Basic Almond Milk
Homemade almond milk is easy and delicious. It taste much better than the store bought almond milk and is a great substitute for cow's milk. Delicious in lattes and hot chocolate.
Equipment
- 1 Nut Milk Bag THE KNEAD-SQUEEZE METHOD INSTEAD OF SQUEEZING, YOU CAN KNEAD THE BAG. TWIST THE BAG UNTIL IT IS NOT BULBOUS BUT SOMEWHAT KNEADABLE (YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO MOVE THE CONTENTS AROUND WHEN YOU KNEAD IT). HOLD THE TWISTED TOP END OF THE BAG BETWEEN THE THUMB AND BASE OF THE FOREFINGER (TO PREVENT THE CONTENTS FROM ESCAPING OUT THE TOP), THEN BEGIN KNEADING THE CONTENTS OF THE BAG BACK AND FORTH, MIXING THE PULP IN WITH THE LIQUID AS YOU KNEAD. AS CONTENTS DECREASE, TWIST MORE AND REPEAT THE PROCESS UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT IN THE BAG BUT THE PULP.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw almonds I buy these in bulk from Costco
- 4 1/2 cups purified water I use filtered water and boil it
- 2-4 each pitted medjool dates Best pricing on these is at Trader Joes and Costco
- 1/2 tsp vanilla I use homemade vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt I use fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon optional
Instructions
- Soak the raw almonds in 3 cups of purified water overnight. (To decrease time use boiling water, cover with clean kitchen towel and let soak for 4 hours)
- Drain and rinse
- Add almonds, dates, vanilla extract, salt, and 4 – 4 1/2 cups of purified water to a blender
- Blend on high speed until the mixture is finely blended, about 1minute
- Position the bag over a large bowl or pitcher and pour in the nut milk puree
- Twist and knead the bag gently, allowing the filtered milk to collect until the pulp is dry
- Refrigerate immediately and serve well chilled
Notes
Adaptations: You can eliminate the vanilla and the dates for an unsweetened version if you want to use the almond meal. You can also add cinnamon to the vanilla and date version for a different variation that also makes a good almond meal for baking.
I use a jar with a screw on lid to store and will post pictures. Use the milk within 3-4 days while fresh.