Anatomy of Nut Milk and 3 Homemade Variations
I gave up cow milk decades ago. But I loved cow milk, really and truly and udderly (pun intended), loved it. There was nothing like enjoying a warm chocolate chip cooking dipped into a nice cold, refreshing glass of milk. But cow’s milk made me bloated, phlegmy and it made my skin break out. At first I substituted it with a paltry, watery, rice milk and then soy which eventually made me bloated too. Then came the nut milk/mylk revolution. Almond, macadamia, pecan, walnut, pistachio, am I missing any? Boxed in septic, long life packaging, on store shelves and in plastic and glass in the refrigerated section. It was all too good to be true, for those of us with cow dairy sensitivities.
Let’s be honest though, there is nothing like homemade nut milk. What makes a homemade nut milk work? It needs to be creamy and rich without being too thick. A neutral taste is ideal, in other words, almond milk should not taste like marzipan. It should be smooth, pulp free and light and refreshing but not watery. It may take practice to dial it in, to your mouth taste and feel. So even with my recipes, you will probably want to make little adjustments.
Homemade nut milk is made from raw and soaked nuts. Soaking the nuts, activates the enzymes of the nuts and brings out their digestibility and nutritional bioavailability. This process also decreases the fat content while increasing the protein content. After soaking and dumping the soaking water, the nuts of choice are transferred to a blender and processed with water and other flavor enhancing ingredients like dates, coconut sugar or stevia, vanilla extract and spices and then poured and strained through a mesh or cotton nut milk bag. The pulp is separated from the liquid, producing a creamy, refreshing and sweet nectar which can be used in cereal, smoothies, your morning beverage of choice or enjoyed with a grain-free cookie. You can also omit sweetness and vanilla for plain milk which can be used in soups or sauces or prefer an unsweetened milk.
There are different electronic nut milk gadgets and if you don’t feel like squeezing a cloth udder (nut milk bag) and extracting nut milk from it, I totally get it, by all means give them a try. I enjoy the old school way of making the milk with the bag and prefer getting my hands a little milky. Don’t be intimidated by a nut milk bag. They are easy to use. And if you want to take it a step further, take the leftover pulp in the bag, you can make crackers. But that will be another blog post.
Nuts are filled with protein and depending on the nut are filled with vitamins and minerals, good for the heart, brain, eyes, gut, skin, and beyond. I use sunflower lecithin and coconut oil in my nut milks, they are both optional but I will say they help nut milk last longer in the fridge, 6-7 days verses 4 days, and they make the milk extra creamy. I have tried many of the nut milk bags on the market and my favorite one is Ellie’s Best Organic Cotton Nut Milk Bag. It strains the milk so well, you will never have pulpy or mealy milk with Ellie’s Best. You can find them here and my readers receive a 10% discount with the code amalgam10 . No expiration date. Below please find my three favorite nut milks.
Almond Vanilla Bean Milk
Pistachio Cardamom Milk
Walnut Cinnamon Milk
Makes about 5 cups milk/ soaking time 8-12 hours/ prep time 15 minutes
Almond Vanilla Bean Milk
Gather
1 cup/ 128 grams, almonds soaked in tepid water 10-12 hours, discard soaking water
4 cups/ .95 l filtered water
3-4 pitted dates
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon / 14.79 ml coconut oil or MCT oil
1 tablespoon /14.3 g lecithin ( I use sunflower lecithin)
1 teaspoon / 4.93 ml vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean
Make
Place the soaked almonds, in the container of a high speed blender. Add the water, pitted, dates, salt, coconut oil, lecithin and vanilla extract. Not the vanilla bean. Blend on high for 2 minutes. Place the nut milk into a medium bowl, hold the bag with one hand and pour out half of the liquid. Close the bag with the draw string, not too quickly, carefully as not to squeeze the liquid out the top. Tightly wrap the top of the bag closed and squeeze the liquid down towards the bottom of the bag, into the bowl. Squeeze the bag until you feel a mound of pulp and there is no more liquid. Open the bag and pour the rest of the liquid in. Continue squeezing until all the liquid is removed from the pulp. Set the bag into a small bowl.
Transfer the liquid back in the blender. With a pairing knife and slice down the center of the bean pod from end to end. Use the tip of the pairing knife blade to spread open and hold the bean open onto your cutting board, revealing the seeds inside. Scrape the tiny seeds with your knife. Make sure not to drag the knife too forcefully, as it will remove the woody, stringy elements. Push the sticky seeds with your finger or the back of a spoon into the blender and blend away. Your milk will be extra vanilla and spotted with tiny vanilla seeds. Transfer to an airtight glass container. Enjoy!
Pistachio Cardamom Milk
Gather
1 cup/ 128 g shelled unsalted pistachios, soaked in tepid water 8-10 hours, discard soaking water
4 cups/ .95 l filtered water
3-4 pitted dates
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon / 14.79 ml coconut oil or MCT oil
1 tablespoon / 14.3 g lecithin (I use sunflower lecithin)
1 teaspoon / 4.93 ml vanilla extract
1/2-3/4 teaspoon cardamom powder (I like a little more in mine)
Make
Place the soaked pistachios, in the container of a high speed blender. Add the water, pitted dates, salt, coconut oil, lecithin, vanilla extract and cardamom powder. Blend on high for 2 minutes. Place the nut milk into a medium bowl, hold the bag with one hand and pour out half of the liquid. Close the bag with the draw string, not too quickly, carefully as not to squeeze the liquid out of the top. Tightly wrap the top of the bag closed and squeeze the liquid down towards the bottom of the bag, into the bowl. Squeeze the bag until you feel a mound of pulp and there is no more liquid. Open the bag and pour the rest of the liquid in. Continue squeezing until all the liquid is removed from the pulp. Set the bag into a small bowl. Transfer to an airtight glass container.
Walnut Cinnamon Milk
Gather
1 cup / 128 g walnuts, soaked in tepid water 10-12 hours, discard soaking water
4 cups/ .95 l filtered water
3-4 pitted dates
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon / 14.79 ml coconut oil or MCT oil
1 tablespoon / 14.3 g lecithin (I use sunflower lecithin)
1 teaspoon/ 4.93 ml vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
Make
Place the soaked walnuts, in the container of a high speed blender. Add the water, pitted, dates, salt, coconut oil, lecithin, vanilla extract and cinnamon powder. Blend on high for 2 minutes. Place the nut milk into a medium bowl, hold the bag with one hand and pour out half of the liquid. Close the bag with the draw string, not too quickly, carefully as not to squeeze the liquid out of the top. Tightly wrap the top of the bag closed and squeeze the liquid down towards the bottom of the bag, into the bowl. Squeeze the bag until you feel a mound of pulp and there is no more liquid. Open the bag and pour the rest of the liquid in. Continue squeezing until all the liquid is removed from the pulp. Set the bag into a small bowl. Transfer to an airtight glass container.
Recipe developed by Anna Getty
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