How to Make Dairy-Free Milk | The Ultimate Guide to Alternative Milk

by Chaviva Mandel
The production of dairy products — including milk, cheese, ice cream and yogurt — accounts for almost 4 percent of planet-warming emissions worldwide each year. Soy, almond and oat milks have a far lower carbon footprint overall than cow’s milk, and use considerably less water. 
As consumers, we should be able to know which milks are more and less sustainable so we can make informed choices. Here’s the good news: You don’t need the grocery store milks. Quarantine and social distancing is the perfect opportunity to experiment around your kitchen. One cool discovery I've found during the period is how easy almond, soy and oat milk is to make. And, they can help you cut down your personal carbon footprint.
If you do want to dabble in alternative milk-making at home, follow this guide. They’re all pretty much made the same way, and don’t require any fancy equipment.
 

1. First, soak a cup of soybeans, almonds or oats in plenty of water overnight. Soy, especially, will grow two or three times in volume, so make sure you do this in a big bowl.

 

2. Use a colander to drain the water, and rinse the soy, almonds or oats. This is especially important if you’re using oats, to prevent the milk from getting slimy and glutinous.

 

3. Then put your soy, almond or oats in a blender, together with three cups of water, and blend for about two minutes. Thorough blending will maximize how much milk you can squeeze out. (You can experiment with the amount of water: I’ve made oat milk with both 1.5 cups and 3 cups of water. The cup-and-a-half version is far richer and tastier and probably better if you’re adding it to coffee.)

 

4. Next, pour out the mixture into a cheesecloth — and squeeze out the milk. And I mean squeeze and squeeze, until you get the last drops out.

 

5. Then, if you’re using soy or almonds, gently heat the milk, but stop before it reaches a boil. I wouldn’t heat the oat milk because it can easily get slimy. You can add a little sugar or maple syrup to any of the milks, to taste. It should keep in the fridge, covered, for about five days.

 

Enjoy!

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