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Red Cabbage Milkshake

Tastes better than sour milk.
  (+2)
(+2)
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I have a terrible sense of smell, which means that I am unable to judge whether milk has turned sour until I taste it. Tasting sour milk spoils my day.

When I mention this to friends, I'm always amazed how many people have similarly defective nostrils.

So here is today's invention: Red Cabbage Milkshake. The juice from red cabbage acts like litmus, and will turn blue in base liquids. It turns red(der) in acidic liquids. Milk becomes more acidic as it turns sour (or rather, it becomes sour as it turns more acidic).

So, before drinking the milk, I'll make a very small cabbage milkshake. If I get blue cabbage milkshake, I'll know that it's safe to drink the rest of the milk without having to tentatively taste it first.

There is no need to drink the red/blue cabbage milkshake, unless you really want to.

Fishrat, Nov 03 2003

Making litmus http://www.botanica...gmh/l/litmus35.html
Yuck! [Fishrat, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Bad Milk Indicator http://www.halfbake..._20milk_20indicator
[Cedar Park, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004]

[link]






       Or dip a piece of litmus paper in the milk before using.
squeak, Nov 03 2003
  

       + for bringing one of my oldest, secretiongest, doomed for catastrophe business hallucinations to the fore. I really must dig up all my pre-'bakery ideas which are tucked away in a large wicker basket.
thumbwax, Nov 03 2003
  

       thumb: the less we know about your secretions, the better, I think.
fishrat: if the litmus dye is tasteless, perhaps you could add it to milk more generally. I suspect blue milk would be much more palatable to the under-ten set.
DrCurry, Nov 03 2003
  

       What about a strip embedded in the carton/jug which is treated with the cabbage juice/litmus material and would turn color when acidity hits an undesirable level? Ideally this would not bleed into the milk enough to alter it's overall color.
Dustoff, Nov 03 2003
  

       [squeek/dustoff] I'd been toying with a litmus milk carton, but litmus paper reminds me of chemistry lessons and strange smelling classrooms. The memories would put me off my milk.
Fishrat, Nov 03 2003
  

       [Drc]Roccella tinctoria is not apparently toxic, although most litmus paper is made in Holland, when the preparation process involves soaking in urine apparently [link]. Never drink the yellow milk.
Fishrat, Nov 03 2003
  

       It would be great if the milk carton could have a "Freshness Strip" on the side. Perhaps using some type of litmus technology.... Expiration dates would no longer be needed, as the freshness is easily determined by the strip or indicator.
KLRico, Nov 03 2003
  

       [Fishrat], I'm confused. If your sense of smell has gone, why can you still taste?
Overpanic, Nov 03 2003
  

       [Op] In my case, I've had my nose broken a few times playing rugby, so it's more that my ability to sniff is impared. However, as I understood it, many people begin to lose the ability to smell as they get older, while retaining the ability to taste.
Fishrat, Nov 04 2003
  

       "Red Cabbage" has quite a ring to it as a brand name, you know...
DrCurry, Nov 04 2003
  

       Especially if you're selling red cabbages, I bet.
Fishrat, Nov 05 2003
  

       <insert rant on the follies of milk drinking here>
k_sra, Nov 05 2003
  

       [k_sra] Listen, when you've *tried* the blue milk, then you can rant!
Fishrat, Nov 06 2003
  

       Neo, I'm offering you a choice. The blue milk and you can see where good taste begins. Or the red milk and you will wake up in a pool of your own vomit in the 7/ 11 bathroom. The choice is yours.
sartep, Nov 06 2003
  

       The idea of using an indicator is good, but come on man. Cabbage juice is not really the best choice considering that it is not easily obtained. If you are looking for a cheaper and easier solution go buy some PH paper and use that on milk. It sours at a PH of 8.5 for anyone going to use this.
Ebassick15, May 31 2004
  

       //not easily obtained// Really??
Fishrat, Jun 02 2004
  

       Curiously enough, I thought that cabbages were easier to come across than pH paper, unless you work in a chemistry department. In my case, I do work in a chemistry department, but we have also spent a not inconsiderable amount of time extracting cabbages.
hazel, Jun 02 2004
  

       pleased to see this never became the whole 'litmus versus cabbage availability' debate it looked like becoming - man, they just go on FOREVER.   

       The 'freshness strip' is the way to go; it just seems a little more convenient than whipping up an undrinkable milkshake before I wet my rice bubbles.
anaeleus, Aug 29 2005
  
      
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