question about almond milk

[Raw_Medic]

can I use blanched almonds for my almond milk or almond butter?

[VeggieMel]

You could, but technically I think they're cooked. Sometime you could experiment by seeing if one will sprout. If it'll sprout, it's still alive.

[Revvell]

Hard to tell if almonds are "sprouted" as they don't grow tails. Don't ask me how I know. <G>

I've never tried it w/ almond butter yet, guess one could. Some recipes do call for blanched almonds yet, I don't blanch. Just soak for about 12 hours, throw in the VitaMix w/ water, strain and refrigerate.

:cool:

[Raw_Medic]

thanks! I'll just stick with what I know is raw.

[city]

I make my almond milk with 2tbs of raw almond butter for every two cups of water. Can't be bothered to strain and don't mind the skins.

[Kitty]

arn't the skins toxic? I would really like to know because its a pain to peel them

[BDraw]

Don't know if the skins are toxic or not, but in an attempt to make your battle of peeling them easier, do you let them sit in boiled water for about 20 seconds, then quickly cool them off with cold rinses? The skins pop off quite easily then.

I do this every other night and find if I have a friend to talk to on the phone at the time -- well, time flies!

[rawpriestess]

The skins aren't toxic, only the outer fruit of the almond is toxic. But unless you have an almond tree, you won't ever see the fruit, it is of the peach family.

The skins can be slightly bitter, although I've tried them with and withoug skins in my dishes, and the difference in taste is minor.

If you pop them into boiling water, the skins will come off very easily, but then the almonds are no longer raw.

[tvillemom]

So how do you get the skins off without boiling them. I find that I don't like soaked almonds because the skins are "chewy". I think I would love them without the skins.....

[Smileen]

I wonder if placing almonds in boiling water for 20 seconds is long enough for the heat to "cook" the almonds all the way through. I don't have any scientific info on this, just wonder if there may still be most of the enzymes intact.

[sport]

I am lost reading this because I have found the skin easy to remove after soaking overnight. It is a bit tedious but not difficult. I believe that the skin should not be eaten because it puts strain on the digestive system while contributing no nutrients