Instructions - Vegan Milk Kit
Welcome to making your own wide array of vegan milks! You will love experimenting with different milks like cashew milk, oat milk, hemp milk, rice milk, almond milk, coconut milk, flax milk & more. All the milks in this kit can be made raw except rice milk and soy milk. Rice and soy need to be cooked as part of the milk making process. These instructions do cover how to make rice milk.
Supplies Needed: In order to make vegan milks you will need a powerful blender, a nut milk bag and the ingredients for each specific vegan milk you want to make. You will also likely need a few bowls, pitchers and other common kitchen items.
Preview: Most vegan milks are typically made by blending cold water with the primary ingredient (almonds for example). Sometimes the primary ingredient is pre-soaked for some period of time before blending. Once blended, the resulting slurry is then strained and squeezed in a nut milk bag to extract the milk. The milk is then typically flavored (salt, agave and vanilla for example) then served chilled. The left over ground ingredients can be used as food ingredients in different ways like baked in bread, served with cereal or blended into nut butter.
Okara: The Japanese call the leftover meal from making soymilk “okara”. It’s a useful word and we will use it in the instructions here to indicate the ground leftovers.
Tips:
Here are a few tips to consider as you make your own vegan milks:
- Seam Out – Most nut milk bags have a seam, and the seam can catch quite a bit of okara making the bag difficult to clean. Flip the bag so the seam is out, and this will be much less of a problem.
- Washing the Bag – Wash the bag thoroughly after use. Don’t wash with clothing.
- Use Purified Water – When making raw milks, use purified water or water that has been boiled and then cooled.
- Serve Chilled – Vegan milks are best served chilled. If you need to serve immediately after making, use a little less water and supplement with ice cubes in the blender.
- Final Squeeze – When squeezing the milk bag, be sure to give it a good final squeeze to extract the best milk still in the okara. You can also add the okara back to the blender with a little more water and blend and squeeze again to get the most milk out of your ingredients.
- Combinations – Try different combinations to create new flavors. Try combining rice and coconut, or almond with flax. Lots of combinations to experiment with.
- Storage – Store refrigerated. Don’t make more than you can use in a two days or so, as you should not store for longer than that. After vegan milks sit for a while, they need to be shaken to remix settled particles before serving.
- Thickeners – Most vegan milks are fairly thin, with some like coconut milk being exceptionally thin. You can thicken and add body to vegan milks by including about a tablespoon of flax or chia to the blender with your primary ingredients. Chia and flax are both mucilaginous seeds, which means that they form a jelly-like coating when they get wet. This jelly coating can add a very nice body to the milk. We prefer chia as a thickener because it has a more neutral flavor than flax, but experiment to find what you like. When using chia or flax as a thickener use more or less than a tablespoon to adjust the thickness to your preference. If using chia or flax as a thickener, allow to sit in the water for a few minutes before blending to give the jelly time to fully form.
- Flavoring Ideas: There are countless ways to flavor your vegan milk and experimentation is fun. Here are some ideas on flavorings:
- Salt – You will likely want to add some salt to every batch, anywhere from a pinch to several pinches to taste.
- Vanilla – Vanilla is the standby flavoring. It works well with many other flavors you might add, and also stands on its own.
- Sweeteners – We prefer vegan sweeteners like agave nectar, raw brown sugar, molasses, stevia or maple syrup. Each brings flavor subtle- ties that are fun to experiment with.
- Protein Powder – Add some protein with a good vegan protein powder like SunWarrior.
- Dates – Include dates in the blender. Dates sweeten, flavor and a hint of body.
- Berries – Include berries or other fruits in the blender to make more of a smoothie.
- Other Flavorings: Experiment with almond extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate, clove and more.
Recipes
Almond Milk
Ingredient Ratios: 1 cup of soaked raw almonds to 4 cups of cold water
Instructions: Rinse the almonds in water thoroughly agitating the submerged almonds. Rinse thoroughly. Soak raw almonds for 6 to 8 hours in the refrigerator and rinse again thoroughly. Blend to a fine slurry with cold water. Strain & squeeze in the nut milk bag. Flavor to taste and serve chilled.
Okara Use Ideas: Dry thoroughly and blend into almond flour to supplement in baking. Toast and sprinkle on cereal (oatmeal, granola, etc..). Toast and add to cookies. Make into almond butter (see below).
