Spike that coffee with this light macadamia nut milk!
I don’t know if I’ve ever shared with you the fact that I have a lactose intolerance. I don’t normally talk about it, because I don’t think it’s a big deal, but with the ice cream season in full force, it’s the time of year when I notice it the most. Ice cream is my thing, I love it, a little too much to be honest. And while the selection of vegan ice creams is pretty big, there’s just something about fatty gelato that keeps me coming back.
I also love iced coffee, a little too much, and just dairy in general. But I have to limit my intake or I risk having (at least) a really bad stomach ache, the most often side effect for me, which happens fast after eating ice cream or even when I have full fat milk in coffee.
I can handle part skimmed milk a lot better, but I still often substitute dairy milk with non dairy. Almond is my favorite for a good iced coffee, but others work too. And when I was once thinking about non dairy milk and looking at the selection in a store, I noticed that there’s no macadamia nut milk available.
And when it comes to nuts, macadamia are by far my favorite. They just have this creamy texture and I find them to be much better tasting from drier nuts like almonds or hazelnuts (although both almonds and hazelnuts taste divine when toasted!). So whenever I eat nuts for a snack, they’re normally macadamia.
Like any nut milk, this macadamia nut milk is very easy to make. It takes some prep time, the longer you soak the macadamia nuts for, the easier they are to blend. But that’s really all there’s to it – blending and straining. I add a pinch of salt and vanilla paste for flavor, along with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar. As I mostly need milk for coffee I don’t want it to be sweet. But adjusting the sweetness to fit your needs or taste is probably the best thing about making milk at home.
This macadamia milk is light and has a very mild taste. It fits perfectly in any coffee, smoothie, it can be used in cooking as it is not overpowering. The leftover pulp is kind of amazing, I have to say, it’s creamy and looks so much like ricotta, I think it can be used in baking as well. (I will report back with a recipe once I develop something that works well.)
Light macadamia nut milk
Recipe makes around 800 ml (3 1/3 cups) creamy, light macadamia nut milk.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 800 ml 1x
- Category: Drinks,
Ingredients
- 300g (10.5 oz) macadamia nuts
- 600 ml (2 1/2 cups) filtered water + more for soaking the macadamia
- 1/4 tsp salt (optional)
- 1–2 tsps vanilla paste or extract (optional)
- 1–2 tablespoons sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Put the macadamia nuts in a bowl and cover with water. Soak for a few hours or ideally overnight.
- Drain the macadamia nuts and transfer to a blender along with fresh water.
- Pulse until completely pureed and as smooth as you can get it.
- Add the salt, vanilla paste and sugar (adjust to your taste).
- Strain the milk in a fine mesh strainer (or cheesecloth) placed over a bowl or measuring jug. To make really smooth milk it’s best if you strain it twice.
- Store in a glass jar or jug, covered in the fridge, for about 3 days.
Notes
If you don’t want to sweeten the milk with sugar, you can add 2 (or more) dry pitted dates instead.
Shake the milk before use.
