Raw Almond Cheese

I received my order of really raw organic almonds from Spain. I made raw almond milk and 24 hours later it started tasting a little funky. So I decided to try to make cheese. It turned out terrific! Just like making real cheese. So creamy and smooth, it taste like cream cheese.


To make almond milk:

Soak almonds over night. Rinse and drain a few times. Put almonds in blender and filtered water. (Fill the blender up about half way with almonds and the other half with water.) Blend well, but don't let the Vitamix get too hot.

Get a couple of big bowls and a clean and rinsed pillow case with no holes and no lint inside the seems. Pour the almond mix into the pillow case while it is inside a bowl, lining it. Squeeze all the milk out. (This is the physical labor part.) Then dump the almond pulp into a bowl that is sitting in the sink. You can later make something with it ("meat" balls or cookies).

Pour almond milk back into the blender and sweeten as desired, vanilla extract and nutmeg optional. If making almond cheese, don't add vanilla, but some raw honey or agave and nutmeg will still taste good in the cheese. (For a special Jamaican treat, add some fresh carrot juice to the almond milk, vanilla, nutmeg, and sweetener.)

To make Almond Cheese:

Set the almond milk out so it separates and starts getting a little sour (making curds), at least 2-3 hours. Pour into a cheese cloth or clean pillow case. Hang it up over a bowl to catch the whey for at least 3-4 hours. It's ok if you don't have the time to wait around and need to leave it over night, it won't spoil...but isn't that the whole point!

Take the bag down and dump out the cheese onto a plate. Add sea salt to taste, herbs, and other seasonings. Experiment. Put in the fridge in a sealed container. Enjoy! Recipe by Debbie Owen.