I have heard a lot about almond milk and it’s benefits but was curious to know what the fuss is all about! How do you milk an almond? How is it possible? So, I decided to try it out for myself and see, well, rest assured there is no actual milking of almonds necessary. 😉 Besides, ‘Almond milk’ is a great alternative to traditional milk and a healthy component for any smoothie. It is available easily in the market but along with the healthy almonds it comes with lots of sugar and preservatives which sort of defeats the purpose of buying it. But the good news is making almond milk at home is very easy and requires minimal effort. So, let’s get started!

Ingredients:

1 Cup almonds
4 cups water
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Sugar (As required)
1 piece of date
Small pinch of salt

Other Equipment

1. Blender
2. Metal Strainer
3. Cheese cloth

Method:

Before you start making almond milk, you need to soak 1 cup of raw almonds in water (Room Temperature) overnight (at least 8 hours). After soaking them overnight you will see them soft and little plump. You can use blanched or regular almonds. In this recipe I have used regular almonds as they work just fine. You have to strain them carefully so as to remove that bitter skin later on.

Strain the water from the almonds and place them in a blender. Add 4 cups of water for one cup of almonds.

I have also added one date and vanilla extract in this mix as I like a little flavor in my milk. Dates are naturally very sweet and hence they will give the right amount of sweetness to this milk without having to add any processed sugar. You can also add some honey or maple syrup at this point; it is completely up to you. In addition, add a small pinch of salt to bring out the flavors in the milk.

Blend this mix for about 1 – 2 minutes depending upon the strength of your blender. Stop a few times and move things around with the help of a spatula. After few minutes, you will have a nice light, frothy milk like this.

Tip: For a chocolate almond milk, add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder in the mix. You can also add cinnamon and/or honey to make it sweeter.

Now, we have to separate the almond milk from the almond residue. In order to strain the milk, place a cheese cloth over a metal strainer which is set over a bowl. Pour the almond milk through the strainer into the bowl and you can see that all the milk will move to the bottom and the almond pulp is going to stay in the cheese cloth.

You can do this in batches, depending upon the size of your strainer

Once all the milk is drained out, grab the edges of the cheese cloth and squeeze out every last bit of that milk you can get. After this, you are left with nice, creamy, beige colored frothy almond milk! So much better than buying one at a grocery store.

Store it in an air tight container and it will last in your fridge for 3 -5 days. Now, you can use almond milk in place of your regular milk, over cereal or in any recipes you want.

Note: There is a lot that you can do with the almond residue as well. You can use it in baking or while making any pudding. You can also roast these over a medium flame and add as toppings to your cereals or yogurt.

For now, enjoy this flavorful almond milk with your friends and family!