2lbs raw almonds

1 gallon filtered water

Large bowl

Piece of muslin or cheesecloth (or a plain white t-shirt that you no longer want)

Blender or food processor

Large glass jar      

Pinch sea salt

Preparation

Soaking and Sprouting

In addition to softening the almonds, soaking/sprouting helps to neutralize anti-nutrients like phytic acid. After putting the almonds in your bowl, just cover them with a few inches of water, put a towel over the top of the bowl, and let sit for 12-24 hours.

Grinding

After draining the soaked almonds (and rinsing with clean water), add them in batches to your blender or food processor, covering with enough water to ensure that you can fully grind them into a watery paste.

Squeezing

The recipe that I was following recommended filtering the almond paste with a wire filter. I found this to be way too time-consuming and messy, so I simply ladled portions of the mixture into a clean white t-shirt and squeezed out the “milk” into a separate bowl.

Seasoning

While I omitted sugar and other sweeteners (I found the milk to be naturally sweet enough) I did add a nice pinch of sea salt to help smooth out the flavor. At this point, if your almond milk is a little too thick (more of a cream consistency), you can add more water to thin it out somewhat. I also noticed that after a day in the fridge, the milk had to be gently shaken, but it stayed emulsified after that.

Bonus!

As a result of milking the almonds, you’ll end up with a sizable quantity of almond meal. To prepare it for other recipes (such as the aforementioned Mayan Chocolate Brownies) you’ll need to put the meal in a large baking dish and dry it in the oven on low heat (~250 degrees) for 2-3 hours (stirring occasionally). Once the almond meal is dry, you can double bag it and put it in the freezer where it will last just about forever.