Homemade Almond Milk

Store in a sealed glass jar in the refrigerator for five to seven days. Natural separation is normal — shake vigorously before each use. Discard if it develops a sour smell or unusual texture. Keep refrigerated.

Soaking the almonds for eight to twelve hours is not optional for smooth results — unsoaked almonds blend incompletely and produce a gritty, thin milk even with a high-powered blender. Use a nut milk bag or very fine cheesecloth rather than a standard strainer; pressing the pulp firmly extracts the maximum milk and produces a noticeably richer result. Blend on high power for a full ninety seconds before straining — under-blending is the most common cause of thin, watery almond milk. For cocktail use, skip the vanilla for a neutral almond flavor; vanilla adds character for drinking but can interfere with delicate cocktail ingredients.

Almond milk has a documented culinary history extending back to medieval Europe and the Middle East, where it was widely used as a dairy substitute during religious fasting periods when animal milk was prohibited. The 14th-century Catalan cookbook Llibre de Sent Soví and the English cookbook The Forme of Cury (c. 1390) both contain recipes using almond milk in sweet preparations and sauces. In the medieval Islamic world, almond milk was used extensively in Arabic cooking, documented in the 13th-century Baghdad cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh. The modern commercial almond milk industry began in the early 1990s in the United States with products including Almond Breeze, but homemade almond milk made from raw nuts and fresh water produces a cleaner, nuttier flavor than any commercial product and has become a standard dairy-free cream substitute in craft cocktail bars.

For a barista-style almond milk suited to frothing in espresso drinks, reduce water to three cups and add two teaspoons of sunflower lecithin during blending — the lecithin acts as an emulsifier and creates a more stable milk that froths more like dairy. A roasted almond milk made with lightly toasted almonds produces a nuttier, warmer flavor suited to whiskey and fall cocktails. For an orgeat-adjacent almond milk, add two tablespoons of orange flower water and increase sugar to two tablespoons during blending — this produces a mildly sweet, floral milk that can substitute for thin orgeat in tiki drinks.

Contains tree nuts (almonds). Not suitable for those with tree nut or almond allergies. Does not contain dairy despite its milk-like appearance and common use as a dairy substitute. Naturally gluten-free and vegan.