If you search the Internet for an almond milk recipe, you will find lots of results. This is because the use of almond milk has become much more popular in recent years. Some people choose it in preference to cow’s milk because of a lactose intolerance problem, whilst others just like the nutty taste of almond milk on their breakfast cereal. You can of course buy almond milk ready-made at your local supermarket. However, I think nothing beats a good recipe for making your own almond milk. What’s more, you also get to enjoy the rewarding ‘homemade’ feeling it gives you!
Almonds are an interesting food in many ways but primarily because they offer some genuine health benefits. There’s lots of reading material published by food scientists all over the world about almonds. If you click here there is an interesting BBC News feature which I found on the subject.
How To Use Almond Milk
- Poured over breakfast cereal such as granola
- As a base for making custard. I even use it in my medieval ice cream recipe!
- A base for making different kinds of sauces
In medieval times, the main tradition was to use almond milk as the key ingredient of sauces for pouring over meat, vegetable and fish dishes. Many of these sauces contained popular medieval herbs such as parsley and mint.
My almond milk recipe below mentions the option of adding some white wine. I found this particularly appropriate when making a sauce for a fish dish. It really helps compliment the full flavour of the meal as a whole. Read more about medieval fish recipes.
Whatever you choose to do with your homemade almond milk, I hope you enjoy it!
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 1 pint (total) | 10 minutes |
| Passive Time |
| 30 minutes |
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A simple recipe for making thick, sweet almond milk, similar to what a medieval kitchen chef made every day. Almond milk was a traditional ingredient in medieval stew recipes and the base for many sauces that accompanied meat and vegetable dishes.
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- 1 cup (8 oz) ground almonds
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp honey (clear)
- 1-2 tablespoons white wine (Optional)
- Pour 2 cupfuls of hot, boiled water into a heatproof jug or small saucepan.
- Add the tablespoon of honey to the water and stir until dissolved.
- In a separate, heatproof bowl, pour the hot water/honey mixture over the ground almonds. Leave the mixture to stand for 30 minutes.
- NOTE: Before straining the mixture you can add a little white wine (1-2 tablespoons) to improve the flavour (optional).
- When the almonds have soaked for long enough, strain them from the mixture. This will give you a creamy, sweet almond milk.
- Choose what to do with your almond milk. You can either:
a) use immediately as part of another recipe which calls for almond milk (eg. to create a sauce)
b) leave to cool, then refrigerate in a covered container. Use within 48 hours.
This recipe is a base guideline for making your own almond milk. You can vary the sweetness (more or less honey) and the thickness (more or less ground almonds). So, depending upon what you want to use the almond milk for, you can develop variations that suit different recipes.
Don't forget - the white wine is optional.
Almond milk recipe by Shelagh Caudle
