Homemade Almond Milk

Almond milk is a popular substitute for dairy milk that has two simple ingredients - almonds and water. It is free of soy, cholesterol and lactose. After being used to buying almond milk from stores, I decided to make it at home (more so, out of desperation, as it is not commonly available in India). Almond milk can be prepared in plain, vanilla or chocolate flavors. I prefer the original unsweetened version as it works best in any recipe as well as in my daily cup of masala chai. The almond milk can be prepared in thick/creamy or slightly thinner consistency to suit your taste.

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds, with skin (preferably soaked overnight or at least for 8-10 hours)

3-4 cups filtered water 

Pinch of salt, optional

Sweetener of choice (maple syrup/agave nectar/date syrup), optional

Flavoring of choice (cocoa powder/vanilla extract), optional

Method:

Soak the almonds in water overnight.  Drain the water from the almonds.

In a blender, add the soaked almonds, 2 cups of water, pinch of salt, sweetener and flavoring. Blend it for 1-2 minutes until it turns into a smooth paste. 

Add the remaining 2 cups of water and blend for another 2-3 minutes till it turns frothy (if you don’t have a big blender like me, you can grind them in 2 batches with half the quantity of nuts and water in each batch).

Place a thick layer of cheesecloth over a big bowl and pour the almond milk through the cheesecloth and strain it. Squeeze the cheesecloth to get all the liquid out (you don’t want to waste any of the milk, do you??).

Enjoy nutritious homemade almond milk with your favorite cereal or a cup of tea/coffee or in baking too. Don’t discard the almond meal inside the cheesecloth. Dry out the almond meal (air dry or stick it in the oven on low temp) and use it in baking, or in soups/gravies as a thickener.

Store the almond milk in the refrigerator and use within 3-4 days.

Note: For thicker milk, use 3 cups water and for lighter milk, use 4 cups water. I used 4 cups of water to make almond milk as I prefer a thinner consistency but 3 ½ cups would be a desirable consistency.

Makes 4 cups.