Almond Milk

Making your own almond milk is easy and it doesn't have all the additives and preservatives found in the commercial options.

Put 2 cups of whole raw almonds in a large bowl and cover with water.  Soak the almonds for 8 to 24 hours, add more water, if necessary to keep them covered.

Pour almonds and water into a colander, drain, and rinse the almonds well.

Put the almonds and 4 cups of fresh water into a vitamix or blender and process well.

If you like your almond milk sweetened, add two or three seeded dates as you process.  You may also add vanilla, if desired.

Using either a nut bag or cheesecloth over a bowl (preferably one with a pouring spout), strain the mixture to separate the nut pulp from the liquid.  Squeeze several times to get all of the liquid out.

Store the liquid in a beverage container and refrigerate.  The almond milk should keep for four to five days.

It seems a shame to throw away the pulp and there are recipes for using it, but I haven't found anything that I think is worth the trouble, so my pulp just goes into our compost pile.