How Do You Milk an Almond Like This?
While almond milk only found a serious market in the United States in the late 2000s, it has been around for centuries. The Viandier of Taillevent, published in the Middle Ages, contains a recipe for it. Animal milk quickly went bad without refrigeration and almond milk could be made whenever the need arose, so many Medieval recipes call for almond milk.
Moreover, since it wasn’t animal milk, it could be consumed on Fridays and other meatless days designated by the Catholic Church.
Almond milk is one of those things, like mayo and butter, that we take for granted in their convenient little packages at the grocery store. The shelf-stable version is pasteurized, which takes away a lot of its natural flavor. The homemade version is rich, satisfying, super-easy to make and—most importantly—almondy.
WASTE NOT WANT NOT:
Don’t throw the ground almonds away! Dry them on a sheet pan in an oven set to low heat. Freeze them and use them later in cookies, muffins or piecrust.
