Almond milk is a useful recipe to have in your repertoire. You can enjoy it with porridge or granola - or simply drink it straight. Almond milk can add creaminess to smoothies, be a useful ingredient in desserts and also form the basis of sauces too.

There aren’t very many almonds in commercial almond milk - as little as 2% in some cases. Also, there can be ingredients that you wouldn’t expect to find. Plus, commercial almond milks have been pasteurised to prolong the shelf life so they are not a raw product.

This recipe requires a bit of planning. Soak the almonds for at least 8 hours or overnight. This makes the almonds easier to digest and makes it easier on your blender too. I soak lots of almonds at once, and then freeze them in batches once soaked, so I always have soaked almonds whenever I need them. Simply defrost an approximate metric cup measure (130g) and go.

To make almond milk, you really need a decent blender - one with at least 1000 watts or more. I use a Blendtec which is 1500 watts. Higher powered blenders may be a little more expensive, but it will save you a small fortune in burnt out cheaper blenders if you choose to invest in one.

This sweet almond milk recipe contains very few ingredients. You can reserve the almond pulp for other projects (it freezes well and can be dehydrated to make almond flour).

If you prefer a less sweet milk for soups, sauces or savoury dishes, omit the date and vanilla - but add the pinch of salt.

Read more tips on making plant milks here.

INGREDIENTS

130g almonds, soaked overnight or for a minimum of 12 hours
1 litre filtered water

1 Medjool date, pitted
1 teaspoon vanilla
a pinch of Himalayan pink salt

METHOD

Rinse the soaked almonds. Add them to a high-speed blender with 750ml water. Whizz the almonds and water together until it forms a white emulsion. Ensure you blend it on high for at least 3 minutes to ensure that the almonds have broken down into fine particles.

Place a nut milk bag over a large bowl and pour the mixture into the nut milk bag to collect the white emulsion in the bowl. Squeeze the bag gently to ensure you get all the almond milk from the pulp and the almond pulp is as dry as possible. Reserve the almond pulp - it can be dehydrated and turned into almond flour, or frozen for another culinary project.

Rinse the blender to remove any traces of almond pulp and return the collected liquid to the blender with the date, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Whizz these ingredients together until the date has been blended in thoroughly.

This will keep in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.