Homemade plant-based milks are uber-fresh and delicious! They're also ultra-customizable. I recommend you keep a mixture of homemade and purchased milks in your fridge and pantry (store-bought milks have a longer shelf-life, versus 3-4 days for homemade).
In essence, dairy-free milks contain just two ingredients: the solid ingredient (such as almonds or coconut) and water. In a nutshell (pun intended!), you soak the ingredient overnight (coconut and some seeds do not need to be soaked). After draining and rinsing, you cook the ingredient, if a legume or grain. Then, you puree the solid ingredient with fresh water. For a refined texture, you strain (if you leave the milk unstrained, it will contain more fiber). Finally, you can flavor and fortify the milk.
To make your own plant-based milks, gather the below materials:
Nut Milk Bag: You'll need these amusingly-named bags for straining plant-based milks. You'll pour in the unstrained liquid and squeeze repeatedly over a large bowl to extract the milk.
SoyaJoy G4 Soy Milk Maker & Soup Maker with all Stainless Steel Inside: This machine makes quick and easy work of preparing soy milk, plus other types of plant-based milks. Just soak the soybeans overnight, rinse and drain, and add to the machine. You'll have homemade soy milk in about a half hour!
Glass Pitcher: Pour your homemade milks into a pitcher such as this one. If you plan to make more than one at a time, you'll need two or three.
