scalded milk

3.5

Milk heated until almost boiling and then cooled

noun

: leche escaldada

The custard's texture improves when you start with scalded milk rather than raw milk.

Examples

I used scalded milk for the recipe.
Many old-fashioned recipes call for scalded milk instead of cold milk for a smoother result.
Before adding yeast, make sure the scalded milk has cooled to a safe temperature.
Have you ever tried scalded milk in your coffee?
For the recipe, start by heating the scalded milk gently until it is warm but not boiling.
The chef recommends using scalded milk for a creamier texture in the custard.
In baking, adding scalded milk to the mixture can enhance the flavor of the bread.

Surface Forms

scalded milk singular

scalded milks plural

Morphology

scald + milk

The meaning is directly compositional: 'scalded milk' is simply milk that has been scalded (heated to just below boiling). This is a literal, cooking-related formation that a B1 learner who knows 'scald' and 'milk' can readily understand, and similar constructions exist cross-linguistically.

Etymology

Scalded milk comes from the simple image of heating milk until it is very hot, nearly boiling, so it becomes slightly scalded. Cooks found this hot milk makes dough and custard smoother, so today scalded milk means milk heated just below boiling and then cooled for use in recipes, 'used in cooking'.