Homemade Almond Milk (part II - how to blanch almond)

Last week I made almond milk using store brought blanched almonds and coconut water (read about this deliciousness here). This week I decided to save money and use only raw almonds (the blanched ones cost ~$2 more), water and 4 dates. So I Googled and learned how to blanched almonds myself!

How to Blanch Almonds:
~ Place almonds in a bowl

~ Pour boiling water to barely cover almonds
~ Let the almonds sit for 1 minute and no longer (or they lose their crispness)
~ Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again
~ Pat dry and slip the skins off

Truth be told the whole process took about 20 minutes for 2.5 cups of almonds. It's quite time consuming to take all the skins off. They slip off super easy but when you have a lot of almonds the seconds add up. Next time I'm going to try using a garlic peeler to try to speed up the process.

I did discover that although almond milk made with coconut water scores a 9.5/10 (taste bud wise). Homemade almond milk with water is still really good....and much better than the store brought variety.

Now if only I could find a cheap organic supplier of raw almonds. Any suggestions????

PS. I highly recommend buying a nut milk bag if you plan on making almond milk frequently. It cut down the straining time significantly.