almond-milk-msg - 1/12/08 Making almond milk. Almond milk in period. Deskinning almonds. NOTE: See also the files: almond-cream-msg, nuts-msg, dairy-prod-msg, butter-msg, fasts-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 21:43:17 EST From: LrdRas <LrdRas at aol.com> Subject: SC - Deskinning blanched almonds Patricia.R.DUNHAM at ci.eugene.or.us writes: << Of course, I didn't have much in the way of fingertips left, after having blanched and slipped the skins off x-many pounds of bulk almonds, before we blenderized 'em. >> A little tip> To remove most of the skin blanch the almonds, drain and place on a towel, Wrap them up in the towel and sort of roll, rub and squeeze them around. Rinse. Repeat process. This removes almost all of the brown skin relatively easily. Ras Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 23:40:23 -0800 From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com> Subject: Re: SC - Deskinning blanched almonds Ras answered Patricia Dunham: ><< Of course, I didn't have much in the way of > fingertips left, after having blanched and slipped the skins off x-many > pounds of bulk almonds, before we blenderized 'em. >> > >A little tip> To remove most of the skin blanch the almonds, drain and place >on a towel, Wrap them up in the towel and sort of roll, rub and squeeze them >around Rinse. Repeat process. This removes almost all of the brown skin >relatively easily. Alternatively, set some number of 5- to 8-year-olds to squirting the almonds out of their coverings into a bowl. Then rinse them again before grinding. Elizabeth/Betty Cook Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 08:27:31 -0500 From: Christi Redeker <Christi.Redeker at digital.com> Subject: RE: SC - onion soup - IP Mordanna wrote: >> hmmmm do I perhaps see a cause? What had been ground in the grinder before the almonds? I am not defaming your cleanliness, milady, so much as attesting to the staying power of coffee stains. Actually, I think the issue is the wine in it. Now that I go back and read the originals, and then the redaction that I copied instead of creating my own (bad apprentice, bad) I see the difference. And besides, my boyfriend bought me the coffee grinder so I could grind almonds, not coffee, it was brand new. The originals are as follows: Harleian MS 279 - Potage Dyvers (Taken from "Take a Thousand Eggs or More") xj. Froyde almoundys. Take blake sugre, an cold water, an do hem to in a fayre potte, an let then boyle to-gedere, an salt it and skeme it clene, an let it kele; than take almaundys, an blawnche hem clene, an stampe hem, an draw hew, with the sugre water thikke y-now, in-to a fayre vessel: an [yf] the mylke be nogt swete y-now, take whyte sugre an caste ther-to. Harlien MS 4016 (Taken from "Take a Thousand Eggs or More") 109 Froyte de almondes. Take blak sugur and colde water, and caste the sugur and the water in a potte; and lete hem boile togidre, and salt, and skemme hem clene, and let hit kele; And then take Almondes, and blanche hem clene, and stamp hem in a morter al smal, and drawe hem thik ynowe thorgh a streynour with sugar water, into a faire vessell. And if hit so be that the mylke be not swete, take white sugur and cast thereto; And serue hit forth in the maner of potage, A namly in lenton tyme. Now the redaction I followed (evidentially without checking back against the originals, me bad) reads: ALMOND MILK 1 cup blanched almonds 2 cups water, wine, or broth 1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar dash salt white sugar to taste Grind the almonds coarsely with 1 or 2 teaspoons cold water and place them in a large bowl. Put the water, sugar, and salt in an iron pot and bring to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the ground almonds and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Cool completely and serve as a pottage or soupy dish. If it is not sweet enough, add white sugar, a teaspoon at a time, until the mixture is satisfactory. Now, please remember this is not my redaction, and I do not want to get into an argument about it comparing to the original. When I made the almond milk it was late at night and I just took it at face value. I guess I know why there is the discrepancy now between what Cariadoc, Mordanna, and Ras all mentioned as the consistency of their almond milk compared to mine. Murkial (the sheepish) Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 10:05:56 -0800 From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com> Subject: RE: SC - onion soup - IP At 8:27 AM -0500 1/15/98, Christi Redeker wrote: >Now the redaction I followed (evidentially without checking back against >the originals, me bad) reads: > >ALMOND MILK > >1 cup blanched almonds >2 cups water, wine, or broth >1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar >dash salt >white sugar to taste > >Grind the almonds coarsely with 1 or 2 teaspoons cold water and place >them in a large bowl. One point that may not have occured to you is the "grind coarsely." Since the objective is to get stuff out of the almonds and then throw away the solid part, I think you want to grind them quite fine--at least, we do. My favorite "redaction vs original" story involves a stew someone did with lemons and oranges in it. I asked about the source, which turned out to be 14th or 15th c. English. I expressed skepticism, and was told that it was in the source. It turned out that the lemons and oranges were in the (published--possibly _To the King's Taste_) redaction--the original said "garnish with fruit." David/Cariadoc http://www.best.com/~ddfr/ Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 21:16:27 -0400 From: renfrow at skylands.net (Cindy Renfrow) Subject: RE: SC - onion soup - IP <snip> >Now the redaction I followed (evidentially without checking back against >the originals, me bad) reads: > >ALMOND MILK > >1 cup blanched almonds >2 cups water, wine, or broth >1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar >dash salt >white sugar to taste > >Grind the almonds coarsely with 1 or 2 teaspoons cold water and place >them in a large bowl. Put the water, sugar, and salt in an iron pot and >bring to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the ground almonds and let >sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Cool completely and serve as a pottage or >soupy dish. If it is not sweet enough, add white sugar, a teaspoon at a >time, until the mixture is satisfactory. > >Now, please remember this is not my redaction, and I do not want to get >into an argument about it comparing to the original. When I made the >almond milk it was late at night and I just took it at face value. I >guess I know why there is the discrepancy now between what Cariadoc, >Mordanna, and Ras all mentioned as the consistency of their almond milk >compared to mine. > >Murkial >(the sheepish) > Hello! Thank you, milady, for pointing out a typo and a source of confusion in my redaction of this recipe. Your timing is quite good, since I am currently putting the finishing touches on the *second edition* of Take 1000 Eggs. Another few weeks & it'd be at the print shop! The ingredients list above should read: 2 cups water (or wine, or broth, as noted in the specific recipe**) **This recipe for almond milk was intended to be used throughout the book, in many different recipes. Some of these called for a "thrifty" or thin milk, while others called for a thick milk. Some for wine, and some for broth or water. The recipe needs to be amended to give the option of grinding the almonds to powder in order to yield a smooth pottage. "Grind the almonds coarsely" is instructed in order to achieve a *clear* milk, which I find difficult to do when the almonds are ground to flour - the almonds soak up the liquid, and there are too many particulates (for my tastes) in what little does trickle out. BTW, if anyone has noticed anything else that needs fixing, please email me. Thanks! Cindy/Sincgiefu renfrow at skylands.net Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 