Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Milking it.

Making My Own Milk.

OK, so my milk making machine arrived yesterday. It came from www.soymilkquick.com and I couldn't recommend them more highly as an organisation, they have been really helpful.

Anyhoo...first attempts at making rice milk have failed. I tried with 2 measures of rice then 1 measure, then a 1/2 measure.

The first 2 were too thick and the 1/2 measure was too watery.

Guess I'll try 3/4 measure tonight!

I contacted soymilkquick and they helpfully told me:

Hi Stephen,

Not to worry, you're no bother! I'd be happy to give you some tips with making rice milk.

From my experience, rice milk is the hardest milk to perfect. There are so many types and variations in results from type to type and even crop to crop. For instance, when I use American grown brown jasmine rice vs Thai grown brown jasmine rice, I get different results. Even organic vs non-organic rices can yeild differently. I've not really experienced this with other types of milks I've made, such as nuts, hemp, flax, quinoa, etc.

The best tip I can give if you're interested in working with rice milks, is to visit a local shop that sells bulk food items, and purchase small quantities of different varieties of rice. This way you can experiment with them and find one that works well for you.

Another tip I can give is to use brown rice exclusively. I find brown over white rice will yeild a much nicer product. Rinsing will help, but be careful not to soak it too long. What some people will do is actually roast their rice in the oven slightly, and they claim this helps alot. I can't speak to this myself, as I haven't tried this trick.

I also prefer to use slightly less than one cup of rice, as I like a thinner consistency too. Just out of curiousity, what measuring cup did you use? Make sure you're using the little clear plastic cup that came with your machine rather than a standard kitchen measuring cup. They are actually quite different in volume, so that would alter your results greatly. Your other alternative is to dilute, or thin out your milk as soon as the milk is complete.

One of my team members swears that when she adds some salt to the rice milk, it prevents it from thickening up too much. She adds it to her transfer jug prior to diluting her milk slightly. Again, I have yet to try this tip for myself, but she says it works great.

The other thing I'd suggest, is to try a mixture of brown rice and other ingredients, such as quinoa, flax and hulled hempseeds.

I have a pdf file with a recipe and tips for rice milk which I will attach. You might find it helpful as well.

Best of luck in trying out these suggestions Stephen. I know how important it is for you to make a milk that your son can enjoy.
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