Nut Milk Bag News

Today I was elated to find a solution to a minor, but nagging problem.

My recipe for almond milk calls for the use of a nut milk bag for straining and then squeezing the "milk" from the almond puree. I reached for the cheesecloth I had on hand but after several recipe preparations had to admit that using a narrow strip of the woven fabric was not ideal. Too easy for the almond grinds to slip out the sides. Too much effort expended just trying not to let go of perfect noose-like grip to give the bundle a good squeezing out.

I asked in some of my usual grocery stores and got blank stares. Nut milk what?

I made a special trip to William's Kitchen Supplies. Surely if anyone carried this item, they would. Nope.

"Do you sew?", they asked.

"Not if I don't have to", I replied.

I then received the advice of buying some butter cloth and sewing my own nut milk bag. I thought about it but that's as far as it went. I may seem like I'm willing to do anything but I hadn't exhausted all my options yet. Isn't making my own almond milk enough? Do I have to prove my prowess as a seamstress as well?

I looked online and yes, nut milk bags are for sale, but they cost roughly $10-20 for one. Kind of steep for a mesh bag with no zippers or drawstring..

This week however, after a particularly trying session with a strip of cheesecloth, I checked the internet again. I was going to find a local supplier and buy the nut milk bag this weekend!

This search brought me to a forum where participants discussed the merit of using paint straining bags or clean pantyhose to do the job. Interesting. I could definitely do a visit to Lowes for paint straining bags. Pantyhose was a little out there even for me.

In the end I purchased a package of 12 paint straining bags for roughly the same price as one of the quote on quote "real" nut milk bags. Funny, they look the same to me. Such a deal!

It has been a couple days now since I journalled this experience. I wanted to hold off adding it to my blog until I actually tried out the paint straining bag. It worked beautifully. It is wide enough for the elastic edging to go completely around the rim of my large measure bowl and to contain the entire recipe of almond milk. It was easy to handle and I was able to squeeze out every drop that I could with my hands with no almond puree escaping.

Emptying the puree into my compost bin and rinsing out the bag for reuse was a cinch! I am definitely sold on this and am happy to have solved this very pressing deterant to making my own almond milk.