Rice Milk (Nut-Free, Flavor-Full)

As much as I like the nut milks I make on a regular basis, not everyone can drink nut milks. Whether you have an allergy, you just don’t like the flavor or you need to save some major bucks on your elimination diet, grain milks are often a reasonable choice. Although you could make milk from just about any grains you choose, the two most common are oats and rice. I covered oats in another recent blog post.

The approach to making oat milk and rice milk is very similar, but the result is quite different. Toasting the uncooked rice instead of boiling it eliminates the slimy texture you get from overcooking. But, with the oat milk, the sliminess came back after a day or two in the fridge. Not so with the rice milk.

Rice milk is a flavor that has been popular for quite some time. If you don’t agree, just drink some Horchata sometime. If you want to make the best Horchata, it’s best to start with rice milk. But, there is something you should know about rice milk. If you are making rice milk after enjoying a variety of homemade nut milks for awhile, you may be a bit surprised by the consistency. Rice milk, in my experience, is much thinner than the nut milks I usually make. So, if my cashew milk has the consistency of half-and-half, my rice milk is more like skim.

Let’s get started. For the rice milk, you need a cup of rice, a pan, water, a big measuring cup, a blender, fine mesh strainer and spoon. I did the research on the types of rice to choose, and couldn’t find a concrete recommendation for the length of the grain or the color of the grains (brown or white). So, I opted for the cheapest rice I could find. Start by dry-toasting the rice in the pan. It takes only a few minutes. Then, put the rice in a heat-safe cup or glass and submerge the rice with two cups of water. Cover the container and refrigerate overnight, or 12 hours.

In the morning, drain the rice and pour into the blender. If you have a powerful blender, you can start the blender right then. If not, add a cup of fresh water and start blending on high for a minute or two. Once you feel like you’ve crushed the rice pretty consistently, add the remaining three cups of water. Blend on high for 2-3 minutes. This is a very firm grain, especially uncooked. So, give the blender the time to crush the rice and saturate the water.

When you are done, just strain out the chewy bits with your fine mesh strainer and spoon. Pour into an airtight container and store in the fridge. If you want, add some cinnamon and maple syrup to give it a distinct Horchata flavor. Enjoy!

Rice Milk

1 cup rice
2 cups water (for soaking)
4 cups water (for making the milk)
 

Toast rice in a wide pan on medium heat until barely browned. Remove from heat and soak in two cups of water, covered in the fridge, overnight. Drain rice, then add to blender and blend on high for 30 seconds. Add one cup of water and blend on high for one minute. Add remaining water and blend on high for 1-2 minutes. Strain rice milk and store in an airtight container in the fridge.