How to Turn Milk into “Plastic”

It’s Not Magic, It’s Science!

What do you get when you mix Hiland Dairy Milk with vinegar? A mess? No! You get a “plastic”-making science experiment your kids will love (of course, true plastics are made from polymers, not milk and vinegar). So, let the fun begin.

What You’ll Need:

1 cup Hiland Dairy Milk
4 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
Strainer
Paper towels
Food coloring (optional)

Directions:

Pour milk into a microwavable dish and heat for 1 1/2 minutes, until hot.
- Tip: Make sure you don’t boil the milk while heating.

Stir in 4 tablespoons of vinegar.

Continue stirring for approximately 1 minute.
- Tip: You can teach your kid some science by letting them know that the mixture becomes clumpy as the acid in the vinegar starts to break down the protein in the milk.

Pour the lumpy mixture into a strainer. Discard excess liquid.
- Tip: Let as much liquid as possible drain into a separate bowl by pressing on the mixture.

Place the mixture onto a paper towel and press out the remaining liquid.

Add food coloring to the mixture and shape as desired.
- Tip: Avoid stained fingers by wearing gloves when handling the food coloring!

Let the final masterpiece dry completely (this will take about 2 days).

Diva’s Tip

Although Hiland Dairy Milk and vinegar can turn into a hard, plastic-like substance your kiddos can experiment with, it is actually edible—and healthy for you—too! It’s called Paneer, which is an edible Indian cheese.

~The Dairy Diva