22:07:54 -0400 From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com> Subject: RE: SC - Almond milk - IP > Our almond milk (made with finely ground almonds and water) comes out as > white as milk, usually a slightly thinner consistancy. > > Elizabeth/Betty Cook That would make sense from a chemistry standpoint. Some recipes call for grinding the almonds with a few drops of water so that "no Oil may come to the top" or some such. Since it's pretty clear that the authors of the recipes don't want the oil floating on top, I think it's a fairly safe bet to say that almond milk is an emulsion of sorts. Looking at other emulsions, like, say, cream or mayonnaise, you'd expect it to be pale and nearly opaque. What I've made in the past has been along the lines of skimmed milk. White but slightly translucent. I expect grinding the almonds finer would help. Adamantius troy at asan.com Date: Fri, 23 Jan 1998 10:58:30 -0800 From: "Crystal A. Isaac" <crystal at pdr-is.com> Subject: Re: SC - Almond milk Michael Macchione (kael) wrote: > Just had a thought. I've been listening to the discussion on almond milk > avidly, as I will be making a large batch of in the near future. But I > only just thought to ask, how long will almond milk last in a refrigerator > (does it even need to be refrigerated??) Yup, it needs to be refrigerated. It's made from nuts. Nuts go stale. Nut oil gets rancid. I've never keep Almond milk for more than a couple of days, but a cook I respect tells me it will last a week in the 'fridge. Anybody have real experince? Crystal Date: Fri, 23 Jan 1998 07:49:39 -0800 From: "Micheal J. Hobbs" <llewmike at iwaynet.net> Subject: Re: SC - Almond milk Having made it in the past, I would not recommend keeping it for more than a week. After that, it starts to discolor and taste funny. LLEW Date: Sat, 24 Jan 1998 12:13:17 EST From: Bronwynmgn <Bronwynmgn at aol.com> Subject: Re: SC - Almond milk << Just had a thought. I've been listening to the discussion on almond milk avidly, as I will be making a large batch of in the near future. But I only just thought to ask, how long will almond milk last in a refrigerator (does it even need to be refrigerated??) >> We made a good bit for our fall event. We started making it a week ahead of time and kept it refrigerated. What didn't get used (about a gallon and a half) stayed in the fridge after the event for about another week, at which point we noticed that it was starting to grow things and dumped it. So I would say two weeks max. I have no idea if you can freeze it and if that would extend the life a bit. Brangwayna Morgan Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 14:54:30 -0800 From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com> Subject: Re: SC - Almond milk Brangwayna Morgan wrote, concerning almond milk: >I have no idea if you can freeze it and if that would extend the life a bit. We froze some once and it was all right when we unfroze it, as I remember. I would experiment with it more before trying this for a feast, though. Elizabeth/Betty Cook Date: 30 Jan 1998 10:21:15 -0800 From: "Marisa Herzog" <marisa_herzog at macmail.ucsc.edu> Subject: Re: SC - almond milk <snip>Take whole almonds drop them in a pan of boiling water for about 2 minutes,take them out, do the towel rubbing, then follow Cariadoc's recipe for almond milk. <snip> yup! that's it, but you shouldn't need to leave them in for 2 mins. just keep an eye on them, the skins will start to balloon a bit when they are loose, then scoop em out and fold them up in a towel and kinda massage/knead them and they will pop right out of their skins! - -brid Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 15:22:25 -0600 (CST) From: alysk at ix.netcom.com (Elise Fleming) Subject: SC - Re: almond milk Greetings! I haven't tried Cariadoc's towel method for getting the skins off almonds but sqooshing them between your fingers works fine, or taking them between your hands and rubbing them together. It's a good project for when you are watching tv! I usually let the almonds sit in the boiling water (which is now cooling off) for 5 minutes, sometimes longer. If a particular almond doesn't want to "strip" for you, plop it back in boiling water for a few more minutes. Whole, unblanched almonds seem to retain their flavor and "essence" longer than those that have been slivered and blanched. Alys Katharine Date: Thu, 04 Jun 1998 19:20:09 -0500 From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com> Subject: SC - almond milk > What is a good proportion of almonds to liquid to make almond milk? > Must one grind the almonds with the liquid or is the almond meal > from the grinding added to the liquid and stirred/soaked? > > Ceridwen I've had good results by grinding the almonds, pouring 3 or 4 cups boiling water over each cup of ground almonds, letting them steep for 5 or 10 minutes, blending everything as smooth as possible in a blender, then straining through a fine strainer or cheesecloth. The blender helps minimize almond waste, and also helps keep the almond oil from floating on top. BTW, you can usually get a second-rate almond milk (as with small beer) from the strained, used almonds. Adamantius Date: Fri, 05 Jun 1998 09:26:46 +1000 From: Robyn Probert <robyn.probert at lawpoint.com.au> Subject: Re: SC - almond milk At 03:49 PM 04/06/98 -0400, Ceredwin wrote: > What is a good proportion of almonds to liquid to make almond milk? > Must one grind the almonds with the liquid or is the almond meal >from the grinding added to the liquid and stirred/soaked? It depends on how rich you want your almond milk to be. Almond milk was also made with wine and/or with stock. I use a food processor. First process the almonds until fine (fresh ground yields much more than buying pre-ground). For a rich almond milk I use 1 cup white wine, 2 cups water, 1.5 cups ground almonds. Put these in the food processor and whiz for 1 minute, then leave for 5 minutes and process again. The liquid should be cream coloured (you could wait and process again if you were not in a hurry). Strain through a fine strainer, stirring to get the liquid through. Save the meal and clean the strainer. Wring out a cloth with water and line the strainer, then pour the milk through into a clean bowl. Gather up the cloth and twist until the meal is dry. Dump out the meal and replace with the meal from the first straining, then repeat to squeeze out the last of the milk. This is some trouble, but makes a very smooth almond milk. BTW if you make soap, the almond meal is a great additive. Rowan Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 22:26:49 -0400 From: mermayde at juno.com (Christine A Seelye-King) Subject: SC - Almond Milk >Has anyone tried subbing almond milk in for cow milk? Results? >Bogdan I bought some at the health food store I work at in a Parmalat-type container. (About 2.99 a qt.) I also buy Parmalat milk in those boxes for days when we are out of milk. One morning my lord opened the almond milk up instead of the regular milk (it was there, he just didn't look!) . So, we had almond milk in our protein drinks, and in our coffee, and I even drank some just because the container was open and I didn't have time to cook anything special with it. It was very tasty in all of the above, even though I wouldn't have chosen to use it that way. It is a little thinner than anything other than skim milk, and it would not have the thickening qualities of cow's milk, I wouldn't think. The taste and texture of the commercial stuff is very nice, it comes in regular and vanilla, and the ingredients list reads like a medieval recipie. Mistress Christianna MacGrain (But I'm not buying anymore until I have a specific use for it!) Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 00:29:05 -0600From: Tim Allison <tallison at mcs.com>Subject: SC - almond milk in storesWhile shopping at an upscale supermarket in Chicago, I found in an asepticpackage a beverage labelled almond beverage. It said to use in any recipewhere dairy milk might be used. The ingredients are almonds, water, andbrown rice for sweetener. The product is packaged in Oregon, which meansit's probably available in a large part of the country. It's not cheap, butneither are almonds, and the amount of time and trouble it will save areprobably worth quite a bit.Caroline Richenda Carol Mitchell Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 19:23:04 EDT From: LrdRas at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - almond milk lynnx at mc.net writes: << I just bought some almond milk at the supermarket. It's called Naturally Almond, and the ingredients are almonds, water, and brown rice sweetener(plus a few stabilizers). I haven't tasted it yet, but I'm not an expert on how almond milk is supposed to taste. >> Both I and my co-feastocrat used this product this weekend. We did not find it objectionable. It is slightly different from regular almond milk in several ways, but the flavor was good, IMO. It does not seem to have the thickeneing ability of hand-made almond milk but that was easily over come with a little rice flour. Would I use it again? Well, for certain dishes without hesitation but for others I would use hand-made. Ras Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 21:35:25 EDT From: LrdRas at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - almond milk TerryD at Health.State.OK.US writes: << What would your criteria be for choosing between your almond milk or the commercial product, in general? Bear >> If you think the redaction is supposed to be thickened by the almond milk the hand-made product is superior. If your redaction is dependent on rice flour, egg yolks, or bread crumbs for thickening or if thickening is contra- indicated then the commercial product seems to work just fine. Ras From: Librarian <betpulib at ptd.net> Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: almond milk Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 17:33:38 GMT Heather Law wrote: > I just bought some almond milk at the supermarket. It's called Naturally Almond, and the ingredients are almonds, water, and brown rice sweetener(plus a few stabilizers). <<snip>> Just a note: The inclusion of sweeteners (esp. brown rice sweeteners) will make this product incorrect for most period recipes except perhaps balncmanger (a bland dish made with chicken , almond milk, and rice, sometimes vaguely sweet, designed to be completely white) Almond milk is sometimes used as a beveage in modern arabic cultures (and perhaps period ones as well, though I am not sure), but is usually simply used as a substitute for dairy products in recipes in Europe, during our period of study, and in an extremely broad generality. By and large, it was used for various fast/lenten/meatless days, and altered the taste/texture of the finished dish as compared to those made with dairy products. It is however, an acceptable substitute for those purposes, as it behaves well under the right conditions. Almond milk is NOT a hassle to make unless you are making it in a period manner (ie: grinding by hand in a martar and pestle, which is not too terribly onerous once you have the knack). Modern coffee grinders or blenders or food processors make short work of grinding almonds very fine while adding a quantity of cool water. You then strain out any lumps. Voila! Almond milk. Heat it slowly, and you get almond butter, once it's drained of it's liquid "whey". As a purist, I wouldn't use the store-bought variety when cooking for the public because it contains things not found in medieval almond milk (non-period sweetner and stabilizers). In a pinch, tho, it might do. I'd have to see if it tasted and behaved like REAL almond milk. I suspect the rice is there for thickening and viscosity(mouth-feel) as well as sweetening, making the product a starch-based rather than a protein-and-fat-`based liquid. I think what you have found is the health-food version of an almond milk(less)shake, meant to be a beverage and not a milk substitute, as almond milk was in period. But now I'm curious and have to hunt some down to see. Preparing 2 dishes side-by side, using store-bought versus home-made almond milk should settle the question nicely. Lady Aoife Finn of Ynos Mon From: Kevin of Thornbury <kevin at maxson.com> Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: almond milk Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 16:21:36 -0400 Organization: Kingdom of Atlantia cellio at usa.net wrote: > > Simple almond milk for the modern kitchen: take almonds, dump into a food > processor, add water (or wine, depending on what your recipe calls for), > turn on for a few seconds, drain off the liquid, and iterate. When the > liquid stops being cloudy-white in appearance, it's time to add more > almonds. > > Ellisif I use a Braun coffee bean grinder; the almonds come out as flour. By the time I add water, broth, wine or whatever, the mixture is smooth and doesn't require straining. Stir it up with a fork and you're done. I've done the food processor method, and it's a pain for me. _____ |+^+| Lord Kevin of Thornbury |/+\| (mka Kevin Maxson) \_/ kevin at maxson.com http://www.atlantia.sca.org From: jtn at cottagesoft.com (Terry Nutter) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: almond milk Date: Tue, 07 Jul 1998 12:54:01 -0700 Hello, Katerine Rountre stopping by for a moment. Lad Aoife Finn wrote of almond milk: >Just a note: The inclusion of sweeteners (esp. brown rice sweeteners) >will make this product incorrect for most period recipes except perhaps >balncmanger (a bland dish made with chicken , almond milk, and rice, >sometimes vaguely sweet, designed to be completely white) Well, sort of. Some recipes that call for almond milk also call for sugar (not just blancmanger); but I use primarily English sources, and medieval English cuisine is distinguised from other regional cuisines, among other things, by its much greater use of sweeteners. >Almond milk is sometimes used as a beveage in modern arabic cultures (and >perhaps period ones as well, though I am not sure), but is usually simply >used as a substitute for dairy products in recipes in Europe, during our >period of study, and in an extremely broad generality. Well, hmmmm..... Many "almond milks" are drawn with broth or with wine; I have not directly counted, but I suspect, more than are drawn with water. Water-based almond milk is an alternative to cow's milk (I hesitate to call it a substitute; English cuisine calls for milk and cream at times, and also for almond milk, but almond milk is by far the more common). But almond milks based on broth or wine do not much resemble milk, nor could milk be used to replace them. So I am not at all convinced that almond milk should be viewed as "non-dairy milk". There are a couple of English recipes titled simply Almond Milk and Almond Butter. These are invariably sweetened. But they are in other ways different from almond milks that are described as part of other recipes; one possibility is that they were intended as "stand-alone" dishes. (The Almond Butter seems clearly to have been so intended.) >By and large, it >was used for various fast/lenten/meatless days, and altered the >taste/texture of the finished dish as compared to those made with dairy >products. This may be true elsewhere, but as a description of English cuisine, it is at best misleading. Almond milk is perhaps the most common base for browets containing meat, for instance. In general, there are not milk-based equivalent recipes for those. In fact, almond milk is far more common in combination with meat than cow's milk, which shows up rather more frequently in custard-like things. BTW, in most times and places in the middle ages, eggs, milk, and cheese were permitted for most "meatless" days outside of Lent. >It is however, an acceptable substitute for those purposes, as >it behaves well under the right conditions. > >Almond milk is NOT a hassle