Creamy nut & seed milk
grownandgathered
A kitchen staple, that is great all year round – especially in autumn if you are harvesting your own pumpkin seeds! We have been meaning to get you guys this recipe for a while. We suggest it as an alternative to dairy milk in so many recipes (especially in our book), but have never shared the recipe for ours! So here it is.
We have made lots of variations of this, but our favourite is this almond and pumpkin seed combination (specifics in the recipe below!). But use what you have. This recipe is a super thick and creamy milk, because it’s how we like it!
It really is a super simple staple to make, all you need is a nut milk bag (our favourite is now in our shop), a blender, bowl and jar to store it in. The recipe is for a litre, but do halve the mixture if you don’t drink a whole lot of milk or there are just two of you (like us) because it doesn’t have a super long shelf life (about 7 days).
Nut/seed milks are really good for you, they are high protein, filling, have heaps of vitamins and minerals, and are just a good chance to take a little break from dairy really (it’s all about balance!). Nut/seed milks will separate, but this doesn’t mean it’s “off” - just shake to combine. It’s bad, when you know it’s bad ha, it will get clumpy and smell not-so-good.
Field notes.
On what to do with your nut milk pulp.
The hardest thing about nut/seed milks for many people, is the pulp left at the end (with this recipe you will get about 4 cups of pulp leftover). So we have listed a few of our favourite things to do with the pulp to give you a bit of inspiration!
If you have additional ideas, please share in the comments below - because it’s something everyone asks about and we all need more ideas for #nowaste.
Dips: When blending dips, add to the mixture (e.g. hummus, carrot dip) to thicken
Baking: Add to breads, in place of nut and seed meals
Baking: Great in brownies, see our red bean brownies, in place of nut and seed meals.
Baking: Cookies and macaroons
Add to soups to thicken
Savory crackers
Add to baked custards and rice custards
Bliss balls / protein balls
If you have chickens, they will love it!
And if all else fails, your compost will thank you for it (it’s all a cycle and great to add back to the earth)
All year // GF, DF, VG
Makes 1 litre // Time: 10 minutes + 12 hours+ soaking
Recipe.
Ingredients
1 - 1 ½ cups (140 - 210 g) nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts and/or macadamias)
1 cup (about 120 g) seeds (pumpkin or sunflower seeds)
(Nb. our favourite combination is almond & pumpkin seeds)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large dates or hoshigaki (dried persimmons)
Big pinch unrefined salt
Special equipment
Nut milk bag or cheesecloth
Method
Day 1.
Add the almonds and about 1.5 litres of filtered/unchlorinated water to a medium bowl or jar and leave out on the bench to soak overnight.
Day 2.
Drain and rinse the nuts and seeds, then add to a high-powered blender with 1 litre (4 cups) of water, vanilla, dates/hoshigaki and salt. Blend until a thick liquid and it’s all super combined.
Nb. You may need to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your blender.
Pour the mix, scraping everything out of the blender, into the nut milk bag over a bowl and then squeeze, squeeze, squeeze to extract all of the liquid.
You have made nut and seed milk! Store in a glass jar and seal with a lid for about 7 days in the fridge. Shake to combine before use.
You will be left with about 4 cups of nut and seed pulp. Set it aside and use it for a range of things - see ideas on what to do with the mixture in field notes above.
Recipe notes
Soaking the nuts and almonds is essential to this! It activates them, makes them easier to blend and makes a creamier milk.
This is a creamy nut milk, you can decrease the nuts and seed amounts in this recipe if you like it thinner/more watery.
You can just wash your nut milk bag with cold soap water and hang to dry.
