Everyday Systems

Hi all,

Just posted in the No S forum about smoothies etc. and thought I'd share my almond milk recipe. I have a dairy intolerance so can't have regular milk, until recently I'd been using soya milk but thought I'd try an experiment in making my own nut milks as a way of not having to rely on something pre-packaged and premium priced.

recipe:

Half a cup of whole or blanched almonds, ground in a seed mill (or I guess a coffee mill would do)

Up to 1 litre cool filtered water (depending on how "milky" or thin you like it) I usually use about 750 ml (just over a pint I think) of water.

Whiz all in a blender

That's it. I don't even bother to seive it as I don't mind a few bits, some recipes out there suggest filtering it through a muslin cloth, but I'm far too lazy to bother with that

It makes a nice white milk which stores well in the fridge in a glass bottle (any bits settle to the bottom eventually).
I find it fine for my cereal and with tea and coffee, it does have a hint of almond taste but is otherwise fairly neutral tasting.

It's also very cheap! I paid something like £1.50 for a fairly substantial packet of almonds and I've made a few batches of almond milk out of that and still have more left.

Just thought I'd share

Cheers for that Bonnie!
Sounds great!
I love almond milk and will try it
Didn't know it was so simple
Peace and Love,
Debs

Hi Debs,

I was pleasantly surprised how simple it is too! It is a little bitty if you don't seive it, but that doesn't bother me. I'd imagine that using blanched almonds would result in a much smoother milk but have yet to try that.

I made hemp seed milk this morning for my cereal, using the same method but with shelled hemp seeds and less water to make a creamier milk. It was very nice and creamy with a strong nutty taste. I was particularly impressed that the hemp milk was totally white even though hemp seeds are slightly green. Weird!

My next experiment will probably be with sunflower seeds as I have lots of those in the house.

My husband (who isn't vegan) is fussy about milk and doesn't usually like soya or other non-dairy stuff, but even he has liked the nut milks so that's something!

Peace & love to you to!

Bonnie

p.s. I also made coconut milk recently, but wasn't so keen on it for cereal / tea usage - good for Indian or Thai style cooking though I guess!

ok, just in case anyone is interested in the results of my "nut milk" experiments (with the aid of a cheap seed mill and even cheaper blender!), I've discovered that sunflower seeds don't work when trying to make a milk subsitute (it starts off looking ok, but soon separates into water and "bits" LOL).

Cashew nuts work well though and make a fairly sweet milk, good for oatmeal and coffee.

Hemp seeds work well too, but the resulting milk has a strong taste that clashes with some flavours (it's horrible in coffee!), it only seems to taste good on muesli or in a smoothie.

In the end, almonds are the winner! Resulting almond milk has a good texture, neutral taste, is versatile etc. (and husband is still finding it palatable if he runs out of regular milk, which is a bonus).

Wouldn't using hemp seeds counteract the "wake up" powers of the coffee anyway???
hahah..
Just a little ex pot head humour.
Throw em in yer compost heap next Spring, and make brownies with the crop instead..

Still have yet to make the almond milk.
Will let you know how I get on when I do.
Have a nice evening
Debs x

LOL Debs! Of course edible hemp seeds have no psychoactive effect unlike their relatives (at least the ones I buy don'!) although some people suggest they contain minute traces!

I'm still happy with the almond milk, but I've put one of these http://www.totalrawfood.com/products/&c ... roduct=117 on my Christmas wish list so I can have it without any bits in though [/b]

Bonnie,
It might interest you to know that Groundnuts (aka Peanuts) also make delicious milk by the same method.

It's fairly common practice in India to make it for lactose-intolerant children.

Savita