to make unless you are making it in a period >manner (ie: grinding by hand in a martar and pestle, which is not too >terribly onerous once you have the knack). Modern coffee grinders or >blenders or food processors make short work of grinding almonds very fine >while adding a quantity of cool water. You then strain out any lumps. >Voila! Almond milk. Heat it slowly, and you get almond butter, once it's >drained of it's liquid "whey". Many medieval recipes specify that the liquid with which almond milk is drawn should be hot. I have found, as a rule, that if I grind almonds fine, steep them for about 15 minutes in *hot* water or broth (i.e. liquid that was boiling when I first poured it over), then strain the result, I get a much more satisfactory almond milk. -- Katerine Rountre/Terry Nutter Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 14:39:38 -0400 From: "Groulx, Michelle" <MGroulx at NRCan.gc.ca> Subject: SC - Almond Milk Kinuko said... >I also found powdered almond milk at the supermarket, >and was wondering if this has been used/tried by anybody. >Please let me know how it compares to the stuff one makes >at home. Blending and straining one's own almond milk is >a most exasperating procedure depending on time constraints. I too use, given time restraints and budget, powdered Almond Milk. I purchase it from Chinatown where I can get a jar for about $1.79. It makes more Almond Milk than I will use in a year. I am absolutely sure that quality and authenticity suffer. But since almonds are within the "ridiculous" price range in Cda, I feel pretty good that I have found a suitable substitution rather than omitting it altogether. Seriously folks, Almond Milk can break your budget up here if required in larger quantities. Same with Pine Nuts. Micaylah Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 18:19:25 -0400 From: dy018 at freenet.carleton.ca (Micaylah) Subject: Re: SC - Almond Milk really Adamantius says... >If I remember correctly, a can that makes 8 quarts costs between 3 & 4 dollars >US. The problem is that, as with the other commercial almond milk products, it >contains other stuff and only bears a passing resemblance to the real article. > >Which is not to say I wouldn't use it, but since the stuff I have seen and >bought has been sweetened a bit more than I like things to be, I'd be inclined >to use it only for sweet dishes like daryols, etc. I tend to agree that it is sweeter than normal home made Almond Milk. However, I have tried it in savory dishes and have found it is acceptable. (If just accetptable is acceptable) As I posted earlier, at the cost of almonds in this country, it makes a pretty good substitution given the alternative. Adamantius, it seems to be pretty highly priced compared to here. This is confusing. Could it be because of you purchasing it in a health food store and not in your local Asian community stores? Micaylah Date: Thu, 01 Oct 1998 18:54:06 EDT From: kathleen.hogan at juno.com (Kathleen M Hogan) Subject: SC - Greetings and Salivations <grin> Almond Milk Yield: 1 servings Ground almonds Water, stock, or wine Rice flour/cornflour Salt Vurst nim of alemauns, & hwyte of heom one pertie, ah hwyte summe hole & the other do to grinden. Sothen nim the hole alemauns & corf heom to quartes; sothen nim fat broth & swete of porc other of vthur vlehs; tempre thin alemauns & sothen drauh out thi milke & sothe do hit in an veyre crouhe... You can make thin or thick almond milk, as suits your dish, by adapting the quantity of almonds to the amount of liquid in your recipe. In either case your object is to produce a liquid or puree as smooth as possible. The method is the same. First pulverise the almonds in a blender (not a food processor) or in a coffee or nut mill. Put them in a bowl and pour on enough boiling liquid to make a smooth cream. Leave to stand for 10-15 minutes, then rub the mixture through a metal sieve. This mixture may be smooth enough. If not, cream a little rice flour or cornflour with it and heat until it thickens slightly. Then add any extra liquid the recipe calls for, and a scrap of salt. I find that 125 g/4 oz almonds and 1 tablespoon rice flour moistened with 275 ml/10 fl oz/ 1 1/4 cups liquid produces a 'milk' suitable for most purposes. Almond milk might be used whenever a flavoured liquid base without meat products, cow's milk, cream or eggs was needed. It could also be used as a thickener--or just for its aroma and flavour. from The Medieval Cookbook by Maggie Black Chapter 3, "Life in the Cloister" Title: Almond Milk England, 14th Century Yield: 1 pint 2 c Milk or cream 1/2 c Coarsely ground almonds 1/4 ts Bitter almond essence 2 tb Orgeat syrup * * made by Combier of Saumur in France Simmer all the ingredients together for 10 minutes and allow to cool, covered. It can be strained or not, as desired. Almond Milk and VERJUICE are the two most important sauces needed to recreate English medieval cookery. From _Seven Centuries of English Cookery_ by Maxime de la Falaise 1973 Grove Press, 1992 ISBN 0-8021-3296-0 Caitlin NicFhionghuin Shire of BorderVale Keep Atlantia Augusta, GA Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 21:55:54 EDT From: LrdRas at aol.com Subject: SC - Wedding feast-longish << This is my first time to do this (for my spring wedding) ...<snip>.....So many, (almost all) of the recipes call for almond milk. I read that they used that because fresh milk was hard to get and keep. My Groom does not like nuts at all, so I need to limit the use of almonds.>> The aversion your fiance has to nuts of all kinds is unfortunate when you are dealing with the preparation of medieval-style food. Since a large number of people with specific food aversions point to flavor as the primary factor generating their aversion, the inclusion of one or two dishes with almond milk should not be a problem. Almonds (when compared with other stronger flavored nuts like walnuts or hazelnuts) are very bland when raw. The milk produced from them shares this characteristic. As an added advantage, almond milk takes on the flavors of the surrounding ingredients rather well. This combination makes it a wonderful liquid alternative in not a few modern recipes as well. I am not aware if your fiancee's aversion to nuts includes coconuts but If authenticity is not a major issue, you might try experimenting with replacing the almond milk with coconut milk. My own experiments using this substitution have been successful when I have based a modern creation on period sources of inspiration. You might want to try an experiment or two of your own in that area. Date: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 10:33:01 -0800 (PST) From: Laura C Minnick <lainie at gladstone.uoregon.edu> Subject: Re: SC - Needing help with almond milk On Mon, 15 Mar 1999, Jennifer Carlson wrote: > Could someone tell me what is the most efficient device for straining > almond milk? The only sieve I own that is fine enough to trap the almond > grounds is a small one and plugs up with the grounds too quickly to be of > much use. Do coffee filters work? Or should I strain it through a muslin > bag? I always wind up using my hands to press the milk out of the grounds, > and this is neither effiecient, tidy, nor thorough enough for me. I put a layer of cheesecloth inside my standard seive, and use a spatula or back of a big spoon to press it out. of course, I can't keep from snitching bits of the almond paste stuff that's left, so staying clean isn't really what I'm after. But the spat gives more leverage more evenly than my fingers do. 