Almond milk: pasteurize almonds and water before sealing?
I make almond milk regularly. One time, my whole-almond soaking period extended to 4 days instead of the usual 2 days. This batch soured and curdled sooner than the other batches.
I have also seen souring and curdling with storebought almond milk, however well-after opening and being kept inside the refrigerator.
I wonder if it's an option to pasteurize the almonds and its soaking water together in a pot, before storing in a jar? Regardless of the fact that it will later be recontaminated in my juicer and a subsequent decantation (part of my own process) -- maybe it can still lower the microbial load?
What bacteria rots the almond milk anyway?
Best Answer
In the US, most almonds are already pasteurized, even when they are listed as "raw". One of the methods is to steam blast the nuts, which heats up the outside of the almond to 205°F (96°C). However, this process is mostly done because of Salmonella concerns, rather than the yeasts and microbes that cause the souring of the milk. You could do something similar by blanching the nuts in boiling water for a few seconds before you soak them.
You could also try soaking the almonds for even less time, I've found that 12 hours or overnight will do the trick, rather than the 2 days you mentioned.
Some producers of almond milk also "ultra-pasteurize" the liquid by heating it to a temperature of 280°F (138°C) and cooling it down quickly before packaging but getting to that temperature is hard to accomplish in a home kitchen. You could try heating to 162°F (72°C) for 15 seconds after you've collected all the liquid, though be sure to have a plan to cool the milk down quickly afterwards.
Exposure to oxygen, yeasts and microbes are predominately what causes the spoiling. The oxygen can rancid the fats in almonds, molds can grown on the surface, yeasts can start to ferment the liquid, and other spoiling.
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How do you pasteurize almond milk?
During the pasteurization process, the milk is quickly heated to 280\xb0F (138\xb0C) to kill any existing bacteria and germs in the ingredients, and then quickly cooled down. This type of almond milk should be stored in the fridge at all times and tightly sealed after each use to keep it from spoiling too soon.Why do you soak almonds before making almond milk?
Plan ahead: Raw nuts need to soak for at least 12 hours before blending. This saturates the nut from the inside-out, resulting in a smoother, creamier texture. It also yields more liquid, because fully saturated nuts blend better and leave less "pulp" behind.How do you sterilize almond milk?
Here are a few ways to sterilize: Microwave your pre-washed glass bottles and jars on high for 1 minute. If you washed your bottle in a dishwasher, soap residue (it's always there!) can ruin your milk. So pour a little boiling water inside, swish around, pour out and let air dry.Do almonds need to be pasteurized?
Here, shelled walnuts are packaged. But almonds are the only nut, seed or dried fruit that must \u2014 by law \u2014 be pasteurized. If they're not steamed, they must be fumigated with a chemical called propylene oxide, or PPO. The regulation is a result of two salmonella outbreaks traced to almonds in the early 2000s.Almond Pasteurization
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