I've been making my own coconut and almond milk since I learned that store bought milk alternatives have synthetic vitamins added to them, which is not good for your health.  When I tried to make it on my own I wondered why I never tried it before.  It's so easy and saves money.  I also love that I can make it whenever a recipe calls for it, instead of heading to the store.  Also when buying almond milk from the store I have no ideal if the nuts have been soaked for hours to remove the anti-nutrients.


After playing around with cashews in raw recipes I learned of how creamy cashews can be.  I also have learned that they have a more omega 3's than almonds.  When I realized  that Trader Joe's has raw cashews (halves and pieces) for the same price I can get almonds for (the lowest price I can find almonds), I started thinking why don't I try to make cashew milk instead?  Well I did and I'm hooked.  I love it!  I plan to make this mostly now.

Cashew Milk Recipe 
Adapted from Cookie and Kate
(makes about 1 quart)

Ingredients
3 cups filtered water
1 cup raw cashews (soaked with salt for at least 4 hours and rinsed)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch of pink salt   why pink salt? (optional)
1 Tablespoon of raw honey

Directions

1. Soak the cashews in water 2 tablespoons of salt at least 4 hours with, or overnight in the refrigerator. Drain the cashews and rinse until the water runs clear. Add the cashews and 3 cups water to a blender. Start on a low setting and increase the speed until the cashews are totally pulverized. This could take 2 minutes in a high-powered blender or longer in a regular blender.
2. Add 1 Tablespoon raw honey, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, and a pinch of pink salt (optional). 
3. If your blender can’t totally break down the cashews, strain the milk through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth. I got a new blender recently that has 800 watts almost twice the power of my one that just broke (450 watts).  I have made cashew milk with both and my new one barely had a pulp left when strained (see the picture below), while my last blender left behind nearly 3/4 a cup of pulp (cashew cream) that I ate as a desert by adding salt and honey to it.  
4. Store the milk in a tightly covered container (I used a sterilized wide mouth canning jar) in the refrigerator in the back (not in the door), for a longer shelf life. It should keep for 4 to 5 days.

Look at how little cashews are left!  I bet with a more powerful blender you would have no pulp

• Yields about 4 cups cashew milk (1 quart).
• The ratio of water to cashews (3 to 1) in this recipe yields milk that is somewhere close to whole milk in terms of creaminess. Use less water for even creamier results or another cup of water for a consistency closer to 2 % milk.  Also the higher the speed your blender the more cashews will be incorporated into the milk and the creamier it will be.
• Add 2 tsp of vanilla extract if you want to make vanilla cashew milk

©Minneapolis Homestead www.theurbanhomestaed.blogspot.com All rights reserved. Photos and content cannot be reproduced