'Lainie - - Laura C. Minnick University of Oregon Department of English Date: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 13:53:45 -0500 From: Christine A Seelye-King <mermayde at juno.com> Subject: Re: SC - Needing help with almond milk On Mon, 15 Mar 1999 11:58:40 -0600 Jennifer Carlson <JCarlson at firstchurchtulsa.org> writes: >Do coffee filters work? Or should I strain it through a muslin >bag? I always wind up using my hands to press the milk out of the grounds, >and this is neither effiecient, tidy, nor thorough enough for me. > >Talana >Northkeep, Ansteorra A clean, cotton, white kitchen cloth (not terry cloth like most dish cloths, more like a clean large hankerchief) works quite well. I made Almond Milk and Cheese just recently, and that method worked quite well. Mistress Christianna MacGrain Date: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 14:35:58 EST From: Jgoldsp at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - Needing help with almond milk JCarlson at firstchurchtulsa.org writes: << Could someone tell me what is the most efficient device for straining >> I use a jelly bag place it in and go about my other business come back later and squeeze the bag to get the last bits works for me. Good luck TTFN Joram East Kingdom, Barony of the Bridge Date: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 21:42:10 EST From: LrdRas at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - Needing help with almond milk JCarlson at firstchurchtulsa.org writes: << Could someone tell me what is the most efficient device for straining almond milk? >> A double layer of cheese cloth works well. Simply line your strainer, our in the almond/liquid combo Pull up the ends. If you have the time you can suspend it over a bowl over night in a cool place. If not simply twisting the bag from the top will squeeze out the liquid. The resulting mass can be used again to make a slightly less rich batch and then the 2 batches can be mixed together. Ras Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 00:05:23 -0500 From: Christine A Seelye-King <mermayde at juno.com> Subject: Re: SC - more almond milk questions On Mon, 15 Mar 1999 21:32:05 -0600 Helen <him at gte.net> writes: >How much milk yield do you get out of a pound of almonds? You can get about 1 gallon of almond milk for every pound of almonds. The method Ras describes works well, but you can re-grind your almonds 3,4,or 5 times with new water, as you will get more almond solids and oil out of every grind. When we did it last month, what was left tasted like sawdust. We drained it well, and a friend took it home to incorporate into soaps as almond fibre. Mix all of the batches together. To make almond cheese, take the milk (say 2 cups worth) and put it in a pot with about 2 tsp. sugar and a splash of rose water. Let it boil for some time (a large enamel pot works well, as the small volume of liquid when boiling will climb the sides of the pot just like milk). When it has boiled for a while, you will see that it has separated into curds and whey. Using your trusty cloth and collander again, pour your mixture into it and let it strain. The foam on top of the liquid is your curds, and the whey that drains out is very pale, moreso than skim milk. (We fed the whey to the dogs). Take the cloth with the drained curds, and squeeze it to remove leftover moisture. I put a plate on mine and pressed it for a while, and then squeezed again. When it is drained, it will form a ball. Refrigerate this and let it rest for a while. It sets up to the consistancy of firm sour cream, or whipped cream cheese. It is delightful as a spread. I would do it without the rosewater for a more savory spread. There are several recipies for this in Digby, Plat, and Guter Spice. They are called Almond Cheese and Almond Butter, both names pretty much describe the same product. It makes a nice alternative to dairy for Lent (or for those of us doing with less dairy). Mistress Christianna MacGrain Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 11:21:15 -0800 From: kat <kat at kagan.com> Subject: SC - Packaged Almond Milk Made a recipe last night--Blaunche Porrey, from Pleyn Delit--with store-bought almond milk (the brand name of the one I bought was Blue Diamond's "Breeze") and it *really* was a very good experience. In texture, color and smell, the almond milk was extremely similar to my homemade. Since part of the purpose of the almonds in the recipe seems to be a thickener, I took a few ounces of slivered almonds, ground them to powder in my Braun coffee grinder (love those things!) and threw them in for texture. Tasting the soup later, it was for all intents and purposes identical to a batch I'd made a few weeks before; the only difference being that I didn't spend an hour blanching and skinning almonds... ;-) Any other folks used this product, with or without success? I know a while back Ras had tried a commercial almond milk that he wasn't pleased with the results of (can't remember if he gave a brand name or not) but this one seemed to work pretty good... - kat Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 21:07:02 EST From: LrdRas at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - Packaged Almond Milk kat at kagan.com writes: << Any other folks used this product, with or without success? I know a while back Ras had tried a commercial almond milk that he wasn't pleased with the results of (can't remember if he gave a brand name or not) but this one seemed to work pretty good... - kat >> I have since found out why I was displeased with the product and have changed my viewpoint to one in favor of the product. :-) Why did I initially have a negative experience? Welllllll......I can only say ....don't forget to SHAKE the container before pouring. :-) <blushing in embassassment> Ras Date: Sat, 20 Mar 1999 10:29:59 -0500 From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net> Subject: Re: SC - more almond milk questions And it came to pass on 18 Mar 99,, that david friedman wrote: > At 9:32 PM -0600 3/15/99, Helen wrote: > >For all those on the other list I am on, I am sorry but I need all the > >input I can get..... How much milk yield do you get out of a pound of > >almonds? > > By the recipe we use (in the Miscellany), 1 cup = 7 ounces of almonds > yields 4 c almond milk. > > Elizabeth/Betty Cook I have not tested these directions, but the "Libro Del Arte de Cozina" (1599) has some recipes with specific quantities. The directions for almond milk differ according to the thickness desired for each dish, but the yield in the recipes I looked at is 3-4 pounds of milk from 1 pound of peeled almonds. Lady Brighid ni Chiarain Settmour Swamp, East (NJ) Date: Mon, 09 Aug 1999 21:16:34 -0500 From: Helen <helen at directlink.net> Subject: Re: SC - grinding almonds oop > helen at directlink.net writes: > << > Just saw someone (will not say her name) grinding almonds in her food > processor, and she said adding a tablespoon of sugar will keep them from > getting oily as you pulse them. > >> > > A tablespoon full of sugar to how many almonds? > > Mordonna 6 1/2 oz by weight. Looked like a cup and a half. Date: Mon, 09 Aug 1999 22:59:26 -0400 From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com> Subject: Re: SC - grinding almonds oop > Just saw someone (will not say her name) grinding almonds in her food > processor, and she said adding a tablespoon of sugar will keep them from > getting oily as you pulse them. > > Helen The standard medieval/Renaissance European wisdom about this seems to be to add a small amount (a few drops) of water or rosewater every so often. Of course if you need really dry almond "flour", and are not making marzipan or almond milk, it could cause problems. Adamantius Date: Sun, 29 Aug 1999 01:28:25 -0400 (EDT) From: cclark at vicon.net Subject: Re: SC - uses for leftover almond crumbs? Lord Stefan li Rous wrote: >You mentioned leftover walnuts and it made me think of the leftover almond >crumbs left from making almond milk. I'm thinking of the stuff that is >strained out of the almond milk solution after your mix the ground almonds >in the water or broth. The liquid becomes the almond milk, but what do most >folks do with the almond crumbs or mash? I think there are some period recipes >that use this mash. Can this be used for marchepane? ... I would guess that they might have been considered waste products