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Almond Cream and Milk,

and some Historical Notes

Almond Cream

Whole, not blanched, almonds - soaked overnight to remove skins is Ok
Stock, water, white wine or other liquid of choice
Cornflower (optinal)
Salt (optional)

Crush the almonds to a fine paste, using either a pestle and mortar or a nut mill. Bring to boil your chosen liquid. Add a little liquid to the ground almonds to make a thick, smooth cream. Leave this cream for about 15 minutes to allow the nut fat to release into the liquid.

In medieval times the mixture would have been strained through a finely woven cloth, but in today's kitchen, you can rub the cream through a fine metal sieve to remove any large particles. (Cheese cloth in the U.S. is not fine enough, so don't rely on it.)

To create almond milk from this cream, add more liquid until the mixture becomes runny enough.

Cook's tip:
*A hand blender can chop the remaining particles. You can keep strained almond solids to reuse in other recipes.
*Remember the more almonds you use in proportion to liquid, the thicker and creamier your almond cream will be.

Note: This almond cream can be smooth enough for whatever purpose. If it is still a little coarse or gritty, try whisking or blending in a small amount of corn flour (no more than a teaspoon-full at a time) plus a little more liquid. Add a little salt to the mix until you get a perfect taste.

Alternative Quick Recipe

A much simpler recipe is suggested by leading food historian, Terence Scully. Scully's recipe makes about two cups of almond milk with a magnificent taste, texture and aroma. It only takes a few minutes.

One cup of well ground almonds
Two cups of water

Boil water and remove from the heat. Pour the ground almond into the water. Steep for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Leave to cool or use hot as required. Sieve the mixture to remove any coarse grains or, for ease, blend mixture with an electric blender until coarse grains disappear.

Cook's tip:
*Do not rush the steeping stage because the ground almond needs time to release its fat content into the hot water.
*Removing the skins by soaking overnight and then peeling them away the next morning will remove the bitterness and create a smoother milder milk.

Nut Milk in the Middle Ages

Cooks in the Middle Ages had no method for keeping fresh milk cool, other than heavy crock pots, which not everyone could afford. This made it virtually impossible to keep any quantity of animal milk that was not used that day to cook with. Fresh milk tended to be used as soon as it was purchased or turned into butter, buttermilk, yogurt or cheese.

Medieval cooks overcame the dearth of fresh milk by using nut milk made from ground almonds or walnuts. This high fat liquid was easy to prepare and could even be churned to produce a kind of butter (almond butter) that, unlike animal butter, did not need salt as a preservative. When made as a thicker liquid, almond milk could also be used as a substitute for cream or eggs in appropriate recipes.

Another reason for the high acceptance of almond milk and butter was that it could be eaten or drunk on lean days because it did not offend the churchs ruling about consumption of fat products. Other milk and butters were banned on lean days.

Although almond milk does not taste anything like fresh animal milk, the texture is similar. The taste obviously depends on the liquid used to create the milk.

Almond milk made with water is very similar in texture to animal milk but tastes nutty and slightly oily. If it is heated and then left for a while to cool it develops a skin just like animal milk.

We feel that almond milk is not as palatable as animal milk when drunk straight from a glass. It is a very rich tasting drink with a different smell. However, it makes a perfectly adequate substitute when used in dishes such as custard and sauces.

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