Almond Coconut Milk

This post is a part of Tuesday Twister at GNOWFGLINS.

I have been buying refrigerated coconut milk to use in our smoothies.  At around $4 per half gallon this "milk" is fairly expensive.  When I saw the Nourishing Cook's post for Almond Coconut Milk I decided to give that a try sometime.  This also ended up being my first attempt at lacto-fermenting anything.

The night before I set 2 c. of raw almonds in a jar, covered them with filtered water, added 2 Tbsp. sea salt (shook to mix) and let it set overnight.  The next day I drained them, rinsed them, and put them in my food processor along with 1/2 c. coconut and 1 quart warm water.  I blended for a few minutes (this was a bit much for my processor & I had a little leaking out where the lid connects with the container) then let it sit for 10 minutes.  I poured this mixture into a colander lined with paper towels that was sitting inside a larger bowl.

Once this has drained you re-blend the almond coconut mixture with another quart of warm water and repeat the draining process.  Here you can see my 1st batch of milk in the red pan while the second batch is draining.  I think I would like to try cheesecloth next time & see if it doesn't drain easier.  I've got this batch pressed down & let it sit for several hours to drain out.

Later I combined both milks, along with 1/4 c. whey, 1/2 tsp. sea salt, 1 tsp. vanilla, and 1/8 c. maple syrup.  I tasted it at this point, and while it wouldn't be something I would drink a glass of (neither is commercial coconut milk) it wasn't bad.

The recipe says that this will keep 1 week in the refrigerator, or a month if you lacto-ferment it.  I decided to try lacto-fermenting so it would last longer.  So my next step was to place the jars (I ended up with a little more than would fit in one jar) up in my cupboard for 48 hours.  Here is what they look like after 24 hours.

Layers have seperated and you can see the whey action going up at the top there.  Now, here is what it looked like after 48 hours (it grows- watch out!)

Wow!  Not pretty curdled looking stuff there at the top, and you get a big whiff of sour.  I dumped it all into the blender and pureed to get all those layers mixed up again.  Here, it doesn't look so bad, just frothy...

But this is definitely some sour fermented stuff, almost vinegar like.  Of course, this is my very first time ever tasting anything lacto-fermented so I may not have acquired the "taste".  Since I understand that lacto-fermented things are good for the digestion I have been using this "medicinally".  I add about a tablespoon or so to a big batch of smoothies.  I can drink a tiny bit if I make myself too.

If you are looking for a milk replacement I would suggest you make this without lacto-fermenting.  And do not throw out the finely ground almond/coconut mixture- keep it & use it in granola bars.  I used mine in homemade granola, however; I think it would be better suited to granola bars.  (Yes, I made Wardeh's soaked granola, but because I added the damp almond/coconut meal it made it more like granola jerky & I don't think I can give a fair report on it- though I am eating it!)

I'm going to try this again soon- let me know if you try it too!
Enjoy!
Lisa