unsuitable for further use in feast cookery. Or they might have been used in marchpane. They might have been used for cheap filler in some less glamorous food. But this is just speculation. What I do with them is cookies. A bunch of leftover ground almonds, some butter, some sugar, optional eggs, a little spice and salt, perhaps a few drops of almond extract and/or vanilla, and flour. They can have some chopped nuts added, or pecan halves on top. Thanks for reminding me; I've still got some sitting in the freezer. Alex Clark/Henry of Maldon Date: Sun, 29 Aug 1999 14:42:50 -0500 From: LYN M PARKINSON <allilyn at juno.com> Subject: Re: SC - uses for leftover almond crumbs? Stir it into a stew, or a soup, let dry and sprinkle over a salad, put through a blender with enough water to make a second running and use it to cook rice or barley, or even veggies. Some of our recipes call for things to be cooked in a second running, the first saved for mixing into the finished dish. When mine goes through the blender, I get a thick, only slightly coarse milk. Unless it specifically says to strain because it wants clarity, I often use the whole thing. They were perfectly capable of producing a paste consistency even finer than my blender can do. Henry of Maldon gives us his cookie usage. If you had a huge amount at a feast, making up this cookie dough and handing it to the Children's Activities co-ordinator could give our little darlings a great time making cookie shapes--hey, metalworkers! how about some medieval themed cookie cutters?--provided that you had the oven space to let the cookies bake. A plate of the best for High Table, presented by the children, and the not-so-perfect ones a good snack for the kiddies in mid-afternoon. Failing that, go ahead and strain, throw the 'refuse' into a ziplock bag, take home and make a delicous soothing baked custard. Put up feet, and relax. Allison allilyn at juno.com, Barony Marche of the Debatable Lands, Pittsburgh, PA Kingdom of Aethelmearc Date: Sun, 29 Aug 1999 15:07:27 -0500 From: "Sharon R. Saroff" <sindara at pobox.com> Subject: Re: SC - uses for leftover almond crumbs? I have a recipe for Murachinos, Turkish almond macaroons that uses 3 cups ground almonds, 3 egg whites, 1 1/2 cups sugar (I use 1 cup) and a pinch of salt. The recipe is out of Sephardic Holiday Cooking by Gilda Angel. I recently won a dessert competition with these cookies. They seem to be a hit. Sindara Date: Sun, 29 Aug 1999 23:45:00 -0400 From: Christine A Seelye-King <mermayde at juno.com> Subject: Re: SC - uses for leftover almond crumbs? > You mentioned leftover walnuts and it made me think of the leftover almond crumbs left from making almond milk. I'm thinking of the stuff that is strained out of the almond milk solution after your mix the ground almonds in the water or broth. The liquid becomes the almond milk, but what do most folks do with the almond crumbs or mash? I think there are some period recipes that use this mash. Can this be used for marchepane? Seems a waste to throw this out, especially for a large feast. Lord Stefan li Rous Having just recently made almond milk from scratch, I am here to tell you that the only thing I left in that batch of ground almonds was the dietary fiber. I milked them 'til they screamed. There was absolutely no flavor left in it when we were done, after about 5 runs. One of the ladies in the household took it home and was going to use it as scrubby/pumice in homemade soap. It was great almond milk, though, as well as almond cheese (the oils and the solids from the almonds help it congeal.) Christianna Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 23:08:19 -0500 (EST) From: cclark at vicon.net Subject: Re: SC - Almond Cream (Was Blown Eggs& Chocolate) Cadoc MacDairi wrote: >Doesn't seem curdled to me, the starches are boiled from the almonds in the >same way as almond milk and allowed to settle and then drained with a peice >of linen. Then they use the resulting paste in the rest of the recipe. Or >at least that's how it reads to me. The most detailed recipe I know for "Fried creme de almondes" (in Harl. 4016), instead of "draw it up," says "drawe hem [th]orgh a streynour." It then continues to refer to the strained almonds in water as "hem" (them). I would assume that this means that the other recipes may be interpreted as calling likewise for strained almond milk, although the straining process is sometimes referred to only by such phrases as "draw it up." I am not aware that almonds contain any significant amount of starch (though I haven't got exact nutritional info handy), but they (and their milk) contain a good deal of protein. Boiling causes some thickening of the proteins by coagulation. In some recipes, a little vinegar is added to promote further coagulation. When the uncoagulated proteins with the excess liquid (whey) are drained out, what remains is a kind of curd. Even though the almond milk is not cooked to the point of lumping and separating in the pot, it may still be reasonably described as having been curdled. So the way I interpret it, froid creme de almandes is a drained curd of almond milk, usually salted and sugared, sometimes mixed with other ingredients such as wine and currants. The times that I've made it, it's come out to a texture vaguely similar to whipped cream. Alex Clark/Henry of Maldon Date: Sat, 4 Mar 2000 10:20:20 -0600 From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com> Subject: Re: SC - Almond Milk - a silly question Anahita the ever curious asks: > So, trying to find something else to drink at feasts, besides water > and sekanjaben, i ask: > > Was almond milk drunk as a beverage in period? From Le Menagier: ALMOND MILK. Parboil and peel your almonds, then put in cold water, then grind and soak in water in which onions have been cooked and strain through a sieve: then fry the onions, and add a little salt, and boil on the fire, then add the sops. And if you make almond milk for sick people, do not add onions, and in place of the onion water to soak the almonds as spoken of above, add and soak them in clean warm water and boil it, and do not add salt, but lots of sugar. And if you want to make it as a drink, strain through a sieve or through two pieces of cloth, and lots of sugar to drink it. Which makes it clear that it could be used as a drink, but not clear whether that was only for sick people or not. David/Cariadoc http://www.best.com/~ddfr/ Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 22:04:53 -0500 From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com> Subject: Re: SC - Rabbit tips? Sue Clemenger wrote: > Has anyone out there ever gotten almond milk to actually > _thicken_ anything? I can't seem to get it to work. Any hints would be > appreciated! Almond milk, per se, doesn't really thicken other liquids. It will, however, get pretty thick if you reduce it by simmering. You'd need a fair amount of good almond milk, say, maybe a quart or so, and reduce it in cooking to perhaps 1-2 cups. Rather like those Thai or Singapore curries made with coconut milk. In the case of an almond milk sauce, you probably want to stop reducing it just before it starts to break and produce surface oil. Adamantius Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2000 15:52:30 +0200 From: "Cindy M. Renfrow" <cindy at thousandeggs.com> Subject: Re: SC - Rabbit tips? > Has anyone out there ever gotten almond milk to actually > _thicken_ anything? I can't seem to get it to work. Any hints would be > appreciated! Make the almond milk with powdered almonds & use the almond milk unstrained. > And while I'm asking questions, can anyone tell me how easy it is to make > almond milk without use of electric appliances?. It's a bear if your almonds are hard. You might soak them in a cold place overnight to soften them, or grind them before you leave for pennsic. Cindy Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2000 11:19:34 -0400 From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net> Subject: