Almond Milk Making

It was suggested to me by a friend and nutritional consultant that I stop drinking cow's milk and try almond milk instead. I wasn't ready to make the change at the time, but I was curious. I like almonds. Maybe I would like almond milk too.

My "Raw Energy" recipe book not only spoke glowingly about the value of this raw food but it provided a recipe that looked surprisingly easy. I told Shawn that I would like to try it and he suggested I buy a carton at the store first before I waste time and ingredients making it.

Costco sells Blue Diamond Almond Milk by the case for a good price but I observed that it was sweetened and didn't want the extra sugar. No, I was going to have to look for a sugar-free version in the health food section at the Superstore and pay more. Plus, did I really want to buy a case of a beverage that I'd never tried before? I didn't think I could count on my gang at home to help me out if it was a flop.

The Superstore was more than helpful. I found sugar-free Blue Diamond Almond Milk in Vanilla and Chocolate and it was a mere $2.39 per litre carton. More expensive than cow's milk but not as much as I'd expected to pay. It was also lower in calories than I expected...only 45 calories per cup.

I read the ingredients and saw a few additives. I think one of them was meant to thicken it and give it a creamy texture. This wasn't a raw or completely natural product. I used it as a base for my morning hot cocoa and I'll be honest, it was not that good tasting to me. First off, it was not sweet at all. I didn't realize how much the natural sugar in milk makes it palatable. I couldn't taste any almond flavour which was a bit disappointing. If I had to choose between the two, vanilla was better than chocolate.

I wasn't ready to give up. When my store-bought almond milk was depleted, I followed the recipes instructions and made my own. There were compromises. First off, I don't know if the almonds I used were raw. I bought the bag at Costco and they say "Whole Almonds" and "Natural" and they don't mention anything about "roasting" them, but it doesn't say "Raw" either which the author of "Raw Energy" insists that it should. Oh well, these almonds would have to do.

Secondly, I do not own a nut milk bag so when it came time to strain the almond milk from the nut puree, I was forced to resort to cheesecloth. It seems to have been effective but it was a little awkward so I'll be searching for an official nut milk bag on my next grocery trip.

The end result was wonderful! I think almond milk tastes much better homemade without the vanilla, chocolate, or thickening agents. I did break down and use 1 Tbs of agave syrup to sweeten the 1 litre recipe as suggested and it did the trick. I actually drank a glass with ice and enjoyed the almond flavour. I haven't done the math but 1 1/2 cups of almonds made approximately 1litre of milk so I think this is less expensive than buying it pre-made. Is it raw? Not sure, but it's probably more nutritious than processed cow's milk!