Q: Straining Nut Milk, Nut milk Makers page

[midwestMama]

I love Blue Diamond Unsweetened Almond Milk (Original or Vanilla). Mostly for budgetary concerns I am considering whether I have time to make almond milk at home. So, I looked at the SoyaJoy G3 on amazon and youtube.com. In this youtube video SoyaJoy G3 Soy milk maker - YouTube

...near the end she shows the strainer/container combo that comes with the machine.

Anyone have experience in making almond milk and can tell me:

-Can I use a strainer like she's using and just let it sit a long time... will the pulp get dry enough to make almond pulp baked goods that might be close to decent like using almond flour? Do you know of a strainer like the metal one she's using?
-Or, should I use a nut milk bag? It seems more likely to get the pulp dry. How much more work is a bag? Don't I have to boil it to sanitize it so that my almond milk lasts longer?
-Does cooking the almond milk make it last longer in the fridge? If cooking it makes it last longer, that would be a vote in favor of the SoyaJoy since it will cook it for me. Can I add something that will make it last longer without spoiling?

I've tried the Omega VRT juicer for almond milk but it was grainy/pulpy.

Any other thoughts?

[jkr]

I don't have the SoyaJoy but I've made nut milk a lot.

- The pulp will not be like almond flour. You could use it is some recipes but it's going to be crumbly.
- I am lazy and hate using nut milk bags. Cleaning is a PITA to me. Washing on hot will sanitize it enough though. Again, your pulp will not be fine enough to use alone.
- I've never cooked my nut milk.

I recently started making cashew milk and I'm never going back. As long as you have a high-powered blender ,like a Vitamix, you don't have to strain! Soak 1c of cashews in filtered water overnight. The next morning, strain and add to the blender with 4c of fresh water. Blend and voila.

[midwestMama]

Thanks jkr, for that! And, I'll be trying the cashew milk immediately!!

I was thinking I'd use blanched almonds if I could find them--I mean mechanically blanched so that they could still sprout. That was just an idea. Then using the pulp would be using a bunch of skins pieces, which I have tried and I didn't like the texture let alone eating all those skins. I figured that with blanched pulp, I could work on some recipes--worth it if I like the milk and how it's turning out. Could be half almond flour, extra oil and the pulp plus eggs could yield something at least I would eat. Could be it might make up some crackers or something.

[cori93437]

I don't have the SoyaJoy but I've made nut milk a lot.

- The pulp will not be like almond flour. You could use it is some recipes but it's going to be crumbly.
- I am lazy and hate using nut milk bags. Cleaning is a PITA to me. Washing on hot will sanitize it enough though. Again, your pulp will not be fine enough to use alone.
- I've never cooked my nut milk.

I recently started making cashew milk and I'm never going back. As long as you have a high-powered blender ,like a Vitamix, you don't have to strain! Soak 1c of cashews in filtered water overnight. The next morning, strain and add to the blender with 4c of fresh water. Blend and voila.

I make almond milk in a blender and I'm not sure why you say the strained out meal isn't fine? Mine seems finer than purchased almond meal, except it is a darker color from the fact that I leave the skins on.

I strain in a paint bag... places like Home Depot or Lowe's (whatever) have these really cheap... but a FINE sieve will also work if you aren't into bag cleaning.
Then I dry the moist meal by spreading it pretty evenly onto a foil lined pan in a very low oven until VERY dry and crumbly... if it is lumpy (because of sticking together, not particle size) after it dries just buzz it a bit in the food processor.

I have found almond cracker recipes in the past that specifically use this meal left over from making milk. It's not the same as purchased almond meal because it loses some of it's oils to the milk and is drier, but IME can be used to replace part of the almond meal in a recipe. Maybe 1/4. Silly to throw it out when it's perfectly good and useful.

I don't like the unstrained nut milks I've tried... texture thing.

[midwestMama]

I have this idea that I would rather get mechanically skinless almonds and not deal with those. I dont like the skin in the leftover meal. I also would begin the sprouting process but still would rather avoid the skins. Anyone purchased those kind of nuts in bulk before?

Looks like if I end up doing this I would prefer a sieve and will have to shop for the right equip. I want it to take as little time and trouble as possible!

[jkr]

Um, b/c it's not fine, at least not as fine as Honeyville or Glorybee. It's comes out more like Bob's Red Mill almond meal, which is good but it's not flour. Try using it in one of Elana's recipes for cupcakes or something else delicate and it won't work. I and several friends have tried with different blender/processors/etc.

Have you tried homemade cashew milk with a Vitamix/Blendtec? It's great and the texture is smooth.

[Spubba]

I have the SoyaJoy and have made almond milk with it. It does make brilliant soymilk which tastes delicious hot, and my Chinese friend always asks me to make it for her (but of course soymilk isn't primal, so I don't drink it myself). I thought the almond milk tastes different when I make it vs. buying it in the carton - but I don't blanch my almonds first. You end up with a very fine sludge in the filter afterwards. I don't know what to do with it, but it seems wasteful to just toss it. The resulting milk tends to settle a little bit.

I read somewhere that cashews aren't really primal. I can't tolerate them very well myself; I'm insulin resistant and I get a little sugar spike from cashew milk or cream, so I avoid them. However, I do know that soaking raw cashews for a couple of hours and then running them through a high performance blender (Vitamix or Blendtec) gets you a very nice milk/cream sort of thing.