[Sca-cooks] Almond Milk...place to find it

[Laura C. Minnick]

Jaime Declet wrote:
>
> --
> [ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
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> That is the reason why I am asking because I a few weeks ago I tasted what I was told was almond milk and to me it tasted like flavored milk with a heavy almond taste and somewhat sweet.   I have never made almond milk but by reading the recipes I always thought it was more along the lines of milky water.  Is it like coconut milk?
> Jaime
>   Bronwynmgn at aol.com wrote:
> The commercial almond milk I've seen has been boxed (and not refrigerated)
> rather than canned. Many of them do seem to be sweetened somewhat. I'm not
> sure almond-flavored cow's milk would substitute appropriately - almond milk
> looks like cow's milk to a certain extent, but doesn't necessarily behave the
> same way - and is not strongly almond-flavored, at least to my taste.

Nope.

Almond milk and cow's milk are not comparable, and I am not sure why one
would want to substitute a flavored cow's milk. Also, the commercial
almond milk is not, in my estimation- and we have discussed this before
on the list but I don't remember when- suitable for cooking. But we are
mixing two issues here.

First- almond milk vs cow milk. Almond 'milk' is of course not really
milk. True milk is made by a kind of subaceous gland that is hormonally
stimulated to produce the fluid we call milk. It is a blend of fats,
proteins, vitamins and minerals, and carbs, depending or course on the
animal. Cows produce milk with a lot of protein and a LOT of calcium.
Humans produce milk that is lower in calcium and somewaht of protein but
higher in teh fats needed to develop braincells. Etc. etc.

Almond milk is made by grinding your almonds, adding water, smooshing,
then squeezing teh moisture out. What goes out with the moisture is what
makes it look like milk. You have some almond flour, which will impart
some protein- BUT- it is not animal protein, and specifically not milk
protein which contains casein. This is the main reason why it doesn't
behave like a milk product in a pudding or thick sauce. The almond will
also impart some small amount of fat to the liquid, but again, it is not
the same sort of fat and doesn't compare to moo juice.

If you try to substitute one for the other in a medieval recipe it
*might* work. After all, they did it. But in a modern recipe? Wouldn't
do it. Wouldn't be prudent.

Now- the commercial almond milk- I wouln'dt touch 'em. They aren't real
almond milk. I think the basic problem is that the makers don't
understand almond milk either. If they think it is a milk substitute
made of almonds, or worse, almond flavored milk? Oh joy. Ever read the
label? There's so much stuff added it's frightening. Real almond milk
should be: Almonds, water. That's it. For shipping, I can concede a
small amount of preservative. But the stuff they've added to it is not
preserveatives. Reading it I am guessing that: They beileve that almond
milk is just as unstable as a dairy product on the shelf, so you have to
do things to it lest it rot. They believe that people won't like it
unless it is either 'just like real milk' or tastes like a milkshake.
All those stableizers and thickeners and carrageenan and all that stuff-
that isn't because they need to be there, it's because that's what
people expect when they open the box. They aren't marketing to people
who really want almont milk- they are marketing to people who want fake
cows milk.

Bleah. Gimme the real stuff. I do it int he blender or food processor.
It's cheaper than the boughten stuff and it's better. I can cook with
it. It I want to take some with and not make it in camp, I make it
ahead, put it in a canning jar, and put it in the 'cool' but not 'cold'
section of teh cooler, near the cheese. It keeps fine.

Rant over. Time for drugs. Ohhh...

'Lainie