When Almonds Mooed

I’ve never heard almonds moo, but somewhere in the distant past, a savvy cook figured out a way to coax almonds to give up their “milk.” They’ve been doing it for thousands of years.

Almond Blossoms courtesy of aquarelabogota.org

It wasn’t as hard as milking cows—you know, the hand/fingers coordination . . . thing—and it was a good substitute for cow’s milk at a time when refrigeration didn’t exist. Fresh milk had to be used immediately and no one would dream of buying milk from a vendor. It could have been contaminated, spoiled, or watered down.

Almond milk isn’t a new idea. It has a long history, and I doubt anyone could ever pinpoint the exact moment someone had a light bulb moment and realized that by soaking pulverized almonds in water, they could make almond milk. Almonds are native to North Africa, Western Asia, and the Mediterranean. The Egyptians enjoyed them and almonds were found in Tutankhamun’s tomb. The Romans thought them useful, calling them “Greek nuts” since the Greeks were cultivating them.

Tonsil Plums – Really?

The English word almond comes from the French word amande. In turn, amande is derived from an old Latin word for almond, amygdalus, which means “tonsil plum.” Hmm. That term doesn’t make almonds sound very appetizing, but it likely refers to the shape of the tonsil as it sits in the back of the mouth.

Blanched Almonds

There are currently more than 100 varieties of almonds, many of which are grown in California, thanks to the Spanish missionaries who first brought the trees to the New World. California is currently the world’s largest supplier of almonds.

Back to medieval Europe.

As a rule, medieval adults didn’t drink cow’s milk. It was served to children, the elderly, and the sick. Today, we know that milk is rich in protein and can be consumed when meat wasn’t readily available. One thousand years ago, little was known about the nutritional breakdown of food into vitamins, minerals, proteins, etc. A typical meal for a farmer was bread and cheese with mead or ale thrown in for good measure. Cow’s milk was generally reserved for making cheese and butter, things that lasted far longer than the few days of fresh milk. For the wealthy, cream skimmed from fresh milk was used in making luscious desserts with fruits, nuts, and pungent spices.

The Catholic Church had imposed dietary rules, especially for Lent and other major holidays. There were also meatless days throughout the year. Using almond milk got around those restrictions, didn’t require refrigeration, and because almonds stored well, was available as needed.

When I started doing research for my medieval novel Forsaken, I scoured the internet

Fresh almond milk courtesy of Carrie on Living.

for information about what was eaten during that time as well as how food was prepared. I was surprised and delighted by how much information there is, including authentic recipes; both in the original text and transcribed into modern day English. For instance:

Source [Du fait de cuisine, Elizabeth Cook (trans.)]: 28. Take the quantity of almonds, have them well and cleanly blanched and washed and then have them very well brayed (crushed or pounded fine); and take very clean fair water and let him strain his almond milk into a bowl or a cornue (bowl or vessel with handle) which is fair and clean . . .*

You can buy almond milk at the grocery store, but making it yourself is very easy and tastes delicious. Here here are a few websites to help you get started:

Carrie on Living – easy tutorial with pictures.
Medieval Recipes – updated for the modern kitchen
A Boke of Gode Cookery – a website chock full of recipes and historical information.
Medieval Cookery – another website with recipes and historical information.
Vegan Reader – besides the basic recipe, there are other recipes for using almond milk.

* From Recreational Medievalism – a website by David Friedman