Over the years Coca-Cola has been mixed with pretty much everything you can think of...including other beverages, especially of the alcoholic kind. Now it seems, the chemical reaction when mixing Coke with milk is the new talking point. Thanks in no small measure to a recent You Tube video originally posted in January. Over the last week this video has seen a massive resurgence of more than 3.5 million views. Yet mixing Coke with milk, and drinking (eating?) it, has been ongoing for at least 60 years, and probably a lot longer. 
An American Icon: Coca-Cola, the world’s favourite carbonated drink, was invented way back in 1886 by pharmacist John Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia. Marketed originally as a patented medicine it quickly became a popular thirst quencher across the US. Although vehemently denied by the Coca-Cola Company, there is good historical evidence that points to it containing that other coke up to 1903. Little wonder in soared in popularity. In 1936, on its 50th anniversary, Coca-Cola became a national icon of the US, and in 1944 the company registered the trademark name “Coke”. 
So What Happens when we Mix Coke and Milk: In layman’s terms the milk curdles, or begins to solidify. Milk is a mixture of fat and proteins, including those called casein micelles, suspended in a clear liquid. With a pH of 6.4 to 6.8 it is on the acidic side, a pH of 7 is considered neutral. Add anything to the milk which increases this acidity, such as Coke, beer or fruit juices such as pineapple, and curdling will begin to occur. Coke is extremely acid with a pH range of 2.5 to 4.5 due to its Phosphoric Acid content. With this increase in acidity, the negative charge in the milk casein micelles clumps begin to attract each other, forming larger clumps which become visible to the naked eye. No mixing or stirring is necessary; leaving the Coke/milk mix to do its own thing is all that is required. Foamy clumps of brown yuck will begin forming in the bottom of the glass or bottle. With all these clumps forming a heavier solid mass (curds), they will remain at the bottom, while the top of the container will begin to show a semi-opaque liquid (whey).
Curdling Milk is no New Phenomenon: Although nobody really knows, cheese making is considered to have started between 5,000 and 8,000 years ago. To my knowledge nobody has yet produced a Coke flavoured cheese, but give them time. However without the knowledge of what occurs when the milk is made more acidic, we wouldn’t be able to sample the range of cheeses from the cheeseboard of our favourite restaurant as we do today.
A Drink to Enjoy on a Hot Summer’s Day: So what about drinking the mix of Coke and milk, mentioned at the beginning of this article? Even if you’re not particularly fond of carbonated drinks, this is a real summer time thirst quencher. Using a large half-pint glass, one of those ornate glasses with the small stem and thick base, makes the experience so much more enjoyable. Add two scoops of your favourite flavoured ice cream, which contains milk, and top the glass up with good old Coca-Cola. The kids love trying to suck up all that thick ice cream through a straw. Yes the ubiquitous Ice Cream Soda, still going strong all these years down the line.
The (almost) Knickerbocker Glory: A favourite in the UK summertime as a thick drink or fruit sundae, similar to the above, add a couple of tablespoon’s of the kids favourite fruit, chopped into small chunks. Add one scoop of ice cream, more fruit, second scoop of ice cream, more fruit, and fill the glass with Coke. Hand out a couple of those long handled plastic cocktail spoons so they can reach the fruit at the bottom, and straws to suck up the foamy Coke. Job done, can Coke and milk mix...of course they can.
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