Once you go home-made, you will not go back to commercial almond milk again! It takes no time at all to whip up this delicious almond milk. All you need to remember is to soak the nuts first, which is crucial for making almond milk.
What you need:
1 cup raw almonds, skin on or off (I prefer skin on)
1 litre filtered water
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 to 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
A strong blender
A strainer
A large bowl
Some cheesecloth
1L Mason jar
Soak the almonds in 8 cups of water (unfiltered is fine for soaking) 6-8 hours at room temperature or up to 24 hours in the fridge, changing the water once at half time (or thereabout).
Pulverize the nuts in 1 litre of filtered water. Line the strainer with 4 layers of cheesecloth and place over bowl. Make sure you have enough cheesecloth to hang over the edges. Pour the pulverized almonds in the strainer and let it drip until the liquid has passed through. Squeeze the remaining liquid out by twisting the cheesecloth until all you have left is a crumbly pulp.
Pour the milk in the mason jar, add the maple syrup and vanilla. Give it a good shake and store in fridge for up to 4 days. I have also been successful at freezing my almond milk.
The pulp can be saved to thicken up cream soups but I am often too lazy to do this and simply discard.
Note 1: I have a Nutribullet™ which works fine for this but I have to pulverize in 2 batches. A good powerful blender will do the trick too :). I also like to use amber or dark maple syrup which packs a ton of flavour in smaller quantities which in turn reduces the need to add too much. Keeping the sugar content per serving down.
Note 2: Chia seed, Raspberry and Almond Milk “Pudding”: to one cup almond milk, add 2-3 tbsp chia seeds and a generous handful of frozen whole raspberries. Sweeten to taste with a bit of extra maple syrup. Let the Chia seeds puff up a few hours in the fridge. I make mine at dinner time to bring to work the next day. Don’t forget to stir once or twice at first otherwise, the chia seeds will congeal at the bottom which makes it more difficult to have an even thick texture throughout.
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