Thursday, April 4, 2013

Almond Milk Pt. 2


Banana milk:
2 cups raw almonds
4 cups water
2 very ripe bananas
2 tbsp simple syrup
Extra water to adjust

Saffron milk:
2 cups raw almonds
4 cups water
1 tbsp ground saffron
2 tbsp simple syrup

Espresso milk:
2 cups raw almonds
4 cups water
1/4 cup espresso powder
2 tbsp simple syrup

For each milk, soak the almonds ahead of time (minimum six hours). I soaked them up to 10 hours and they were fine - the longer the better.


You will notice the nuts retain water and bloat as the water disappears. You can still add more water once this happens if you'd like to soak them longer.

Strain whatever water is left. In a blender or Magic Bullet blend the almonds with the appropriate ratio of water. I chose a 1:2 ratio to create a medium creaminess (the equivalent of 2% cows milk). You may need to separate portions depending on the size of your blender.

Blend until a liquid-y paste forms, then transfer into cheesecloth or a sieve bag. Squeeze with your hands to strain the milk into a bowl until no more liquid is produced. I like to run the nuts through a second time, blending and adding another half cup of water to yield as much as possible.

For the banana milk, chop up the bananas and add to the finished milk. Heat it up in a pot on low to medium heat for 10 minutes. Don't let it boil or simmer, you just need enough heat to infuse the flavour into the milk. Transfer into a container and let it cool in the fridge over night.

The saffron should also be infused using heat. Repeat the same process used to infuse the banana milk and transfer into a container to chill overnight. As for the espresso milk, simply add and stir the espresso powder with the milk and chill in a container overnight, shaking it occasionally.


The next day finish flavouring the milks and transfer into sealed jars. The banana milk needs to be strained, blended and thinned. First pass it through a fine sieve to get rid of the banana chunks. Using the same blending machine as before, add water to your desired thickness (I recommend a three quarter cup since the banana really thickens it up) and the simple syrup.

For the saffron and espresso milk you just need to blend each with simple syrup. You can also add water or more syrup to adjust their thickness and taste if desired. Transfer each milk into sealed jars and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.





1 comment:

  1. As an almond milk fan, I will have to try this. Beautiful photos. Thanks for the inspiration.

    ReplyDelete