Since I am in the United States I have experienced a significant stomach discomfort when drinking milk from the supermarket.
(blanched California almonds)
And Milk is the Culprit
I have tried different things to work something out between my stomach and those “organic” labeled milks and rather awful tasting lactose intolerant dairy products from the supermarket shelves – those products didn’t do it for me. It made me wonder what’s up with milk in the US? There must be a difference between the milk I grew up with in my daily cereal back in Europe since I consumed plenty of and it didn’t give me excruciating pain in my belly.
(spaetzel mac & cheese with enriched with walnut milk)
Straight from the Cow
I tried fresh milk on a traditional farm which was not unadulterated it also had a naturally delicious sweet flavor and hints of fresh cut grass. The fresh milk reminded me of a milk shake. The best was that my stomach was just doing fine – so I wonder what is added to milk after it leaves the farm and is “fortified” and packaged.
(sea scallop, cod chowder with with clam & pecan milk broth)
Nut “Milk”
Since picking up fresh milk daily for my morning cereal wasn’t going to be an option living in New York City I looked into different options to replace milk from my diet. Nuts seemed to be a good answer since I liked the nutty sometimes earthy flavor and they are nutritious. When blended into a puree nut milks have a natural richness and silky mouth feel.
Nut Enrichments and Such
Nut Milk
Can be used instead of milk or cream products in dishes such as soup or sauces
2 cups nuts such as almonds, walnuts or others
4 cups water
1. Toast nuts in a skillet on medium heat setting (brown nuts until 2-4 minutes or until browned - continuously shaking skillet back and forth – this way the nuts won’t torch).
2. Transfer browned almonds into a kitchen blender then add half of water (2 cups) and process (1-2 minutes this will puree almonds). Combine almond mixture with other half of water and continue to process (5 minutes). Steep almond water (30 minutes) then poor into a strainer (fine mesh strainer reserve liquid - discard almond ground).
Nut Butter Spread
(recipe for 2 cups nut butter)
Can be used for meat and fish dishes when cooked in a pan
1 cup nuts such as almonds, walnuts, cashews
2 cups water
Sea salt (to taste)
1. Toast nuts in a skillet on medium heat setting (brown nuts until 2-4 minutes or until browned - continuously shaking skillet back and forth – this way the nuts won’t torch).
2. Transfer toasted nuts to a pot, add salt (1-quart sized) then combine with water and cook on low heat setting (cook nuts 20 minutes, covered with a lid).
3. Poor cooked nuts into an electric kitchen blender then process (4-6 minutes or until silken in texture – if mixture won’t blend add 2-4 tablespoons of hot water). Mixture will stiffen when cold.
Chef’s Note: For a fancy, decadent version of this recipe use pistachio nuts or a mixture of different nuts such as cashews, pecans or Marcona almonds.
Chef’s Tip: I like to add small chocolate chips to the recipe above (1 tablespoon) when it’s still warm (after blending) in this way chocolate chips will melt a little bit into nut butter but will still have chocolate chunk texture).
(cashew butter with some chocolate chips embedded)
A Nuisance Became a Pleasure
I have been incorporating these nut “dairy” products in my restaurant cooking and they have been a staple for quite a while now - a nuisance became a pleasure.
