Saturday, January 26, 2013

Making your own milk from grains and nuts

I thought I had already posted this but went through the whole blog and no sign of alternative milk. 

I recently attended a sprouting class  where frankly I didn't learn anything new except that I should never attend such a class ever again.   Somewhere between wheat sprouts, and juicing them and grinding them into a dough I just couldn't breathe.  I was popping Benadryl  and left before they broke out the loaf of bread with butter to put the sprouts on.  It took me a full week to recover and it's still touch and go.  But I did learn something each and every person who buys milk alternatives should know.  

One of our attendees is a truck driver who hauls milk.  His whole family is allergic to dairy.  One day at the processing plant one of the workers he had gotten to know asked if he had some time.  His friend knew this family bought milk alternatives all the time.  So this regular dairy processing plant at the end of each day flushes out their system and then they run milk alternatives through.  If you buy soy milk, rice milk or almond milk you should take note here!  The first thing they do when making milk alternatives is they start with 50% of High Fructose Corn Syrup and they don't even have to tell you about it.  He said the brands they showed him were the exact brands his wife buys at our local stores all the time.  

Well, I tired all these and reacted so badly to them and settled on using coconut milk instead.  It's harder to find and it's more expensive but it runs on one line that only does organic coconut milk in Eugene, Oregon.     The other milks are so very easy to make yourself.  So today I am going to give each of you recipes to make your own milk alternatives.  

Soy Milk 

I haven't made this one as I am very allergic to soy but will give you the directions in case you use soy milk.

Use 1 cup of soy beans, well rinsed and soaked overnight.  Beans will double in size.  Rinse again.

Place 1 cup of your soaked beans and 2 cups of water in a blender and blend until smooth.

use cheese cloth to do the following:
Double fold and use it to strain your soy milk.  Squeeze until all milk is extracted.  You can also single fold the cheese cloth and after all the milk passes through rinse the cheese cloth very well and runt he soy milk through it again.  This 2 step process actually goes faster.

To get more milk out of the mash, add a little more water and squeeze out the remaining milk.

Pour the milk into a saucepan.
Add 1/4 cup sugar or sugar to taste
1 tsp. salt

YOU MUST COOK SOY MILK BEFORE USING IT!!!

Cook the milk on low to medium heat until it boils.  
As soon as it boils, turn heat to low and let it simmer for 20 minutes, stirring constantly at the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula to keep it from burning.
Remove from the heat and let it cool completely.
Refrigerate.

After it is chilled, it is ready to be used for drinking, cooking, baking or in drinks.

You can make anything you would normally make using regular milk with soy milk.  Even cheese, yogurt, sour cream and tofu.

Barley Milk

Ok, another one I've never tried because barley has gluten which I can't have.

This is a natural milk that can be used for drinking, cooking and baking.  Barley is high in calcium, iron and protein.  It is good for nerves, muscles, spleen and pancreas.

Use 1/2 cup soybeans
1 Tablespoon of dry barley
water

Soak beans and barley overnight.  Rinse and drain well. 

Process using the same instructions as the soy milk listed above.  The barley will settle to the bottom so make sure you shake or stir before using each time.

Rice Milk     

1/2 cup brown rice flour
2 cups water
2 tsp honey or 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Blend all in a blender for 2 to 3 minutes.  Strain in cheesecloth.  Chill and stir well when serving.

Almond Milk         
 This is one I make up quite a bit. 
1 cup raw almonds
4 cups filtered water
a pinch of sea salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla
3 Tablespoons honey

Soak the nuts overnight.  Drain and rinse and drain again.

Put the almonds in a blender with the 4 cups of filtered water.  Process until broken up but don't let the blender heat the mixture.

Strain through nut bag or cheese cloth.

Put into container and add the salt, honey and vanilla or if you need plain milk to cook with just add the salt.  
Refrigerate and shake well before each use.

** I save the pulp from the almond milk and dehydrate it to use in place of wheat germ in my granola mix or use for almond flour in other recipes.

Sesame seed Milk

 1/2  cup roasted sesame seeds (roast them in 300 oven for 20 minutes)
1/2  cup raw sesame seeds
2 cups water
1 tsp brown sugar or honey

Process all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Strain through cheese cloth squeezing to get all the milk out.

Chill and shake to serve.
THIS MILK HAS A VERY SHORT SHELF LIFE.  IT MUST BE USED WITHIN 72 HOURS/3 DAYS.

Now a couple blended milks:

Almond Honey Rice Milk
This is a delicious milk for cooking creamed desserts with.  it is also good for cooking, baking and drinking.

1/2 almonds soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup brown rice flour soaked overnight in 1/4 water
 2 Tbsp. honey
2 cups water

Blend all in a blender until really smooth.

You can filter if using to drink or just chill unfiltered and mix well before using.

Almond and Oats Milk

1/2 cup raw almonds
1/4 cup oat groats  (warning most oat groats have gluten!)
1 Tbsp. honey or brown sugar
2 Cups cold water

Soak almonds and oat groats overnight.  Rinse and drain. 

Process the same as Almond Honey Rice Milk above.

If you try this and say it doesn't taste like the Almond Milk I get at the store, remember they use 50% High Fructose Corn Syrup.  Add more sweetener if you need to.  It'll be healthier than what you are buying! 

Cheers!
Cherlynn
brchbell@yahoo.com 
  
    

    
  

3 comments:

  1. How much yield do you get on the almond milk recipe?

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  2. SunnyDay, I get 1 quart of Almond milk with the recipe listed above that I use often.

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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