Making nut (Cashew or Almond) milk at home

I have been taking  couple of weeks off milk, the supermarkets sell a wide array of 'dairy free' alternatives but I wanted something 'pure'.

The problem with any milk substitute is that whilst they all look like milk, they are not milk! So your eyes see a milky coffee and expect the taste of milk so be open minded when tasting it...

Almond Milk
I started off with Almonds, soaking overnight, blending with water and straining. The result was a liquid that looked remarkably like cows milk, steamed really well but lacked the creaminess and sweetness to make a satisfying flat white or cappuccino. I then tried sweeting it slightly, I used a single sweet date blended with the milk which made it taste better, but still not quite there.

Cashew Milk
My brother suggested Cashew milk so I repeated the process (see video below) to make cashew milk. This was certainly more creamy and the date added the sweetness. This also steamed quite well, even better if you take a little extra time and strain through a cheesecloth or muslin as this takes out all the fine nut particles.

Cost
In the UK cashew nuts and almonds are around £10-12 per KG, so this works out at about £1.20-£150/pint home made.

Storage 
I used a clean Glass milk bottle and sealed with foil, I kept in the fridge and still tasted the same after 5 days. Shake before use as the solids sink to the bottom of the bottle.

Uses
Steams well, my brother adds Guar gum to it to act as an emulsifier (stops it separating) an apparently this works well, although I haven't tried it.

• Blend with a banana for a dairy free 'Milk' shake
• Use on Cereal - tastes good on bran flakes with a sled Banana
• Don't use in tea, it just tastes wrong...
  
  

I shall continue to experiment, hope it works for you.

Chris