>2) heat water to a higher temperature than I want milk to
>heat and then let it cool down while milk heats up with
>the heat given off by water until eventually both reach
>the same temperature
>
>For my purposes, it is important that the center of the
>milk reaches temperature X without any of its mass going
>above X, and method 1 does just that.  With method 2, if
>not carefully monitored and controlled, the mass surrounding
>the center of milk can raise above X before the center
>reaches X.  Therefore, for simplicity sake, method 1 is better.

This will depend on how much you stir the milk. It will certainly be a
problem if you do not stir it, but if you do not stir it then I suspect you
will find an unacceptably long heating time which may make the milk do other
funny things - such as curdle around the edges - while the centre of the
milk mass will still be only vaguely warm.

>Another complexity that I found during my research is that
>the specific heat of the milk will change as time goes by
>because it will solidify (will change from milk into cheese).
>This also adds the small problem of not being able to keep
>stirring the milk while it heats up as I can do with the
>water to maximize the heat transfer.

I am not up with the temperature and stir rate required to make cheese, but
it seems to me that if you stir it too vigorously then you will have cheese
anyway, whatever heating system you use. ;))

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