Buckle up, it’s about to get a little hippie in here. Just kidding – I’m really proud of myself for making this homemade almond milk.
When I read in my juicers‘ manual that I could make nut milk in it, I was really excited! We don’t buy milk with any regularity. I buy a small carton when a recipe calls for it but other than that, we’re not a big milk household. I do always keep almond milk on hand though because it’s good in a pinch and is shelf stable. Making my own almond milk was a way to try a creative new juicer recipe and to compare the pre-made stuff to homemade.
Domestocrat’s Homemade Almond Milk (yields 4 cups)
4 cups water
2 cups almonds
5 dates
4 cups filtered water
Start with fresh unsalted, unroasted raw almonds and a handful of dates.
Soak the almonds and dates in 4 cups of water for at least 24 hours. Follow the instructions according to the manufacturer of your juicer – mine recommended a minimum of 24 hours of soaking. Cover them while soaking and put in the fridge.
When 24 hours are up you’ll notice the almond water is pretty cloudy. Drain and rinse the almonds and dates.
Next prep your juicer. I like using a plastic bag to line the pulp container of my juicer to make the clean up easier. I usually use a mason jar under the spout when I make juice but for the almond milk I used a 32 oz. Ziploc Twist and Lock container. It holds 32 oz./4 cups and the twist on top is tight and spillproof.
“Juicing” the almonds took some trial and error. I started with a handful of the rinsed almonds but no juice came out. It then dawned on me that the almonds need to go through the juicer with liquid – duh! So what I did was put a handful of the almonds in a 1/2 cup measuring cup and top with fresh, filtered water (see picture below). I then carefully poured that into the juicer. I repeated with 1/2 cup batches until the entire 2 cups of almonds and dates had been processed. This yielded roughly 3 cups of almond milk. I added one more cup of fresh, filtered water to the container to fill it to the top.
I was amazed – this smelled, looked, and tasted exactly like store bought almond milk but fresher and more robust. Success! Homemade almond milk will keep tightly sealed in the fridge for up to one week.
If you don’t have a juicer but want to make almond milk it’s totally possible! You just need to have a blender and a way to strain the nut mixture (cheesecloth, mesh strainer, nut bag, etc). One great how-to for that method can be found here over on Nature’s Nurture.
Domestocrat 
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