31 Things: #30 Learn to Make Nut Milk

Yesterday I decided to make nut milk. I bought some raw almonds (highly recommend going to Trader Joe's for the best deals), soaked them overnight, and then today they were ready to become milk! I decided to make plenty, so I had soaked two cups of nuts. Little did I know how much that would create. First, I added the 2 cups of almonds, and put 8 cups of water in my Vitamix. I blended it on high for a couple of minutes until I had some awesome looking, yet slightly chunky milk.

Then, I got a bowl, and my nut milk bag (attained from the Raw Food World) and poured the milk mixture through the bag into the bowl. Well, since I had NO idea how much milk this would make, my bowl immediately filled and overflowed and I was so shocked I still had a good squeeze on the bag, and milk squirted all over me, the counter, floor, etc. I immediately grabbed a large mixing bowl and transferred the milk into that. Then SQUEEZE! Just squeeze that bag until every little drop of milk comes out and all that is left is the pulp.

I made 2 1/2 Quarts of Almond Milk. I tasted the milk, and while good, I always like the milks that are slightly sweetened. So I added a squirt of Agave nectar. Perfect.

After looking at how much milk I had, I decided to make one of the quarts chocolate almond milk. I added 3 Tablespoons of raw cacao powder. Very tasty. I am so excited to be able to make my own milk! And now that I have learned a bit, I might make less next time, plus, larger bowl so no explosions! Overall it really only took 10-15 minutes, and without the mishaps it might have taken less. The same method can be made to make any kind of nut milk; hazelnut, brazil nut, cashew milk, etc. I will certainly try some of these next time. 

So what to do with the pulp? Freeze it for now. Almond pulp (or any of the nut pulps) are often used in raw baking recipes. Cafe Gratitude's dessert book uses almond and hazelnut flours for nearly every recipe. Raw tiramisu anyone?

Have you made nut milk?