more microwavia: what happened to my creamer?

[Ensign Edison]

Twice now, a container of powdered "Cremora" style coffee creamer stored next to the microwave seems to have just...stopped working. It will not fully dissolve even in very hot water; it just clumps up and then leaves behind suspended particles of non-dairy nasty. After the first time, I stored one in the cupboard and one in the same spot by the microwave and only the latter "spoiled" in this way. Not a great study, I know, but I'm suspicious. Anybody know?

[jali]

I get the occasional clumping too, and never thought of asking.

I'm looking forward to an expert's answer.

[runner pat]

2 WAGs

There's some microwave leakage that's cooking the creamer.

Moisture from foods and liquids being removed are getting into the creamer.

[jali]

2 WAGs

There's some microwave leakage that's cooking the creamer.

Moisture from foods and liquids being removed are getting into the creamer.

Makes sense. The solution is to move my creamer and stop standing so close to my microwave oven.

[si_blakely]

This is just age. Lactose powder has two states - a and b. Lactose-a is anhydrous crystalline powder that dissolves well in water. Lactose-b absorbs water, converting to an amorphous, clumping mass, and does not dissolve well. The major factor for processes that generate lactose (like drying milk to powder) is maximising the proportion of lactose-a in the final product.

The problem for food manufacturers is that over time, lactose-b containing powders absorb moisture from the air, and clumping/dissolving problems occur.

So I expect that your creamers were old, absorbed moisture from the air, and started clumping. Even sealed plastic units can leak some air.

I tried to develop an analytical method for determining lactose-b while at university (not very hard, I might add). The main problem was that I could not get samples that were not already hydrated, so my results were inaccurate.

Si

[Hostile Dialect]

Aren't non-dairy creamers lactose-free by definition?

[si_blakely]

I didn't realise that the Creamer mentioned was non-dairy. So it is not lactose clumping, but it is most likely to be related to moisture absorption by one of the powdering ingredients - the caseinate used for non-dairy creamers is hydrophobic, so micelles are formed round the caseinate with wetting agents so it will dissolve into the coffee. If the wetting agents absorb moisture over time, they can change structure (as mentioned with the lactose) and this leads to clumping. Same process, different chemical.

Si

[Ensign Edison]

The creamer was not old. It was brand new, and this happened within a few days with two brand-new containers when stored beside the microwave, whereas another purchased at the same time from the same store didn't go bad when stored elsewhere. However, I think the moisture issue is probably it -- runner pat had it right, I bet it's from removing hot items from the microwave and causing more moisture to collect in that area as a result.

[Yocto]

Aren't non-dairy creamers lactose-free by definition?

Far as I know, no strict regulatory definitions exist for the terms "non-dairy" or "dairy-free" (at least from the FDA). It's possible that a "non-dairy" creamer contains no other dairy solids, but then has lactose added. Milk sugar is popular because it's cheap, it's a commonly used filler to increase the volume of powdered food stuff, milk-based products and non-milk-based products alike.


Hmm... A microwave oven... Non-dairy powdered creamer...

Are you pondering what I'm pondering?

[Hostile Dialect]

Lactaid, the milk for people who can't tolerate dairy, is milk without lactose. It stands to reason that other non-dairy products are going to skip the lactose, because, jeez, the thing is called "lactose intolerance". I think a product advertising itself as suitable for the lactose-intolerant while containing lactose is going to get its makers' pants sued right off, by the very definition of the thing.