I Have a Few Thoughts About Making Rice Milk
I made some rice milk because I know I will be baking in the next few days. I have a lot of thoughts about this.
It is so easy to make and there are a few ways to do it based on what you have available. I'll tell you my way.
I have a blender from the late 1970s. That means I like to use cooked rice because it's softer and easier to blend. I use about two-thirds of a cup of long-grain brown rice and cook it in a rice cooker. Long grain seems to matter for some reason based on the research I've done, so I've only used that. You can use white rice as well.
Rinse it very well, I should say thoroughly, after cooking under cold water. Get all of that gluten out of there. Transfer to the blender. Add filtered water. I usually use about 2.5 times the amount of cooked rice. So depending upon how big your blender is and how much rice you cooked, you may need to do it in parts.
Blend on high speed until your blender is no longer really blending anything. To filter I first use a wire mesh pasta strainer and push the rice pulp around to let the milk through. Do this until you get the big chunks out. Repeat this process a few times. Set the rice pulp aside and find a way to use it in your cooking or compost it.
If you don't have teeth this rice pulp is an amazing side item for you. It looks like cream of wheat. It's just blended up rice. The liquid leftover is milk. Congratulations we made rice milk.
This is the point when I first started using it because I had no additional way to filter it. I used this version of the milk to bake with. The baked goods I make with this are quite delicious. Not great to drink, in my opinion, a little grainy still.
I did want to drink it though, so I needed more filtering. I had heard of milk bags, watched people use them, and wanted no part of that ridiculous process. I just wanted a really really fine mesh strainer.
That's when I remembered a time when I used to use a french press to brew my coffee. It has a fine mesh strainer for filtering out the coffee. Problem solved. I was off to the store to get one.
But what I got instead was a device that was very similar to the french press. Its original use is supposed to be for making cold brew coffee but I had a second use for it. It has the same very fine mesh screen that I was looking for and it is in the shape of a funnel, so I just pour the milk through and it strains into a creamy texture.
Plus, it came with this perfect sized skinny pitcher which I use to keep the milk in. It was a successful use of an audible at the store. The takeaway for me was that this extra filtering made a huge difference. So much more creamy! But, if I was only going to use it for baking I would probably just skip this step.
And now the fun part. Here is where you are in charge. You get to play God with this raw rice milk. If you drink it at this point you will say it tastes kind of like rice because it is.
It is a blank canvas. If it is too creamy then just add in some more filtered water until you get it the consistency you like. If it's not creamy enough, first find a way to filter it through something fine or use less water.
Now add as much or as little sweetener of your choice. I'm currently using a simple syrup I made with turbinado sugar or Sugar in the Raw. In addition to sweetness, you can throw in some cinnamon and vanilla. Want some berry flavored rice milk? Just add strawberries or blueberries when you initially blend everything up. Macha would work too. Go nuts.
I will now be using this version of milk in any baking recipe and will be able to pour myself a glass of it as I eat what I just baked.
You will find this milk to be significantly cheaper than store-bought and will last up to a week in the refrigerator. Shake, wiggle, or stir before each use.
Here's a great idea. Grab some ice, vodka, and Kahlua, put it in a glass, and pour some rice milk over the top. Now you have a White Russian I am sure The Dude would be proud of.
For me having this complete control over my food brings up memories of cooking ramen noodles when I was a kid. I remember using only a small part of the packet for flavoring and would then add my own spices. I liked to experiment with it. I'm sure many of us did that. Right? Eventually, I would ditch the packet altogether and create my very own ramen creations.
The point here is you should be in charge of your food. You should know what is going into it. Take power over what you put in your body.
Start small and grow.
Maybe start today.