To me, almond milk was an exotic thing that can only be grabbed from the finest of supermarket shelves. As a child it was on my forbidden-to-even-consider list of items, an exotic creature that did not belong in my world, these plump and inviting looking cardboard cartons stacked so high up beyond my reach. It was so expensive that it was an occasional thing, buying this highly sophisticated carton off the shelf. Being inhabitants of a tropical island, almonds were a luxury, and almond milk, a super luxury food which was always imported! Because in my head, making it was a highly technological process for which we had no tools – and it was so very complicated. So when I stumbled upon this recipe for almond milk quite by accident I couldn’t stop kicking myself for not even considering to make it sooner.
However, “exotic” almonds may have been to Sri Lanka back in the day, I remember that there was never a week without having a full jar of almonds and pistachios on the kitchen counter. This being due to the healthy eating habits cultivated in the family from a young age itself, my mother used to get her quota of almonds and pistachios from the Middle East or from India – whichever the country my father was in at the moment. Now, I just get my almonds from this supplier in Pettah who delivers great quality goods every single time and at half the price too!
Making almond milk at home is much cheaper, not to mention a whole lot healthier too without all those yucky preservatives and god-knows-what-else that is put into them. And stop making excuses about almonds being expensive. If you can afford almond milk, you sure as hell can afford to make it at home!
Homemade almond milk
- Prep Time : overnight minutes
- Yield : 6 glasses
Ingredients
- Raw almonds - 2 cups
- Water - 5 cups
- Pinch of salt
- Dates - 15 (optional)
Instructions
- Soak the almonds overnight for up to 2 days. The lmonds would have absorbed some of the water and would get slightly squishy.
- Prepare a mesh strainer with a white cheesecloth/muslin. Keep aside.
- In a good blender or food processor combine one cup of almonds and one cup of water. Add a pinch of salt. Blend till all the almonds had broken and have dissolved into very fine particles.
- Pour into the mesh strainer with the cheese cloth on top. Let the liquid collect into a jar or a suitable container.
- Put the remaining residue into the blender and put another cup of water in. blend and repeat with the other cup of almonds.
- Add the pitted dates into the blender and blend until smooth. Pass this through the sieve as well and mix well until dissolved.
If you like the store-bought almond milk, you will LOVE this!
The result is a white, milky liquid with delightful almond-ness which is light and refreshing. The sweetness comes from the dates along with a sense of caramel which is lovely and goes well with the creamy nuttiness of the almonds. Every sip is a sip of life and you wouldn’t imagine that nutrition would ever taste this good!
Almond milk is ideal for vegans as well as for those who are lactose intolerant. It is nutritious and filling with all those lovely almond oils blended in. with the addition of dates, it further becomes an energy booster and is ideal for when you are feeling drained or when you need that extra bit of energy to carry you through the day.
Also, don’t throw the leftover almond meal away. Use those in these brilliant almond cookies and there won’t be any left to go to waste.
Tips
- The longer you soak the almonds, the creamier your milk will be.
- If you are soaking the almonds longer than a few hours, its best to keep the almonds in the refrigerator.
- If the almonds hadn’t broken down well the first two times, feel free to blitz it an extra couple of times to get the juice out.
- I’ve found it blends well with less water and more almond. Start the blender with just ½ cup water and once the almonds are broken through, add the rest of the water. This ensures maximum use of the almonds.
- You can very well omit the dates if you like. I needed some sweetening and I did not want to use sugar.