Homemade Almond MilkHere’s a great little recipe for the good ol dairy free standby, home made almond milk. I’m doing a series on Dairy-free “Milks” and this of course is the first! This week we’re going to feature a different “Milk” each day… you might be surprised at some of the ‘nut free’ options you’re about to see… :)
Next we have Cashew milk, and Coconut Milk. Coming soon will be Hemp Milk, Pistachio Milk, Macadamia Nut Milk, and Flax Milk.
Home made almond milk is terrific because you can make it as simple or complex as you want, you can control the sweetness, the flavours, and eliminate preservatives and emulsifiers. I like that. It also has a wonderfully mild flavor, you can make it easy or as complex as you want.
MyRealFoodLife.com
Home Made Almond Milk
Recipe Note: There will be leftover almond pieces that can’t be ‘liquidized’. I spread the wet mixture on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, roasted at 350 for 15 min til golden, and chopped again in the food processor with a favorite oil (walnut). Perfect ‘crumbs’ for crumble crust in pies, or ‘breading’ fish, etc. For sweet you could mix with cinnamon or nutmeg, etc… or savoury, maybe parmesan cheese, thyme, and chili flakes. Store in the freezer.
Note: You may find this recipe a touch sweet, start with half the sweeteners listed and then add more to taste, just in case.
ALSO BEWARE: Do not add the full boiling mixture to the blender. Either do it in small batches or wait till it cools. Or else it will explode in your face. (happy discovery :S ). Explaining suspicious red marks on my neck at work the next day was a bit embarassing (“No, i SWEAR it was the blender !!” lol)
Ingredients
- 1 cup blanched (skinless) almonds
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- Sweetener: 1 tbsp raw agave nectar or honey plus1 tbsp molasses or brown rice syrup or yacon syrup, OR 4-5 pited dates
- 4 cups boiling water + 1 cup extra
- generous pinch salt
Directions
- Put all ingredients together in medium mixing bowl and pour the 3 cups boiling water over. Let it cool, you want the almonds to soften and soak up as much water as possible. Reminder: LET COOL. See recipe note above! lol Place in blender and process until almond pieces are as small as possible. When blending, I like to just barely cover the almonds so I can get them as smooth as possible, before adding more of the water bit by bit.
- OPTIONAL STEP: I do this to make the milk keep longer in the fridge: Pour everything into pot. Simmer over medium heat for 5-10 min. It bubbles and boils over easily, so keep an eye on it. Pour through a fine strainer or cheesecloth so that the milk is free of grainy pieces.
- You can empty the leftover almond pieces onto a cookie sheet and roast them at 350 till golden . They work great as bread crumb substitutes in Gluten, Egg Free Fried Chicken, Gluten, Egg, Dairy Free Eggplant Parmigiana, or Gluten, Egg, Dairy Free Fried Green Tomatoes.
- Note: to Kick up this recipe, try adding chai or regular tea bags to infuse into the milk when the water is hot… delicious!
agreed Bonne! – if you have a vitamix, its the easiest way to go- don’t need to soften the nuts or anything…. although i still like adding tea and some flavourings to it :D
We use a vitamix blender,,,all we do is put filtered water with sliced almonds in frig overnite,,then put in blender on high,,,then add enough water to equal 8oz almonds to 7 cups water.Nothing else,no straining,,just shake before using. Very simple & we love it!