Making plant milk from scratch may seem like a hassle, but consider the alternatives: Store-bought brands often leave you deciding between an affordable option that’s made with emulsifiers and thickeners, or one made with whole ingredients that’s prohibitively expensive.
When I stopped buying cow’s milk, I was spending about $5 per liter on natural cashew milk from my grocery store in Rio de Janeiro. That’s the equivalent of almost $20 a gallon. As I leaned more toward a plant-based diet and used the milk in oatmeal, smoothies, soups and stews, the cost added up fast.
To save money, I started testing the nut and seed milk recipes in Amy Chaplin’s “Whole Food Cooking Every Day.” Chaplin soaks most nuts and seeds in water for six to 12 hours (macadamia nuts, cashews and hempseeds don’t require soaking). Then she rinses them, blends them with filtered water, and strains the milk using a thin kitchen towel, a cheesecloth or a nut-milk bag.
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It takes less than five minutes, and the variations are endless: I’ve made hazelnut milk, sesame seed milk, even pumpkin seed milk. I buy the nuts and seeds in bulk and store them in my freezer for even more savings. The milks keep fresh for four or five days, and the flavors are cleaner and fresher than anything I’ve gotten in stores.
I’ve settled into a routine of making batches of almond milk and cashew milk every week. I don’t bother with straining the cashew milk, which is naturally smooth. If I use the almond milk for smoothies, oatmeal or chia seed pudding, I leave it unstrained, too. But when I want a smooth almond milk, it needs to be strained, and that leaves me with leftover ground almonds. To cut back on food waste, I tried using them in granola, muffins and cakes. Those recipes all required far too much work and far too many dishes.
I was already making almond milk from scratch. I wanted something simpler.
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I found an ideal solution when I enrolled in chef Tati Lund’s online class on vegan cooking. Lund runs Org Bistro, a vegan restaurant in Rio de Janeiro serving bright platters of quinoa croquettes and fresh salads adorned with edible flowers. She taught me how to turn my leftover almond pulp into a soft vegan cheese in a matter of minutes.
It’s an endlessly customizable recipe: Her version combines the pulp with olive oil, salt, black pepper, dried oregano, and miso paste or lime juice. The cheese can be served immediately, though the flavor deepens and the texture firms up after about eight hours in the fridge.
My go-to version uses apple cider vinegar, garlic powder and smoked paprika. The pulp can be gussied up with finely shredded beets for a bright pink result, turmeric for a vibrant yellow one or finely minced herbs for one speckled with green. It makes for an unfussy snack when paired with crackers, sliced cucumbers or slivered carrots. I use it dolloped over a toasted slab of sourdough or as a spread in veggie sandwiches.
The best part: To make it, no extra dishes are required.
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