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Recipeas

Almond Milk Sour Cream

I came across this recipe from a Danish blogger http://plantepusherne.dk/almond-milk-sour-cream-vegan/ while searching for some options for creamy sauces. I was so impressed with the taste and texture, I tested it again and results were equally fantastic with a few tweaks. My version – Canadianized – is as follows.

 

Almond Milk Sour Cream

Silky smooth, creamy delicious homemade sour cream. When you are looking for that creamy texture and taste, this made-from-scratch sour cream is incredibly good. Make tzatziki or dressings with it. Use it straight up on baked potatoes. 

NOTE: You will need a high speed blender, a cotton dish towel or nut milk bag with colander/strainer to strain the milk and then the curds and whey.

Author Oh Peas

Ingredients

  • 1 cup almonds natural, whole, skin on or off
  • 3.5 cups water
  • 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • pinch sea salt

Instructions

'Real' Almond Milk Instructions

  1. Soak almonds for 2 to 4 hours. Drain and rinse. 

  2. Add almonds + water to high speed blender. Blend thoroughly until you have milk.

  3. To strain milk, pour milk into a nut milk bag or linen/cotton towel-lined strainer, and allow the milk to drain into a bowl or pitcher. Just walk away for 20 minutes or so. Gently squeeze bag/cloth to get the most liquid from the almond mixture. 

Souring the Milk

  1. Measure out 3 cups of almond milk and heat until very hot but not boiling. If it's too hot i.e. boiling, it will not curdle.

  2. In a medium bowl, add lemon juice and salt. Then gently pour in the hot almond milk. Stir delicately to enable even curdling which should happen almost immediately. Place bowl, uncovered, in the fridge for 20 minutes to allow the curds to separate from the whey.

Separating the Whey from the Curds

  1. Prepare strainer, lined with cloth over a bowl, or nut milk bag. 

  2. You should see clear liquid (whey) and bits of solid milk (curds) in your mixture. This is perfect. Gently pour mixture into the prepared strainer or nut milk bag. The goal is to remove about 2 cups of whey from the mixture, so if you have an appropriate measuring device to let it drip into, it will save you some hassle. This does not take long - maybe five to ten minutes. Gently add pressure to the bag/towel to get the last drops out being mindful not to squeeze the curds through the bag.

Making the Sour Cream

  1. Using an immersion blender or blender or whisk to simply blend the curds until they develop a silky creamy texture. Your sour cream is now ready for use.

Recipe Notes

Making your own almond milk is easy and delicious and it contains none of the isolates, 'natural flavours' or 'fortifiers' that manufacturers add. That being said, because it is real and raw, it only last a few days in the fridge so make it as you need it. Also, there is no need to strain almond milk unless you prefer, plus you can remove the skins (might be a bit tedious for some) before blending if so desired. Because there are no emulsifiers, settling of solids in your milk will occur so don't be alarmed. Just shake before using. To flavour, add a few dates and vanilla bean while blending.

Almond milk will freeze (up to three months) if you aren't able to use it up quickly enough. The sour cream, thanks to the addition of lemon juice and salt (both preservatives) will stay fresh a couple of days longer than the almond milk.