Probably a year or so ago, we began using almond milk instead of cow milk. I haven’t drank storebought cow milk in many years but I will drink raw milk when we can get that and I will drink buttermilk. Weird, huh? I tried to like storebought almond milk . . not for any particular reason. It smells good but to me, it tastes kinda sticky or slimy. Vince loves it. He uses it on his cereal and when I eat cereal, I can use it on there but I cannot drink it.
A few months ago, I tried making almond milk. At the time I was using my regular blender, which was just an inexpensive blender (real inexpensive because when I bought it, Chad was living at home and he used it more than I did). It wasn’t terrible when it was new but it had seen better days. When making almond milk with it, I never felt like I was getting enough “almond” out of the nuts and gave up.
One of the things I couldn’t wait to do with the Vitamix was make almond milk. Today was the first day I remembered to take pictures but, like everything else I’ve done with the Vitamix, it is amazing for making the almond milk. Here’s a quick little recap of how I do it.
Of course, I start with almonds. The amounts used is dependent on how much you want to make. The almond milk keeps for a couple of days in the fridge, but not much longer than that. It’s so easy to make, I mostly make it every morning. Start with raw almonds. The ones I buy are pasteurized because they’re easier to find that totally raw as in just out of the shell nothing done to them almonds. Some things I read say that ALL almonds sold in the U. S. have to be pasteurized and then I’ll find a place online that is in the U. S. that says it’s selling totally raw and unpasteurized almonds. It really doesn’t matter to me . . I take what I can find easily. Almonds do grow around here, though I’ve not seen any for sale, nor have I seen any trees. If my choices are buying pasteurized almonds, or shelling raw almonds myself, I’ll probably buy pasteurized almonds!
I put 1 cup of almonds in a jar and fill it with cold water. I leave it sitting on the counter during the day but put it in the fridge over night.
Almonds Soaking
Here’s the difference in 1 cup (left) of almonds that have been soaked overnight and 1 cup (right) that have not been soaked.
Soaked vs. unsoaked almonds
Drain and rinse the almonds. Place them in the blender with water. Since I used 1 cup of almonds, I add 2-1/2 cups water. Some folks add more, some add less. There’s no exact right or wrong . . just do what works for you.
Almonds in Blender with Water
If using a Vitamix, start with it on 1 and gradually turn up to about 8. Blend for a few seconds. Let rest, then blend again. I do this several times.
Blended Almonds
The blended almonds and water will have to be strained through something. You can use multiple layers of cheesecloth, though I find it allows some of the meal to get through. I used to use a lint free dish towel and that worked but my favorite way is to use a nut milk bag. I like this bag because I can just rinse it out and hang it over a cabinet door knob and it’s dry in an hour or so and it doesn’t need to be washed in the washing machine where it might pick up dog or kitty hair. I place the drain bag over a half gallon jar. I’m only going to get about 2-1/2 cups of milk since I used 2-1/2 cups of water but with the half gallon jar, the bottom of the bag doesn’t sink back down into the already drained milk.
Milk Draining
Allow the milk to drain. I will sometimes hang the bag from the cabinet door knob so I can see when it’s done.
Milk Draining
Once it’s drained, it can be sweetened with either sugar, honey, stevia . . whatever you want to use, or it can be used unsweetened. If I’m going to be drinking it, I add a little sugar. If I’m using it for smoothies or cereal, I add no sweetener.
What’s left from the almonds is this:
Almond Meal
In another post, I’ll tell you what I do with this yummy stuff! In the meantime, figure out how much almond meal or almond flour costs in the store and you’ll know the value of this by-product of making your own almond milk.
Terri says
Well I’ll be! I learn the most interesting things from you! I’m putting this on my list of things to try once we get moved.
Joan in NE says
Ok can’t wait to see what you do with the leftover almonds. I buy almonds 25# at a time and keep in freezer till I use them up. I’ve not tried making the almond milk but you can bet I plan to soon. thanks for sharing all the information you do with all of us.
