Spiced Almond Milk

 

Spiced Almond Milk
I have wowed myself again! Yes, I have created another store bought item all by myself, free from preservatives and hormones. I have saved myself a few more bucks to splurge on more produce and decorative items for the house. (I like to buy all kinds of “fandangles” for the home). I’m super excited! I made almond milk from scratch.  I have been meaning to prepare almond milk for sometime but I just hadn’t gotten around to it. I was not going to allow the day to end without getting it done. It is fairly simple. It really is! Anyone can do it!

Raw Almonds

Almond Soaking in Hot Water

I started by soaking the raw almonds in hot water.  I changed the water periodically. I even allowed it to soak overnight. I tasted it to see if it would have softened, but I didn’t really notice a difference, mainly because I was expecting it to be have a mushy texture. It was still crunchy, but it separated like the true dicotyledon that it is. I can’t believe I remember that word. Remember in science class? We learned about monocotyledon and dicotyledon: some seeds are single, while others splits in half. Well at least I was paying attention. My dad sure didn’t waste his money sending me to school….LOL.

Almond Skins

The next time I purchase almonds, I may need to buy skinless almonds. I have never noticed skinless almond before and I’m not quite sure if it exists. My reason for wanting to investigate skinless almonds, is because I had to remove the skins from all these almonds. I used 2 cups of almonds and removing the skins was a bit tedious, but being the domesticated woman that I am, I didn’t mind. Well I sort of “minded” but there has to be an easier way. I thought the milk would have a brownish hue, had I left the skins on. And then…. what if I wanted to recycle the pulp and include it in a cake or cookie? I wouldn’t want the brown skins to interfere with the taste. Well, enough of my rambling about the almonds skins. Bottom line is, I removed them.

Skinless Almonds

I continued to soak them after I removed the skins, thinking it would tenderize the almonds, but it did not. I guess it isn’t supposed to. My lesson for the day: liquid doesn’t soften everything that it’s added to. The fun part was just watching my almonds turn into almond milk. Well….it really isn’t milk. It’s an alternative to milk. It’s dairy free. It’s my super dooper nut milk! If you are lactose intolerant and not allergic to nuts, this is a great drink for you. I spiced it up with a little nutmeg. What’s a milky drink without nutmeg spice. It kicks it up to like a thousand notches.

Soaked Almonds in Blender

 

Almond milk in blender

After blending the almonds with water, I strained it about 3 times. I used a really fine mesh strainer. The residual is a little gritty. You can use cheesecloth if you have one.  Almond milk doesn’t require much sugar. You can omit the sugar if you want to. The taste is just as great without the sugar. I also added vanilla extract simply because I love vanilla flavored ‘anything.’ The taste is absolutely amazing. One thing I know for sure is that I wont be buying anymore Almond milk. It’s just tooooooo easy!

Two Glasses of Almond Milk

 

Here’s a sugar free version to almond milk. Subscribe to my Youtube channel for updates.

Spiced Almond Milk Recipe:
2 cups almonds
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar or desired sweetener(optional)
about 5 cups of water

You will need:
Fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth
Blender

Directions:
Soak almonds in water for about 4 hours (changing water periodically)
(you can leave overnight if you wish)
Drain water from almond and rinse
Add almonds to blender
Add water
Blend on high speed until smooth
Strain twice using a fine mesh sieve or nut milk bag
Discard or save pulp for cakes or cookies
Pour strained almond milk back into clean blender
Add salt, vanilla, sugar and nutmeg
Blend for about a minute
Pour into chilled glasses and serve

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