Hemp Milk
Ingredient Ratios: 1 cup hemp seeds to 6 cups of cold water
Instructions: Blend the hemp seeds to a fine slurry with cold water. Strain & squeeze in the nut milk bag. Flavor to taste and serve chilled. Hemp milk tends to be thicker than other vegan milks. To make a thicker hemp milk, reduce the ratio of hemp to water. You may find that chia or flax aren’t needed as a thickener.
Okara Use Ideas: Dry thoroughly and blend into flour to supplement in baking. Toast and sprinkle on cereal (oatmeal, granola, etc..). Toast and add to cookies. Blend with garlic, olive oil, parsley and black pepper to make a pesto.
Oat Milk
Ingredient Ratios: 1 cup of soaked oat groats (oats with shell removed) to 3 cups of cold water
Instructions: Soak the oat groats for minimum of 20 minutes, and not more than an hour. Drain and rinse thoroughly. Blend for about 10 seconds with cold water. Strain & squeeze in the nut milk bag. Flavor to taste and serve chilled.
Tips: Don’t over-blend your oat groats. Over blending can yield a chalky texture.
Okara Use Ideas: Add to oatmeal as you cook to extend the batch. Use in oatmeal cookies. Dry thoroughly and blend into oat flour to supple- ment in baking.
Cashew Milk
Ingredient Ratios: 1 cup raw cashews to 4 cups of cold water
Instructions: Soak raw cashews for 2 hours in the refrigerator and rinse thoroughly. Spread out the cashews and air dry thoroughly. Blend to a fine slurry with cold water. Strain & squeeze in the nut milk bag. Flavor to taste and serve chilled.
Okara Use Ideas: Dry thoroughly and blend into cashew flour to supplement in baking. Toast and sprinkle on cereal (oatmeal, granola, etc..). Toast and add to cookies. Make into cashew butter (see below).
Coconut Milk
Ingredient Ratios: 1 cup of shredded, unsweetened coconut to 2 cups of hot water
Instructions: Blend coconut to a fine slurry with hot (not boiling) water. Coconut should be blended for several minutes. Strain & squeeze in the nut milk bag. Flavor to taste and serve chilled.
Okara Use Ideas: Use in making macaroons, coconut cream pies and other deserts. Toast and use as a garnish on pies and deserts.
Flax Milk
Ingredient Ratios: 1 cup of soaked raw almonds to 6 cups of cold water
Instructions: Grind the flax seeds dry in the blender for a few seconds. Add cold water and blend to a fine slurry. Strain & squeeze in the nut milk bag. Flavor to taste and serve chilled. Because flax is a mucilaginous seed, flax milk can be quite thick. If you find that your flax milk is thicker than you prefer, thin further by stirring in more cold water to the flax milk to suit.
Okara Use Ideas: Use in a smoothie, or add in to dough in multi-grain breads.
Rice Milk
Ingredient Ratios: 1 cup of brown rice, fully cooked, to 4 cups of cold water
Instructions: Cook 1 cup of brown rice fully. Blend for several minutes to a fine slurry with cold water. Strain with a wire-mesh (we don’t recommend the nut milk bag for rice milk, as it can get gummed up and difficult to clean). Flavor to taste and serve chilled.
Okara Use Ideas: Cook into a rice pudding or cereal.
Soy Milk
Soymilk and tofu is a bit more complex vegan milk. See Tofu Section for specific supplies, kits and instructions on making soymilk and tofu.
Almond Butter
Ingredient Needed: 1 cup of raw almonds (or almond milk okara), 2 teaspoons of coconut oil, salt, agave nectar.
Instructions: Put the almonds or almond okara in the blender and blend thoroughly into a damp sand consistency. Turn off the blender and scrape the sides down with a rubber spatula. Blend again adding coconut oil a little at a time until your almond has blended into the consistency you desire. Add salt and / or agave nectar to taste.
Cashew Butter
Ingredient Needed: 1 cup of raw cashews (soaked then dried), or cashew milk okara, 1 to 2 teaspoons of coconut oil, salt, agave nectar. Instructions: Put the cashews or cashew okara in the blender and blend thoroughly into a damp sand consistency. Turn off the blender and scrape the sides down with a rubber spatula. Blend again adding coconut oil a little at a time until your cashew has blended into the consistency you desire. Add salt and / or agave nectar to taste.