SC - Almond meal Yesterday, while picking up some rosewater at the Indian grocery, I discovered that in their nut section they carry almond meal -- blanched almond, ground more finely than I've ever been able to manage in my food processor. I think this might be a good solution for almond-milk at Pennsic. Also I plan to try turning some of it into almond paste. At $3.99 a pound, it's rather more expensive than unblanched almonds for $1.50 a pound, but it's still cheaper than commercial almond paste. And then there's the convenience factor... Brighid Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 23:52:32 EDT From: allilyn at juno.com Subject: Re: SC - Substitutions-hazelnut milk I hadn't thought of the reduced volume of water in milk or cream. It's not for OOP rice pudding, although I like that. Several recipes in the period corpus call for rice to be cooked in milk or cream, and if I can get it just right, I think it makes a nicer feast dish. Just spotted this reference: Hazelnut Frumenty Diversa Servicia 89. Curye on Inglysch Book II p. 79. For to make formenty on a fichssday, tak the mylk of the hasel notis. Boyl the wite wyth the aftermelk til it be dryyd, & tak & coloure yt with safroun; & the ferst mylk cast therto & boyle wel, & serue yt forth. For to make frumenty on a fish day, take the milk of the hazelnut. Boil the wheat with the second running of the hazelnut milk until all liquid is absorbed., color it with saffron, add the first running of the hazelnut milk, boil well, and serve. APdeT My apologies--Chiquart's #78 was for barley with almond milk. Allison, allilyn at juno.com Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 11:39:37 EDT From: DianaFiona at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - Almond Milk, Again lilinah at earthlink.net writes: << 1) How necessary is it really to remove the skins from the raw almonds before grinding? Do the skins impart an unpleasant flavor? Or is the objection just that the milk is less white? Or is there some other reason? I am using the almond milk for Andalusian and Near Eastern recipes which call for water as the diluant. Some European recipes call for wine or verjus as the liquid or in addition to water. Will either of these liquids interact differently with the almond skins than water? >> I'm lazy, and hate the tedium of skinning almonds, so I often leave the skins on if the dish will be dark when I'm through. I haven't noticed a major flavor/texture difference, even when the pulp is left in the dish. It does help to grind the nuts in a coffee/spice grinder, rather than a blender or food processor, though--you get a much finer grind, which reduces the detectability of the skins......... Also, I store my bags of nuts in the freezer routinely, and the only ill effects I've noticed are the occasional off odors from the chopped leeks stored next to them, and such........... (G) I would certainly plan to freeze any pre-ground almonds, rather than even refrigerating them. I don't imagine that they'd keep well at all! Ldy Diana Date: Mon, 29 May 2000 16:05:43 EDT From: Seton1355 at aol.com Subject: SC - Almond Milk flan from Scully Today I was moved to make Almond Milk Flan from my new cookbook. It came out tasting wonderful but there were some problems: It thickened but it didn't set up. I used a litre of boxed almond milk instead of making my own. When I used a *pinch* of saffron, the custard did not change color. I added more (too much probably) and it came out a nice yellow-y color. So how much saffron is too much? I didn't have rice flour so I ground up 3/4 C of abrorio rice. I chose the type of rice for it's sticky quality and the amount beacuse I used a litre of almond milk not 1 C gr almonds to 1 1/4 C water..... Well , as I said it tastes good and I shall serve it over berries tonight. Phillipa EARLY FRENCH COOKERY D. Eleanor Scullu & Terence Scully *Almond Milk Flan* (P282) The use of almond milk in these flans makes them a lean-day counterpart for standard medieval milk or cream flans which would incorportate animal milk, eggs and butter, as well as spices and saffron on non-fasting days. The Menagier lists * Flaons de creme* / Creme Flans as part of the issue or dessert of the meal, although neither he nor various copiers of the Viandier have thought it worthwhile to provide a recipe for this preparation. The variety of flan that Chiquart has left us is a delectable use of almonds. Despite the absence of ingredients that we might nowadays think necessary for a custard, baking a combination of almond milk and rice flour produces highly palatable results that are not greatly different in texture from modern flan, but perhaps more interesting in flavor. Prepare sufficient pte brise or other pie dough for a single crust, 9" pie or 10-12 tartlet shells. Pre-bake blind or prick with a fork and bake for 10 min at 375F / 190 C. 1 C ground almonds 1 1/4 C water 1 1/2 C sugar pinch salt pinch saffron 1/4 C rice flour Garnish: 2 T blanched, sliced almonds or some fresh berries Combine almonds and water well. (Blender may be used). Strain thjrough several layers of damp muslin or cheese cloth to obtain almond milk. In a pot, bring almond milk just to the boiling point. Add sugar and dissolve. Add salt and saffron. Add half of this hot mixture to the rice flourwhile stirring. Combine with remaining hot almond milk. Pour prepared custard mixture into prepared pastry. Bake 20 - 25 minutes at 375F / 190 C until light crust appears on surface. Sprinkle with almonds or berries. To serve: Serve warm garnished with fruit Date: Tue, 30 May 2000 00:26:48 -0400 From: "Bethany Public Library" <betpulib at ptdprolog.net> Subject: Re: SC - Almond Milk, Again To make almond butter you run the "milk" through the almonds several times as they are grinding, getting as much of the good stuff out of the nuts as possible. Then the mess is strained, and you gently heat the condensed almond milk in a sauce pan or double boiler (agitating continually) until it gets incredibly thick. Almonds thicken like starch does, when grounds finely in liquid and with applied heat. Let it cool and it gets even thicker. Refrigerate, and it gets hard, like butter---but it does tend to weep a bit, so be sure to drain it before serving. I love it sweetened with some honey and a bit of orange or lemon peel in the manufacture (not medieval), served with a dollop of seville marmalade on some extremely crisp pastry or a croissant. See Dawson's Huswife's Jewel for a recipe for "Almond Butter in the Newest and Best fashion" or some similar title. Aoife Date: Tue, 30 May 2000 17:01:37 -0400 From: Christine A Seelye-King <mermayde at juno.com> Subject: Re: SC - Almond Milk, Again The below process is how we made almond cheese, with one more step. After the gentle boiling process, the almond milk was put into a cloth over a colander to strain out the 'whey', or very thin liquid. After it has had a chance to hang or drip for a while, the thick 'curds' that are left are gently squeezed in the cloth to make them clump together, and then let rest in a cool place (like the refridgerator) and it makes a very nice almond cheese, about the texture of thick sour cream or whipped cream cheese. With the addition of a little rosewater, it is a very nice spread on lots of foods (or just good on your finger, when you snitch a taste ;) Christianna I have a class handout around here somewhere with several references to this technique from period sources, but I don't know where that is just now :( <betpulib at ptdprolog.net> writes: > To make almond butter you run the "milk" through the almonds several times > as they are grinding, getting as much of the good stuff out of the nuts as > possible. Then the mess is strained, and you gently heat the condensed > almond milk in a sauce pan or double boiler (agitating continually) until it > gets uncredibly thick. Almonds thicken like starch does, when grounds finely > in liquid and with applied heat. Let it cool and it gets even thicker. > Refrigerate, and it gets hard, like butter---but it does tend to > weep a bit, so be sure to drain it before serving. Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 09:23:38 -0700 From: "E. Rain" <raghead at liripipe.com> Subject: SC - nut milks Hi all, in doing some translating this week I came across a reference to an alternative to almond milk. In the anonymous 14th c. Tuscan cookbook two different recipes so far call for "nut milk" as an alternative to almond milk. You could argue that this is specifically walnut milk, but the word noci is generally used to mean nuts generically . Personally I like almonds, but if you were allergic it's good to know that at least in 14th c. Tuscany you've got an alternative. I also think it might be interesting to try & see how differently flavored other nut milks would be - hazelnuts yumm! Please note I am not advocating that you run out & make pistachio milk for a Viking dish or even walnut milk for a 14th c. French dish. I don't recall coming across this option in another recipe corpus, and would use it sparingly even with 14th c. Italian foods, but it is a very cool piece of info :-> Eden From an anonymous Tuscan manuscript of the 14th c. translation c. Eden Rain 2000: Another way to make gourd/squash (p. 48 in the paperback) take dry squash, and put it to soak with hot water at vespers, and when it is softened cut it small, and cut it over the [vessel] with onions, and with oil, pepper and saffron: saute and put into sausage, make with vinegar and breadcrumbs, to cook. And in such mode you can make it with almond milk, pepper, saffron, salt and oil and with milk of nuts. De le zucche - Altremente. Togli zuccche secche, et polle a mollo con acqua calda, al vespero; e quando sono mollificate, tagliale minute, e taglia sora la taola, con cipolle, e con oglio, pepe e zaffarano; soffrigi e poni in civero, fatto di aceto e mollena di pane, a cocere. E a tala modo si puo fare con latte d'amandole, pepe, cruoco, sale e oglio e con latte di noci. For those of you who are data junkies this recipe can be found (in Italian of course) in L'arte Della Cucina in Italia (p. 48 in the paperback)published by Einaudi Tascabili c. 1987 & 1992 Edited by Emilio Faccioli. Eden Rain raghead at liripipe.com Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2000 23:51:55 -0400 From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net> Subject: SC - Toasted almond milk Two of the Spanish recipes I've been playing with call for almond milk made from blanched *toasted* almonds. It's yummy stuff, and definitely has that hearty nut taste, unlike the usual blandness of almond milk. Are there recipes from other countries that do the same? Lady Brighid ni Chiarain Settmour Swamp, East (NJ) Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 10:07:32 -0800 (PST) From: Ginny Claphan <mizginny at yahoo.com> Subject: SC - almond milk source - Almond Breeze Blue Diamond Growers has released an Almond Milk product called Almond Breeze. The target market seems to be those who are lactose and/or soy intolerant. It is available in some health food stores in the United States, but also can be ordered by the case (27 8 oz. containers $US 16.00) from their web site at http://www.bluediamond.com/store/natural_foods/almond_breeze.cfm Ingredients from their nutrition label include water, evaporated cane juice, almonds, tricalcium phosphate, vanilla extract, sea salt, potassium citrate, carrageenan, lecithin, vitamin E acetate, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2. Has anyone tried this yet? Gwyneth Banfhidhleir Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 10:34:04 -0800 From: "Laura C. Minnick" <lcm at efn.org> Subject: Re: SC - almond milk source - Almond Breeze Ginny Claphan wrote: > Blue Diamond Growers has released an Almond Milk product called Almond Breeze. > The target market seems to be those who are lactose and/or soy intolerant. > Ingredients from their nutrition label include water, evaporated cane juice, > almonds, tricalcium phosphate, vanilla extract, sea salt, potassium citrate, > carrageenan, lecithin, vitamin E acetate, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2. > > Has anyone tried this yet? > > Gwyneth Banfhidhleir Tried it- ok to drink, but I don't think you can use it as almond milk in a medieval recipe- too much stuff added. 'Lainie Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 14:25:56 -0500 From: margali <margali at 99main.com> Subject: Re: SC - almond milk source - Almond Breeze I have tried it, but as it has added sugars it is not on my uselist! It has a fairly bland sweet mildly almond taste, very wishy washy. All of the solids have been filtered out and the carageenan is to texturize it in place of all of the almond oil they seem to have filtered out. Other than the fact it seems to be a product to replace regular milk on cereal or to drink, it isn't too horrid. I personally wouldn't cook with it, unless I was making a fairly sweet rice or bread pudding or a dessert. margali [and the chocolate is horrid] Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 13:59:20 -0800 From: lilinah at earthlink.net Subject: Re: SC - almond milk source - Almond Breeze margali wrote: >It has a fairly bland sweet mildly almond taste, very wishy washy. All >of the solids have been filtered out and the carageenan is to texturize >it in place of all of the almond oil they seem to have filtered out. >Other than the fact it seems to be a product to replace regular milk on >cereal or to drink, it isn't too horrid. I personally wouldn't cook with >it, unless I was making a fairly sweet rice or bread pudding or a >dessert. There is another brand - Pacific Foods Naturally Almond - which i think has a better flavor than the Blue Diamond brand, and which can be found in health food stores. I only buy the "original" flavor - NO vanilla for me. Original Naturally Almond contains: almond base (filtered water, almonds) brown rice sweetener (filtered water, brown rice) natural flavor malt (barley) sea salt guar gum xanthan gum carrageenan locust bean gum That's a lot of vegetable gums, but this "healthy non-dairy beverage" (to quote the box) doesn't feel "gummy". I've used commercial almond milks to cook with at camping events. As i have no medical issues, the sugars aren't a problem for me physically, but i don't like sweet things, and i found that Naturally Almond doesn't taste particularly sweet. Since many Medieval recipes utilizing almond milk also have some added sugar, i just don't add the sugar or only add it to taste. Commercial almond milks are useful for camping and on-the-fly cooking. But for feasts and home cooking, they can't compare with "home made". However now that i've been to Morocco, i have to say that giant American almonds don't have half the flavor of the tiny Moroccan almonds - and i am very careful to buy the freshest almonds i can, and never the sad stale almonds one finds in little sacks at the supermarket. Mmmmm, Moroccan almond milk... Anahita al-shazhiyya al-Andalusiyya Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 20:03:31 EST From: Bronwynmgn at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - almond milk source - Almond Breeze mizginny at yahoo.com writes: << Has anyone tried this yet? >> I've used it several times for initial experimentation and for Pennsic use and haven't found it much different from the hommade stuff when all is said and done. I don't think I'd use it for a feast, though, just because it does have the extra ingredients. But if I see a recipe I want to try, and don't feel like milking nuts, I'll use it for the first trial or for home cooking. Brangwayna Morgan Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2001 12:03:34 -0500 From: Christine A Seelye-King <mermayde at juno.com> Subject: Re: SC - Almond butter? On Fri, 19 Jan 2001 12:03:49 +0000 kirsty <kirsty at dcs.st-and.ac.uk> writes: > Talking about almond milk I am cureouse to