How to make almond milk
In our Silver and Gold Winter 2019/20 issue, we shared a great article entitled:
"Milk: Do you need it" (read it HERE).
As an added bonus, we're showing you how you can easily make Almond Milk at home!
Almond milk has a very nice, mild-nutty flavour and naturally creamy texture that's similar to milk – without the lactose, preservatives and additives.
Here's how you can make it:
The most important thing to remember when you're going to make almond milk at home, is that you need to find good quality almonds – raw, unsalted, organic almonds.
If you want to just use conventional (sprayed) almonds instead of organic ones, just so you can "try" making the recipe first and see if you like it, that ok... but remember that organic is always best, as nuts and seeds tend to be highly sprayed in today's farming.
Remember: "It's not that organic food is expensive, it's that conventional food is cheap."
You will need the following items and ingredients:
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1 cup of raw almonds
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5 cups of fresh, filtered water
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a pinch of sea salt
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a blender
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cheesecloth or a nut milk bag (like this one, sold at many local health food stores)
Method:
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First, soak your almond nuts overnight in a bowl with fresh cool water, covered by a cloth (to prevent fruit flies, dust, etc.). Just a few hours will be enough for them to soften enough so you can later extract their natural 'milk'.
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Add soaked almonds to a blender, and cover with the water, and salt.
(note: the salt is necessary to penetrate the nuts and expand in their core, and help release their juices. Do not omit! A pinch of salt is really all you need)
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Blend on medium-high until smooth and silky. Some people prefer their almond milk slightly thicker - if that's you, then add 4 cups of water instead of 5, and blend a bit less for the consistency of "homogenized" or full milk.
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After blending, strain using the cheesecloth or nut milk bag. Here again, you may choose to leave it as is, instead of straining... Personally we prefer it as is, thicker and slightly nuttier... plus we'd hate to discard all those yummy almond pieces!!
As an alternative, you can also use the discarded/strained almond bits and reserve in the fridge for later use in your home-made muffins or morning cereals.
Optional flavourings:
For a sweeter taste, add a couple of pitted dates to the blender, or a banana
For a chocolate almond milk, add some powdered cocoa... get the grandkids to try that one!
You may also add some vanilla extract for a special taste that calls home!
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