Saturday, May 2, 2009

Almond Milk

Rejoice, here I dispense with the last of the more obscure milk substitutes (at least that I know of) so you don't have to hear about how much I like Oat Milk ever again... at least until I find out someone is making barley milk or quinoa milk or something like that. But anyway, I finally got around to buying and trying some Almond Milk and now comes the hard part: coming up with something to say without repeating myself.

almond dream


I already regurgitated plenty of information on almonds in the Almond Butter entry and weighed the various qualities of milk substitutes in the Oat Milk
and Hemp Milk entries so what is there left to say apart from the specifics?

Well, almond milk may be a little different from its other milk substitute brethren as very minimal processing is required. Take some ground almonds then stick them in a blender with water and you're on your way to almond milk. Just don't do this with bitter almonds; combining them with water produces cyanide.

Nutritionally speaking, unfortified almond milk doesn't quite stack up to its cow borne counterpart but it does have fewer calories, even less than soy milk so it's a good choice for those on a diet.

almond dream


The flavor? How can I say this without stating the obvious? Watery almonds, that's what it tastes like. But this isn't as bad as it sounds. Really, the flavor is quite pleasant and it actually worked out quite well as a tasty, low-calorie addition to my post-workout protein shakes.

Oat Milk still wins for me although I did buy some recently, the only brand I've yet to find in US stores, and actually didn't enjoy it all too much. It wasn't bad, just didn't compare to my past experience with the British champion, the one and only Oatly. I hope to find some other brands that will rekindle my love for the oat milk but, baring that fortunate turn, I think Almond Milk is a close enough second to warrant a switch. But I'm not looking for a substitute, just an occasional alternative. As long as there be cows, I'll be prepared to drink them dry.