When coming across these after Amazon cancelled my subscription for another brand, I found a few negative reviews. I'm sure people had their reasons, but I have to say, these almonds are the best for making my almond milk. I've been making my own almond milk for years. I can't stand any of the commercially-available almond milk brands. Taste like sugary water to me. So I started making my own. I don't really save any money doing it - almonds are expensive, especially organic ones, an they've shot up in price since California's water crisis. But it's worth it to me. Let me describe these first by telling you what you WON'T get. You won't get almonds that you can put in a fancy nut bowl with your beautiful hazelnuts, pistachios, and brazil nuts. You won't get almonds that you'd serve to a guest for snacking. They're a bit unattractive - some look shriveled, and there are a lot of broken pieces in the bag. But rather than reviewing based on appearance, I decided to give them a try and review on results. These almonds are for processing. They are meant to be ground up for almond milk, almond meal/flour, etc. So just understand that this is what they're for.
The taste of the almond milk from these almonds is nothing short of amazing. The milk has a luscious, rich, smooth flavor, and it actually tastes "almondy" - I can't really explain it any other way. The product literature on the back of the package states that these are Spanish almonds, grown for their higher oil content. They actually do taste different (and better) than the almonds I'm used to.
So a recommendation for preparation: I always soak my almonds overnight when making almond milk and rinse them several times before processing. It seems like with these almonds, it's even more important than others I've used. They are a bit "dusty" in the package - another reason they're probably not the best for snacking or presentation. Just rinse them before using for almond milk like you would any other almond. To reiterate - don't buy these for making trail mix, snacking by themselves, or anywhere you want pristine-looking almonds. Buy another product if you want almonds for that purpose.
Here's my recipe:
Makes 1.5 to 2 litres. Your results may vary. If you are used to drinking grocery store almond milk, and you're ok with a more watered-down flavor, then you can use more water and stretch this recipe a bit and get about 2 litres total.
Water (about 1 - 2 litres)
10 oz almonds
1/8 cup golden flax seeds
1/8 cup hemp hearts
1 TBSP chia seeds
1/4 tsp sea salt (more or less to taste)
1 packet of white stevia (more or less to taste, or use sweetener of your choice. Sugar will promote fermentation though)
Equipment:
A high speed blender (Vitamix is good here. Sorry, a cheap $20 blender won't work well. Buy a refurb variable-speed Viatmix, you won't be sorry)
A very, very, fine mesh nylon filter bag (I got mine at a local homebrew store. It's a hop strainer bag for brewing beer. A "nut milk bag" might be too coarse for this)
A 2qt or 1 gallon pitcher
A kitchen thermometer if you intend to pasteurize the almond milk (I do this, it makes the almond milk last 1-2 weeks. If you will drink it up within a few days, you don't need to do this)
Sanitizer, such as StarSan. You should sanitize the pitcher and the almond milk bag, as well as whatever you plan to store the almond milk in. I store it in 3 half-litre bottles.
...and a bit of time
The flax, hemp, and chia seeds are for flavor and texture. They make the milk creamier, more like whole dairy milk. You can leave them out if you're more of an almond purist.
Fill a pint canning jar to the 10 oz mark with dry almonds. Rinse them in the jar until the water runs clear. Then put a lid on the jar and leave on the counter if you'll make the almond milk within 8-10 hours, or put in the fridge if it'll be longer.
When you're ready, add the 3 different seeds to the Vitamix. Make sure the blender is completely dry. Mill the seeds. Since these seeds contain a lot of oils, they'll probably clump in the bottom before they're finely ground. Not a big deal. Add about a litre of water to the blender carafe and blend on high until the clumps dissolve. At this point, add the salt and stevia. Rinse your almonds one last time, and add those to the blender as well. Don't add the rinse water. Blend on high. This is where you decide if you want to pasteurize the almond milk or not. I pasteurize the almond milk in the blender itself, using the friction energy as the milk is blending. I blend until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F. It usually takes about 5 minutes of blending on high to get to 160. Put the nylon filter bag into the pitcher after sanitizing both with sanitizer. Then pour the mixture into the filter bag. This is the most time-consuming step - it takes a long time for that mixture to pass through the filter bag. It's also very hot and can burn you, so be careful. You can use kitchen tongs to help squeeze the bag if the mixture is too hot to touch. You want to get most of the liquid out of the filter bag, leaving the pulp in the bag and the liquid in the pitcher. You don't need to get all of the liquid out just yet. You want to end up with anywhere from 1.5 to 2 litres of finished almond milk. When I make it, I make 1.5 and end up with a very rich flavorful almond milk. But you can use more water to stretch the recipe - it just won't be as rich. So add a bit more water to the filter bag and squeeze it through the bag, and repeat until you have the desired volume of almond milk. At this point, you can clean out the blender, transfer the almond milk back to it, and give it a final whirl if you like. I often forget to add the salt and stevia before I filter out the pulp, so this is an opportunity to add it and blend it in if you forgot. Enjoy. It's a bit laborious, but worth it!
Almost forgot - save the pulp if you wish. I dehydrate mine and store the flat dehydrated chunks of pulp in a freezer bag. When I'm ready to use the almond flour for a recipe, I put a bunch of the chunks in the Vitamix and re-mill them into fine flour. Don't mill the flour until you're ready to use it. The remaining oils in the flour permeate a freezer bag and make the outside very sticky. If you don't wish to save it, COMPOST IT!!
Cheers!
Product contains at least 95% organic material.
As certified by
USDA Organic
USDA Organic
USDA Organic is protected by law, inspected by experts, traced from farm to store, and shaped by public input. USDA develops and enforces the organic standards, which require products to be produced using farming practices that maintain and improve soil and water quality, minimize the use of synthetic materials, conserve biodiversity, and avoid genetic engineering, among other factors. Crops can be certified organic if they’re grown without prohibited substances such as most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for three years prior to harvest. Livestock are raised on pasture and treated humanely without growth hormones or antibiotics. Organic products do not contain GMOs or artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Products that contain a minimum of 95 percent organic ingredients and use the USDA Organic seal are part of Climate Pledge Friendly.
