🌱 Almond milk
A light plant-based drink.
Almond milk is a plant-based drink made from almonds and water. The almonds are soaked, ground with plenty of water and strained. It can also be made more simply, by stirring almond paste into water. Shops sell unsweetened, sweetened, vanilla and chocolate almond milk.
Almond milk has a long history. Recipes are known from the 13th century in the Middle East. In medieval Europe, people drank it during fasts instead of cow's milk. Today it is a light drink: a glass of the unsweetened kind has about 39 kcal and only about 1.5 g of protein. It has no cholesterol or lactose and little saturated fat. Shop-bought almond milk is usually fortified with calcium and vitamins.
Because it has so little protein, almond milk is not a suitable replacement for breast milk, formula or cow's milk for children under two. The NHS also advises against giving almond drink to babies under one. Growing almonds takes a lot of water — more than soy, rice or oats, but less than cow's milk. In the European Union, such drinks cannot officially be called “milk”.
How it connects to milk
🌱 Almond milk → replaces → 🥛 Milk
Links
- What it replaces
- 🥛 Milk
- Part of
- 🧪 Milk composition, health and alternatives
Frequently asked questions
How much protein is in almond milk?
Very little — about 1.5 g per glass, five times less than in cow's milk.
Can I give almond milk to my child?
Children under two should not have it instead of milk or formula: it has too little protein.
Similar
🌱 Oat milk · 🌱 Coconut milk · 🌱 Rice milk · 🌱 Soy milk · 🌱 Lactose-free milk