What Is Nut Milk?
Nut milk can be a delicious alternative to dairy milk. For people who are allergic to milk, or who choose not to drink it because of a vegan lifestyle, it proves a great substitute. It is possible to find some nut milk varieties in stores, particularly almond milk, but some of these may contain milk products like casein, so they won’t suitable to everyone. This problem is easily remedied by making homemade nut milk, which is pretty simple provided people possess a blender.
Essentially, ground nuts, with almonds being the most popular, are combined with water. Some people do use dairy milk, but most often the point is to avoid dairy, and plain water serves this purpose well. There are many different recipes online for how to make nut milk, and the proportions are approximately one part nuts to four parts liquids; using a one to two or one to three ratio can make slightly creamier milk. Some people enjoy flavoring the milk with honey, dates, or with a few spices.
Many recipes for nut milk recommend soaking the nuts and liquid for at least a day prior to blending them. A few recipes suggest soaking and then boiling the liquid and nuts for a few minutes, so that the nuts blend easily. Raw recipes may omit the boiling process, but most do advise soaking.
Once the nut milk ingredients are fully blended, the milk may need to be filtered or strained. Lots of people comment that it’s a waste to throw away the leftover pulp, and there’s no need to. It can be re-refrigerated, sprinkled on cereal, added to cookies, eaten with raisins, or included in baked goods. Some people use the pulp to make a nut cheese that they enjoy as a fine substitute to dairy cheese.
There are plenty of excellent uses for nut milk. It can be a substitute for dairy milk in a variety of recipes. People may use it to make pudding, certain frozen dairy treats or they can simply drink it straight up. Many love making it the principle ingredient in smoothies and find it delicious when it’s blended with bananas or other fruit.
It’s difficult to always gauge the nutritional value of nut milk. Some nuts are higher in fats than others, so calorie content may be much lower than or similar to dairy milk. There are some commercial brands, where calories are fairly low, about ten calories per ounce. These milks in general are usually fairly high in protein, but they are not generally an adequate source of calcium, unless they are fortified with it. Fortunately people who abstain from dairy products can find other great sources of calcium, including many green vegetables.
Written by Tricia Ellis-Christensen
