Almond Milk

[2 Corinthians 7:1]

My son and I are excited to try almond milk, but I'm not sure I understand the process. Once I've soaked the almonds for 48 hours and refrigerated them in water, am I waiting for something to happen? They look like fat almonds, but I don't see any sprouts or anything. When are they ready for making milk?

[avolove]

Almonds will look the same soaked, just wet :) I do it this way, once I have soaked them, as you have, I put them in the food processor and grind them up. Because my food processor is really old and not too good at getting the almonds finely ground, I switch to my blender where I add the water. I bend away. I then strain it all with a fine mesh and if I'm feeling really ambitious, a cheesecloth. I sometimes add raw honey depending on what I will be using it for. Hope that helps. :)

[raven]

You don't need to soak them for 48 hours. If you don't keep changing the water, they may get rancid by then. 8-12 hours is sufficient. You only need to refrigerate the soaked almonds if you're not going to blend them right away. Otherwise, just throw them in the blender with 3-4 times as much water and squeeze through a nut milk bag. You can rinse the blender and blend the milk again with some vanilla and sweetener. The milk will last about 3 days in the fridge.

[garden granny]

Just soak them in filtered water for a few hours and change the water and let soak a couple more hours. Drain out the water and throw the almonds in the blender with fresh filtered water (I usually then add a dash of vanilla, cinnamon & honey or maple syrup) blend well, then strain thru a nutmilk bag. {If I have 2 cups of almonds I usually add 4 cups of water.}

[Revvell]

What Raven said.

It is sooooo simple. ! C soaked almonds (no more than 12 hours); add to 3-4 C. of water; blend, strain, drink. Done. :)

[zig_zag]

Did you order your almonds online? Because if you just bought them from a health food store, they are not raw, and thus will not sprout, anyway... The FDA issued that all almonds be pasteurized as of September 2007:/

[GlimR]

It was actually the california almond board that made the ruling, not the FDA...but that aside.......

Almond milk is so delicious and so easy. I make it every three or four days. I soak probably 3 cups of almonds overnight...drain and rinse well several times...take out a cup and cover the rest with fresh water and put in the fridge for later use. The point of soaking is to get rid of the enzyme inhibitors and to release the life force, making them easier to digest and to be untilized by the body. You will want to rinse the extra almonds every couple days to keep them fresh.
I use 1 cup almonds, 4 cups water...blend in VM, strain thru a paint strainer bag (2/$1.99 @ loews) put it back in the vm with a little stevia, agave or honey, a tsp of vanilla and a dash of sea salt..blend for a few seconds. I store it in an old glass milk bottle for up to three days. I like it best used in two.
The process may seem daunting but after a time or two no problem~:)
Almond milk is one of my staples. Some people think its a nuisance to make but I actually love making it.

[Mairzee_dotes]

I love making it too, but am saddened by all the left over almond fiber I end up throwing out as I am too lazy to keep making muffins or anything else out of it. It ends up just sitting in the fridge until I think it is beyond use & then I try to throw it where the birds will at least find it and use it for something. Ha

[blaqberry]

Mairzee_dotes, you could also freeze the pulp, if you want :) ...or dry it in a dehydrator if you have one, and save it for later.

[blaqberry]

"Sprouted" almonds will have a tinee-tiny (almost can't see it) white bud on the end of them.

Whenever we soak almonds for two days prior to using them, they taste more sweet and the leftover pulp is less bitter. But yeah, soaking overnight works fine too.

[GlimR]

blaqberry~
Thanks for the tip...will give that a try. Do you rinse at all during the initial soaking time?

[2 Corinthians 7:1]

This has been very helpful and informative. I am interested in having a little more info on whether or not almonds purchased in the store are really raw. Any recommendations as to where to order them online?

[blaqberry]

You're welcome :)

Yes, we drain and rinse the almonds once a day...usually a couple quick rinses to be sure the water runs clear and then recovering the almonds with fresh water. You can actually do that process for up to about five days if you intend to use the almonds within that time (works great for big batches).


blaqberry~
Thanks for the tip...will give that a try. Do you rinse at all during the initial soaking time?

[blaqberry]

2 Corinthians 7:1, here's one link (http://www.naturalnews.com/022146.html) that might be useful. You can also see this thread (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=33389&highlight=almonds+online).

The banana up top is great as there is a lot info scattered about on here, but hopefully those two links will be somewhat helpful :)

[2 Corinthians 7:1]

Thank you!

[tvillemom]

Dehydrate your almond pulp....and then grind it in your coffee grinder. This is a great flour!! Then I store mine in a freezer bag (in the freezer) until I have enough to make a pie crust!! YUMMY!!

[jacsam]

Sounds like everyone has told you how to make it....Alissa's book has the recipes for it and many other books have mylk recipes that sound great too.

[2 Corinthians 7:1]

My last post disappeared! :confused: Maybe I didn't post it properly... Anyway, I read some of the article blaqberry posted here. It upset me to know that almonds are being messed with!! Is nothing sacred?? Anyway, the question was: How can I get almonds that are not pastuerized?

[2 Corinthians 7:1]

Thanks for the tip!

[northernstars]

on Google and asked "Where can I buy organic and raw almonds?" Then several websites came up and I chose the one owned by one of the people on this board! I get a new batch every few months and they are so good! So, when all else fails you can sometimes find what you want by googling.

That is also how I found my cashews and other nuts.

[2 Corinthians 7:1]

Now why didn't I think of that?