At-Home Project: DIY Oat Milk

08 Apr

Did you run out of milk? Don’t panic, there is no need to eat dry cereal or drink black coffee. With a few ingredients, a blender, and a t-shirt, you can make oat milk that stays fresh in the fridge for four days. We tried this recipe with maple syrup and had a great turnout!

Binghamton University’s Food Co-op created a great recipe for students to try at home.

(makes 3.5 cups of oat milk for every cup of oats)

Necessary Ingredients:

– Oats (I used steel cut)

– Water

– Something sweet (maple syrup, dates, etc.)

Equipment:

– Food processor or Blender

– Cotton t shirt (CLEAN) or a nut milk bag

Bonus:

– vanilla extract (other flavoring suggestions we have are almond extract, any citrus rinds, or honey)

RECIPE

(courtesy of Bing Food Co-op https://www.instagram.com/bingfoodcoop/ )

Soak 2 cups oats in enough water to cover, let stand for 30min-overnight (if overnight, do so in the fridge)
Pour out the water and scoop wet oats into the blender/food processor and add 3 cups of water to each cup of oat used.
Add a half tsp. vanilla and 2tsp maple syrup (or 2 dates!) per cup of oats (so if you’re doing it in two rounds, you’ll do everything from this step forward twice) and blend it all up until smooth. The longer you blend the more you’ll get out of the oats, so blendas fine as you can if you like creamier oat milk!
Pour that whole mixture over a clean tshirt/nut milk bag/ piece of cheesecloth directly into the vessel you’ll be storing the milk in. At first the milk will drain through rapidly, but you can squeeze the oat mush at the bottom to get at the last few ounces of milk! Squeezing can get slimy at this step—but totally worth it!
Store in the fridge for around 4 days to keep it freshest—just be aware that since you didn’t add any sus chemicals to keep everything suspended, your milk will likely settle after it’s been in the fridge for a while! But shake it up before use and all will be well with the world.