Nut, Bean, Seed and Grain Milks

Milks are a stable emulsion of oil, water and protein.

Cow's milk contains other hormones and antibiotics and other by-products of the mass-produced milk industry.

Cow's milk is also a by-product of the veal industry - it is technically neither vegan nor vegetarian (indirectly). Milk is produced by mammals in order to feed their young. To produce enough milk to feed humans, dairy cows are forced into pregnancy, fed hormones to stimulate the production of milk, and their young are taken away. If the calf is female it is nurtured to become a dairy cow. If the calf is male, it cannot produce milk and so it is not economically viable to maintain its life. It is thus removed to a dark storage and prevented from moving. This is done so that the calf does not produce any muscle and these are sold as veal. Many vegetarians are unaware of this connection between drinking milk and the mass production of veal for meat eaters and so they continue to drink a by-product of meat production. This does not apply to home farms, small scale community projects or nomadic tribes.

The following milks provide a great and varied choice of healthy alternatives... Why do we generally limit ourselves to one milk?

Common drink in cafes.

Mexico 'Agua de Tamarindo' - Tamarind Water

Tamarind is boiled in water, seeds are removed, then it is liquefied and mixed with sugar.

More water or less tamarind if it comes out too acidic.

El Salvador 'Horchata de Morro'

Made from the Morro seed... other ingredients... ground cocoa, cinnamon, sesame seeds, nutmeg, tigernuts, vanilla. Other nuts used; peanuts, almonds and cashews.

Nicaragua & Honduras 'Semilla de Jicaro'

Horchata made from Jicaro seeds ground up with rice and spices - made with cold milk and sugar (may not be vegan then...)

China 'Xin Ren Cha' - Almond Tea

In Beijing Cuisine, almonds soaked with rice in cold water then hot water, then ground into a paste and boiled in water again...

Coconut Milk

Universal... derived from the meat of a mature coconut. - not the same as coconut water/juice - the liquid inside the coconut

Used in cooking all around the world...

Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia = santan

Philippines = gata

Thailand = ga-ti

Sri Lankan = Pol kiri (Pol = coconut kiri=milk)

Brazil = leite de coco

Almond Milk / Amygdalate

Unlike animal milk, contains no cholesterol or lactose.

Lower in calories than cow's milk and soya milk.

Do not use bitter almonds as combination of bitter almonds and water produces cyanide.

Became popular in Islamic countries in the middle ages .. because it's vegetable composition 'a nut that is a seed of a fruit of a plant' .. it could be eaten during Lent.

It also lasted much longer than cow's milk which tended to become butter or cheese in warm weather...

Tiger Nut Milk / Spanish 'Horchata de Chufa'

Tiger Nut is actually a tiny tuber root...

Often found in cafes in Spain.

Peanut Milk

Walnut Milk

Hazelnut Milk

Common in UK Health food shops - some supermarkets

Sometimes sold combined with Soya milk

Rice Milk

Common in UK supermarkets - second to soya milk in popularity.

Tastes slightly better than soya milk and good with cereals... and non-allergenic

Natural sweetness can arise from a natural enzymatic process - similar to amazake below.

More carbohydrates than cow's milk, not much calcium, no cholesterol or lactose. - often fortified.

Japan 'Amazake'

Rice fermented with Aspergillus oryzae (koji)

Traditional naturally sweet, low- or non-alcoholic Japanese drink.

Dates from about 400AD ...

Can be used to make vegan ice creams...

Common in the UK - sold by Clearspring in some UK supermarkets and many Health Food Shops

Similar to Chinese jiuniang, Korean sikhye, Vietnamese cơm rượu (rice and yeast)

Korea 'Sikhye'

Rice fermented drink like amazake

Thailand 'Kokkoh'

Broadly any drink in which cereals are diluted in water... can be rice, sweet rice, azuki beans, sesame, barley, and kombu.

Usually refers to rice milk.

Recommended as a substitute for mother's milk and often used to wean children off mother's milk. High but varied in protein.

Oat Milk

Common in UK supermarkets

Spelt Milk

Barley Milk

Quinoa Milk

Can be bought in the UK - made by Suma

Hawaiian 'Poi'

Made from the corm of the kalo plant (more widely known as Taro or Eddo). Taro is steamed or cooked, mashed into a highly viscous fluid and more water is added before serving..

Poi is called two-finger or three-finger depending on its consistency when consumed.. the number of fingers required to eat it...

Poi is used as a milk substitute for babies with a milk allergy because of its nutritional value.

[Not to be confused with Polynesian Poi or Tahitian Po'e - both of which are puddings made from bananas (or other fruit) and coconut cream... ]

Hemp Seed Milk

Becoming slightly more common... used to make Hemp Ice Cream...

Sesame Milk

Blend 1/2 cup of tahini, 1 tsp maple syrup, 1 tsp of salt or shoyu, 2 cups of water - process with hand blender and then chill for several hours.

Or you could blend tahini (white or black) (in Japan nerigoma) with soya milk or rice milk in order to augment the flavour.

Can be used to flavour soya milk... often black sesame seeds used to produce a black soya drink. Black Sesame seeds are nutritious and tasty...

Sunflower Seed Milk

Very good as a cream...