Patricia says
I am with Terri–you do the most interesting things! I saw a person making almond milk on the cooking show “Chopped”—I didn’t realize how uncomplicated it is to make—–if you have a vitamix that is! Thanks for sharing!
Ruth Anne says
I really want to do that! Awesome.
Gale says
I love the Blue Diamond Almond Milk that is vanilla flavored which I just buy at the grocery store. Even though I’ve had a VitaMix for 25 years, this is just too much trouble for me. I’m always on the go taking Joe to various doctor appointments, etc.
Howdy says
Check out “Just Almonds” out of California. They steam pasteurize their almonds and don’t use chemicals. The first time I ordered (last fall) I bought one 5 lb bag that we used for snacking… this time I got two 5 lb bags and now that I’m making milk too I am nearly out of the one bag. Ordering in quantity (over 5 lbs) lowers the price and you can get further discounts the more you buy. And on their Facebook page they say to use FB as a discount code – good for an additional 10% off.
http://www.justalmonds.com/Default.asp
I use 4 cups of water when I make my almond milk and a pinch of sea salt in my Blendtec blender on the Whole Juice setting. I love to drink a glass of the milk with a drop of liquid stevia and a nice healthy shake of cinnamon and then I blend it with my little hand blender to stir in the cinnamon… mmm, mmm, mmm!
Sandie says
I am sooo tempted to get a VitaMx! Of course the model you got oesnt seem to be available any longer, so i will have to figure out which one to get on my own. Each day you show us something new, makes me more convinced how much I would use one!
JudyL says
I think my model is temporarily unavailable because of the recall on the blender container. Not sure but that’s what I’m thinking.
Annette says
Almond meal is very high in fat. I was using almond flour for breading in a chicken recipe, because it is low in carbs. I was shocked to note the fat content. But, it is delish!!
JudyL says
Yes, the fat content is higher than regular white flour but the fat has been shown to be the “good” fat and there are studies that show it has aided in reducing cholesterol. It has a very low glycemic index number and it has way more fiber. When weighing out whether something is nutritionally sound, there’s way more to it than just one item, i.e., fat content. A few links you might find interesting:
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/almond-flour
https://goodyfoodssf.com/goodbye-white-flour-hello-almond-flour/
Annette says
Thank you, Judy! That is an interesting comparison, also showing that almond contains far more fiber and nutrients than other flours.
JudyL says
I am definitely not an expert with nutrition and the content/makeup of our food but simply looking at fat percentages doesn’t always give us the true value of a food. There’s so much more involved. Heck, I’m able to justify in my own mind that Dr. Pepper is good for me so don’t listen to me! 🙂
Glen in louisiana says
I actually have been researching this technique to make my own as well. I see you can also make coconut milk, cashew milk and several other “milks”. Thanks for sharing because I have not quite gotten around to doing it. Why am I so busy NOT quilting and NOT knitting?
Sherrill says
Judy, you are the ‘master’ of all!! HAHA I just absolutely cannot believe everything you do AND you’re also GOOD at it! LOL (shaking my head at your voluminous knowledge!) HA I never even thought about how almond milk was made and that there wasn’t any actual milk in it. Who knew?
JudyL says
No, not really but I love learning and doing new things.
Lavonna Campbell says
Thanks to you Judy, I am now the proud owner of a Vitamix, and I LOVE it! So for anyone who is dealing with the temptation of whether or not to get one, give in to the temptation! You will not regret it. It is wonderful!
JudyL says
Don’t you love it. It’s a lot of money to spend on a blender but it does so much and as long as I’m using it every day, I don’t feel bad at all about the cost of it.
Dana Pellerin says
I am amazed, is there anything you can’t do? What a woman.Keep up the good work and thanks for passing along the info.
JudyL says
My theory exactly . . I can do anything I want to do and so can you! 🙂
Cindy F says
I learn the most amazing things here on your blog! I never really thought about how almond milk was made (never even tasted it!) and am surprised to see how easily it can be done. Thanks for sharing!