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Homemade Almond Milk
Makes One Quart (32 ounces) Ingredients:
Options: 1 teaspoon of vanilla For sweetness, blend in 1-2 pitted dates (soak prior in the water that will be used to make the almond milk). Method 1. Soak the almonds in filtered water with 1 tablespoon of high-quality salt² for 8 hours or overnight. 2. Drain water and rinse well. 3. Blend soaked almonds and fresh water (use water dates were soaked in, if using dates) in a high-speed blender until all of the almonds are well blended … about 30-60 seconds. The color of this mixture should be cream colored and nearly white. 4. Place a nut milk bag, cheesecloth, or a fine mesh sieve over a large glass bowl or a quart size Pyrex measuring cup. 5. Pour contents of blender into the nut milk bag, cheesecloth, or fine mesh sieve to filter out the pulp. 6. Squeeze nut milk bag or cheesecloth or press with a large wooden spoon, if you are using a fine mesh sieve, until no more liquid pouring into the large mixing bowl. Do not discard, as this pulp is valuable food. The liquid that remains in the large mixing bowl after squeezing the pulp is your fresh homemade almond milk. 7. Pour in an airtight glass jar. 8. Add a dash of salt and vanilla, if using. Shake gently. 9. Store in refrigerator. Use in place of dairy milk. Use within 4 days. *As of 2007, almonds must be pasteurized. There are two main methods being used: steam pasteurization (preferred over the other method, but not the best choice, which is truly raw, organic almonds), or fumigating the almonds with a potentially carcinogenic chemical called propylene oxide [PPO], as most conventional growers are using). If you live in California, there are local farmers that sell truly raw (and organic) almonds at farmer's markets, food co-ops, and sometimes directly from their farms in small batches. **I use of the following: Celtic Sea Salt, Redmond’s Real Salt, and Himalayan Pink Salt, but I am switching over to only Redmond’s Real Salt. References: Natural Grocers. "Almond Pasteurization" by Patrick Earvolino. Accessed on February 3, 2018. https://www.naturalgrocers.com/nutrition-and-health/nutrition-library/nutrition-article/almond-pasteurization/ NPR's The Salt - What's On Your Plate. "What Does 'Raw' Mean? When It Comes To Almonds, You Might Be Surprised" by Lesley McClurg. May 19, 2015. Accessed on February 3, 2018. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/05/19/407760579/what-does-raw-mean-when-it-comes-to-almonds-you-might-be-surprised *********************************************************************************** Homemade Cashew Milk Makes One Quart (32 ounces) of milk or One Pint (16 ounces) of cream. Cashews do not need strained. Ingredients:
Method 1. Soak the cashews in filtered water with 1 tablespoon of high-quality salt² for 4-6 hours. I do not prefer to soak overnight, but if you do, then refrigerate, else can leave out at room temperature. 2. After soaking, drain water and rinse well. 3. Blend soaked cashews and fresh water in a high-speed blender until all of the cashews are well blended … about 30 seconds. The color of this mixture should be cream colored. 4. Pour in an airtight glass jar. 5. Add a dash of salt. Shake gently. 6. Store in refrigerator. Use in place of dairy milk or cream. Use within 4 days. *********************************************************************************** Make Your Own Nut Flours from Leftover Pulp After you’ve squeezed the pulp to extract as much “milk” as possible, you can dehydrate the nut or seed pulp and make your own flour. Keep in mind that this is slightly different product than whole nut flours. It is lower in fat, protein, and nutrients. It still has nutrients, but clearly some of the nutrients are now in your milk. It is high-fiber and a good flour extender. One can dry the flour, but I would never waste electricity on this, unless I was using my dehydrator for other purposes, such as sprouting nuts, making raw cookies, drying fruits, etc. I will freeze the pulp and thaw to dehydrate when I am ready to use my dehydrator for other things. There are some recipes that use the wet pulp in making pancakes and baked goods. I recommend doing this or just adding the pulp to a smoothie. I also enjoy the pumpkin seed pulp with some spices like cayenne pepper & salt and a dollop of yogurt (can use plain coconut milk, cashew, or dairy yogurt). Method: NOTE: Dehydration time will differ based on amount and how much moisture you initially squeezed out. It is recommended to use a spatula or large spoon to stir the pulp to facilitate the drying process periodically. Version I: Dehydrator: Place pulp on a dehydrator sheet. Spread the nut or seed pulp flat to distribute evenly. Dehydrate at 118 degrees or lower for about for 4 hours. Version II: Conventional Oven: Spread pulp evenly on a cookie sheet. Set temperature as low as your oven will go and dry for 2 hours or until the mixture has become completely dry. Stir it after an hour and every 30 minutes thereafter. Check every 30 minute after the first hour, to see if there is any moisture by pinching the flour. If the flour does not feel bone dry, use your own discretion to determine time. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator. Use as a replacement for nut flours or partial replacement for any flour in baked goods and pancakes. There are some recipes online for using leftover pulp that you may be able to find. One could always add the leftover pulp to smoothies and skip the dehydration process.
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