1 You can make your own fresh, all natural, organic nut milk for less than half the price of the store bought stuff.
2 Soak one cup of raw, unsalted cashews in water for 8+ hours. I buy them in bulk online for $6/lb and store them in my fridge so I can make milk anytime I want.
3 Recycle a 32 oz jar! Fill it with water.
4 Drain the cashews and put them into your food processor with a couple ounces of water from the jar you just filled. Process for about 15 seconds on high speed.
5 Now that you have a wet cashew paste, add 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. You could also add vanilla, cinnamon, and/or cocoa powder at this stage if you like.
6 I add about a tablespoon of raw agave nectar, but you could use any sweetener. This amount only balances taste, add more if you want your milk to be sweet.
7 Process on high speed for about a minute until there are no chunks, then gradually add the rest of the water from the jar until it's well blended and, ahem, milky.
8 This milk is creamy and opaque, but you can add more water if you like a lighter body. This recipe makes enough to fill your 32oz jar plus one glass leftover. Chill before drinking.
Nut milks - almond, hazelnut, cashew, and others - are becoming more popular every year, appealing to the health conscious, the lactose intolerant, and the vegan alike. You could pay $3.50+ for 32 oz of organic nut milk at the supermarket, then lug the boxes home, store them, and remember to buy more every time you get low...or you could follow the instructions above and make your own fresh, all-natural nut milk for far less money and not much effort.
If you use raw organic cashews you can buy online in bulk for $6 a pound, your 32 oz of milk will cost you about $1.50. It only takes about 5 minutes to do, there's nothing to lug, no pile of packaging to recycle or trash, and you can keep nuts on hand for refills at your convenience. Oh, and there's only four ingredients, no Tricalcium Phosphate, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Citrate, Sunflower Lecithin, Retinyl Palmitate, Ergocalciferol, or Di-Alpha Tocopherol found in most organic brands. You won't miss them, I promise.
From: nicole | 3/16/11 at 11:29 am
Can you do this with a blender? Or will it not get smooth enough?
From: Jennifer | 3/16/11 at 5:16 pm
Yes! You could definitely use a blender, you'll just want to keep it running (and check every 30 seconds or so) until it gets as smooth as you'd like it to be.
From: susan | 3/17/11 at 8:01 am
Could you please post the web site where you buy your nuts-Thanks!
From: Jennifer | 3/17/11 at 4:14 pm
I was going to link to it, but I ordered through Amazon and now I can't remember exactly which vendor I used. I believe it was this one, though the price is higher than when I ordered.
http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Organic-Cashews-Pound-Case/dp/B002K660RY
I've ordered other nuts here, too.
http://www.shoporganic.com/product/3618/bulk_nuts_seeds
From: How to Make Your Own Nut Milk (It’s Easy!) - Whole Living Daily : Whole Living | 3/22/11 at 2:52 pm
[...] Check out my recipe on the Martha Stewart radio blog. [...]
From: tiff | 3/23/11 at 1:07 am
Can you use any type of raw nut for this? Does it settle after being in the fridge a while?
From: Jennifer | 3/24/11 at 3:57 pm
Cashews, almonds, and hazelnuts have all worked for me, but there are a couple things to consider. First, if you use any nut with a skin (almond, hazelnut, etc.), you'll have to buy them blanched (more pricey) or blanche them yourself (more pesky) to remove it. Second, some nuts soak up water better and thus make a smoother milk using this technique. Peanuts, for example, will not get very smooth and I wouldn't recommend them for that reason. It just depends on what taste and texture you prefer. I like my nut milk to be milk-like, creamy and smooth.
From: Julie | 3/25/11 at 11:08 am
Hello! I saw this the day it was posted. I was excited because my mom had just given me a whole bag of huge cashews from Brazil! So i soaked about a cup in a jar for about 24 hours. This morning, they were even bigger and only took a few minutes in the blender. I added some water, tad bit of salt and some starbucks mocha powder and WOW! twas great. Thanks!
From: Jennifer | 3/25/11 at 4:27 pm
I'm glad you're backing me up here, Julie. It's such a simple way to make something that's healthy and tasty.