Almond Milk

Dear Michelle,

I’ve made my own almond milk. Why, you might ask, have I done this, something rather unordinary and perhaps for many people, unappetizing?

The idea started when you and I were talking about making almond-milk ice cream. I try to keep my dairy intake to a minimum, for several reasons. The most interesting of these is that I find I do not get as hot in the Summer sans dairy, which is a very good reason to abstain here on the steamy East Coast. I didn’t drink much milk before I discovered this, and obviously, I still do eat some dairy, but I’m always looking out for a good substitute.

After trying several different cowless sorts, almond milk is the most satisfying. It has a creamy texture and a mild but not bland flavor. Unsweetened is just sweet enough. However, not all almond milks are created equal. I’ve found I like Almond Breeze (original, unsweetened) the best, and I actively dislike the Pacific brand. I suspect that when you did not like the almond milk ice cream you once tried to make, this small distinction was the culprit.

I’d already been considering trying to make a cornstarch gelato with almond milk when we had that talk. Then, as frequently seems to happen in this city, someone mentioned to me a cafe in the East Village that supposedly makes remarkable homemade almond milk. I thought about it, looked online at various “recipes” (they’re barely even that), and decided I’d try it out.

WOW. This stuff sure beats what you can buy; it’s creamier, and has a finer, more delicate but also more pronounced almond flavor. The process is easy, consisting of soaking almonds overnight, slipping them out of their skins, blending them with water, and squeezing as much of the resulting liquid out of the ground almonds as possible. These leftovers can be reprocessed with more water, with a resulting milk that is not as fine or as creamy as the first press, but can be combined if a greater volume is desired. When all the nutty goodness has been wrung out, the almond meal can be dried, and the grounds used for cookies or pie crust.

(I haven’t yet been successful with my almond milk ice cream; don’t worry, though, I’ll be sure to let you know when I am. My attempts have so far been good, but what I’m looking for is sublime!)

Anyway, here’s how to make almond milk. Also, I have no idea what's up with the weird font sizes. Sorry about that. I can't change it for some reason.

Almond Milk

Notes: Internet research says that the almond skins make the milk bitter, and thus to blanch them, but I found (the second time) that soaking them overnight was just as effective at loosening the skins, and one less step to boot. The first time I made this, I added an additional half cup of cashews for more fat, hence more creaminess. It worked, and was delicious. The amount of water and nuts can be adjusted as you wish to make a thicker, or a more watery, milk. Make sure to get raw, unsalted nuts. I’ve also heard that the raw nuts available in stores are pasteurized, but that truly raw nuts can be purchased wholesale? I just used what I could buy in the store. Lazy me? Most recipes use a “sprouts bag” to squeeze the milk out of the puree; I ended up getting a “hops bag” (for some home-brewing step or another, I’m assuming ), which worked just fine. Any fine nylon mesh bag should work, and if you don’t have access to one and don’t want to wait for an Internet order to come in, a finely woven kitchen towel would probably work.

1 c Raw Almonds

(½ c Cashews, optional)

2 c Water

Let almonds soak overnight in the fridge. Drain. Slip skins off of the nuts. Rinse. Blend with water. Strain in bag, squeezing as much milk out as possible. Repeat if desired.

P.S. If you want to save the almond meal (and why not?), spread out on a baking sheet. If you live somewhere dry, you can probably just leave this out; since New York is so steamy right now, I put it in a gas oven (left off, it is still dry and warm in there). Crumble and store in the freezer.