Make Rice Milk!

Rice milk... you love it, right? You wanna make it? 

I did. 

You want to know how!? 

Okay...

Rowan and I tried a couple different methods of making rice milk this morning, cooked rice and rice flour. Both had very different results, and we made so much of it that we were able to try different spices and ratios to get what we thought of as the best taste. Gluten free rice milk at the market can cost something crazy like $4.25 for a measly one quart tetra-pak (I still cannot wrap my head around why the most healthful foods come wrapped up in crazy, wasteful packaging and you get the smallest, most useless amounts... for feeding a whole family that is...)! I made 5 quarts + a half gallon for just a couple bucks! And, I just had the stuff! No special trips to the grocery!

Rice Flour Method

• 4 cups water
• 1 cup rice flour
• 2 tbs coconut oil 
• 1/2 to 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 1 drop almond extract (you may omit this... I happen to like the way it makes everything taste like cookies) 
• 3/4 cup honey, agave or brown rice sugar

Okay, mix together rice flour, coconut oil and sea salt together in a bowl and whisk it together with about a cup of the water. Set that aside and bring the remaining water to a boil on the stove in a good sized saucepan. Once the water reaches the boiling point, add the flour mixture slowly... stirring all the while. Now, in all of the recipes I have ever read about making milk from various flours, no one ever mentions that at this point, it seems like you are making glue! Well, you need to cook that glue for about 5 minutes. Keep it moving and don't burn the bottom, turn the heat down a bit if you need to. Let the mixture cool a bit and then you can add the honey and extracts. You don't ever want to add honey to the boiling mixture because the high temps will kill it and negate everything good and pure about honey... and that is one reason we like it so much! 

You need a blender for this part... better if you have a Vitamix. I don't. My blender worked just fine, I just think that the milk would be creamier in the high powered mixer. Anyhoo. Make the milk in a 1 to 3 ratio... 

One part rice paste to three parts water

Blend it for a good 5 minutes.. just please don't burn up your blender! I would feel really bad if you did.

Now! You can keep the rest of the rice paste mixture in the fridge and use it up as you like... or you can do like me. Go nuts and make everything up all at once. Like a mad scientist. It cost you practically nothing to make... right? Have fun!


So, as if this was not just soooooo much fun, I wanted to try using cooked rice. There is also the overnight soak method, but I didn't want to wait. I actually had rice leftover from dinner last night. Okay... method #2:

Leftover Rice Method

•  4 cups water
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup honey

This one is so flippin' easy... Get out that blender! Add all of the ingredients... and blend. Blend... blend... and blend some more. Give it a good 5 minutes. Now, let it sit there for about 45 minutes to an hour. Go take a shower, read some of your book, maybe play a board game with the kids. Has it been long enough yet? Okay! You need to strain this one with a cheesecloth or a really fine mesh colander. It also comes out much creamier than the flour mixture so I like this one mixed in a 3 to 1 ratio...

three parts yummy rice sludge to one part water

This mixture will last up to two weeks as well. Make it up as needed or just go ahead and do it all at once! This is a way smaller batch so it can easily be used right away.

 

On to the fun flavors!! We had soooooo much, and Rowan is a freak for Horchata so I made her a batch:

Horchata Recipe

• 6 cups rice milk
• 2 cups low-fat milk
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

I mixed his all up in the gallon jug of milk since there were only 2 cups left! Add all ingredients, twist on the cap... hand it to the kid and Shake, shake, shake Senora, shake your body line! Shake, shake, shake Senora, shake it all the time... Pour over ice... and enjoy! (I know... it has milk in it. But, it's good. Really good.)


Strawberry! 

• 3 cups rice milk
• 6 frozen strawberries
• 1 tbs sugar

Blend it up in a blender... make a little or a lot! I have no idea if this one keeps for long in the fridge. It never makes it that far.


So... obviously, if you want it plain... omit the flavorings and sweeteners. Easy peasy. My favorite one out of the bunch was actually the Leftover Rice Milk. It had the best flavor and consistency. The sea salt is key, too. It really, really helps the flavor! Rice is pretty bland stuff... and sea salt helped immensely! And, the coconut oil helped it to emulsify, the stuff just separated without it. I still give it a good shake when I take it out of the fridge. 

Let me know if you make some of this and how you liked it!! 

xo~d.