Almond Milk - Is Almond Milk Good For You

Almond milk is a plant milk manufactured from almonds with a creamy texture and nutty taste. It contains neither cholesterol nor lactose, and is often consumed by the lactose-intolerant and others who wish to avoid dairy products, including vegans. Commercial almond milk comes in sweetened, unsweetened, plain, vanilla and chocolate flavors, and is usually enriched with vitamins. It can also be made at home using a blender, almonds and water. It is traditionally consumed through much of the Mediterranean.

Sales of almond milk overtook soy milk in the United States in 2013, and by May 2014, it comprised two-thirds of the US plant milk market. In New York in 2015, a lawsuit was filed against two almond milk manufacturers, claiming that the actual almond content in marketed products contained an unexpectedly small amount of almonds. In the United Kingdom, almond milk sales increased from 36 million liters in 2011 to 92 million in 2013.

History

In the Middle Ages, almond milk was known in both the Islamic world and Christendom. As a nut (the "fruit of a plant"), it is suitable for consumption during Lent. Almond milk was a staple of medieval kitchens because cow's milk could not keep for long without spoiling.

Commerce

In the United States, almond milk remained a niche health food item until the early 2000s, when its popularity began to increase. In 2011 alone, almond milk sales increased by 79%. In 2013, it surpassed soy milk as the most popular plant-based milk in the U.S. As of 2014 it comprised 60 percent of plant-milk sales and 4.1 percent of total milk sales in the US.

Popular brands of almond milk include Blue Diamond's Almond Breeze and WhiteWave Foods' Silk PureAlmond. Blue Diamond and WhiteWave have been embroiled in a class-action lawsuit alleging that the almond milk's labeling misleads consumers into believing that the product contains more than the 2% almonds it actually contains.

Within the Italian regions of Sicilia, Puglia, Calabria, and Campania almond milk is a protected traditional agricultural product.

Nutrition

If unfortified, almond milk has less vitamin D than fortified cows’ milk; in North America cows’ milk must be fortified with vitamin D, but vitamins are added to plant milks on a voluntary basis. Because of its low protein content, almond milk is not a suitable replacement for breast milk, cows’ milk, or hydrolyzed formulas for children under two years of age.

Production

The basic method of modern domestic almond milk production is to grind almonds in a blender with water, then strain out the almond pulp (flesh) with a strainer or cheesecloth. Almond milk can also be made by adding water to almond butter.

In July 2015, a class action lawsuit was placed in New York against two American manufacturers, Blue Diamond Growers and White Wave Foods, for false advertising on the product label about the small amount of almonds (2â€"33% of total ingredients) actually in the final product.