspire your 
liquid in the pipette above the upper mark, then grab your chronometre, let 
the liquid flow, and start the timing when the liquid is passing through the 
upper mark. Stop the chronometre when the liquid is flowing through the 
lower mark. Make this three times, then calculate the mean.
I have done this, studying at home the fermentation of albumen, and the 
results are encouraging. One can compare these measurements against other 
liquids, e.g. different ratios of water and glycerine. 

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