DIY Almond Milk

Almond milk is the ideal milk choice for me and my family. I was initially drawn to almond milk because my children, husband and I are lactose intolerant. Almond milk also contains fewer calories and is easier for your body to digest than cow milk. Initially I was purchasing almond milk from my local grocery store; however I was soon turned off by the amount of preservatives and chemicals found in the milk.  Now being my DIY loving self, I decided to see what it would take to make my own almond milk. I found out it is way easier than I would have dreamed.

At first I started with a recipe I found on the internet, such as the one on http://www.thekitchn.com. However, I quickly tweaked the recipe to yield twice the amount of milk using the same amount of almonds.  I achieved this by using a natural thickening agent called Xanthium gum. This adds no taste and stretches the almond you can use. This drops the cost of making my own almond milk to about $1.50 for 2 quarts or half a gallon. This is half the price I was paying at the grocery store. Making my own almond milk was the healthier and more economical choice for my family.

After the milk is made, I also use the leftover almond pulp to make almond flour. This flour can be used to create cookies, pancake, and a variety of other baked items.
I have included my instructions to make our own almond milk.

Homemade Almond Milk

Makes about 2 quarts (1/2 gallon)

What You Need:

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 2 cups water, plus more for soaking
• 1 tsp vanilla abstract
• 1/2 tsp Xanthium gum
• Sweeteners such as; stevia, sugar, agave syrup, honey, dates, or maple syrup, to taste (optional)

Equipment

• Strainer
• Blender
• Measure Cup
• Strainer
• Cheese cloth or Fine-mesh nut bag

Instructions:

1. Soak the almonds overnight or for up to 2 days. Place the almonds in a bowl and cover with about an inch of water. They will plump as they absorb water. Let stand, uncovered, overnight or up to 2 days. The longer the almonds soak, the creamier the almond milk.
2. Drain and rinse the almonds. Drain the almonds from their soaking water and rinse them thoroughly under cool running water. The almonds should look plump and be a little squishy. 
   
3. Add almonds to the blender and add water. Place the almonds in the blender and cover with 8 cups of water.
4. Sweeten to desired taste.  Add sweetener to taste. I personally like to add 1 tsp of vanilla and 2 Tbs of agave nectar. 
   
5. Blend on high speed for about 2 minutes. Blend continuously for two minutes. The almonds should be broken down into a very fine pulp and the water should be white and kinda of frothy.
6. Strain the almonds. Line the strainer with an opened piece cheese cloth or nut bag, and place over a measuring cup. Pour the almond mixture into the strainer. Use a spatula 
   
7. Squeeze the almond milk from the almond pulp. Gather the cheese cloth or nut bag around the almond meal. Lightly squeeze and press on the cheese cloth to extract as much almond milk as possible. Place pulp into a storage container and set aside (If you want to also make almond flour)
   
8. Rinse blender. Rinse to remove all of the access almond pulp and milk residue.
9. Add Xanthium gum. Pour milk back into the rinse blender. Add 1/2 tsp of Xanthium gum. On low speed blend until well combined
10. Pour into desired container. Pour milk from measuring cup into desire airtight storage container
11. Refrigerate almond milk. Store the almond milk in the sealed container in the fridge for up to three days.
    
12. Make almond flour. Spread almond pulp evenly on a cookie sheet. Bake on ovens lowest setting for about 5 hours, or until almond pulp is completely dry. Let pulp cool. Place in blender or food processor on medium speed until it is ground into a fine meal. Store in fridge in an airtight container.