Wild food equivalent for milk

[match]

I doubt hazel milk or an equivalent was part of the hunter gathers diet at all.
I remember reading in "Ishi in two worlds" the story of Ishi, the last hunter gather in the US.
He disliked any cloudy soup. Tea, soups and stews all had to be clear.
He was really particular it about, he was almost suspicious of cloudy foods.

Rob

This might have been a regional thing - in Scotland at least Hazel coppicing was one of the first forms of farming -it was a heavily relied on crop and used in all sorts of dishes. I imagine a hot porridge of ground nuts would have been common, and so the possibility of using it as a nourishing drink is quite probable.

the problem of course with things like coconut/soya milk is, that while they are both very good substitutes for milk, neither of them are easy to obtain in the wild in the UK

 

[Ahjno]

How do you go about grinding the nuts, coffee grinder? what would you use out in the bush?

Big rock with small depression and a smaller big-ish rock (think pestle & mortar)

do you think it would work with acorns after the tannins had been broken down by roasting?

Think that will end up in some sort of coffee substitute ...

 

[xylaria]

This might have been a regional thing - in Scotland at least Hazel coppicing was one of the first forms of farming -it was a heavily relied on crop and used in all sorts of dishes. I imagine a hot porridge of ground nuts would have been common, and so the possibility of using it as a nourishing drink is quite probable.

the problem of course with things like coconut/soya milk is, that while they are both very good substitutes for milk, neither of them are easy to obtain in the wild in the UK

This might of been a regional thing, but in Ireland oat milk was fed to hungrier babies to fatten/shut them up.

I don't feel enough is known about native edible seeds to say there whether there was a good nutrious broth made from any of them. All I can say is that we didn't drink milk of any other species for the vast majority of our existance. The european cave man would got a slap for asking the wife to put some milk in the acorn coffee.

 

[demographic]

Heres an explanation that shows wh some people are lactose intollerant.

"A large proportion of the adult population does not tolerate cow’s milk. The very fact that there are some people who can tolerate milk products is due to a gene mutation, which occurred for the first time several thousand years ago in the Ural Mountains. Those who cannot tolerate milk products usually suffer for years until the cause of their suffering is finally discovered. SYNPRO, the direct partnering programme of BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg, has taken on the task of dealing with this problem. The SYNPRO experts have already developed concrete approaches to solving this problem: A fast and simple diagnostic tool for lactose intolerance combined with an individualized diet will help sufferers in a quick, reliable and effective manner.
A study by the University of Helsinki showed that approximately 5500 years ago a mutation allowed adult nomads to digest milk for the first time. For this study, DNA samples of 37 different peoples on four continents were examined. The results showed that the mutation first appeared among those living between the Ural Mountains and the Volga. And since nomads, being shepherds, kept milk livestock, this mutation gave them a significant selective advantage. The ability to absorb milk eventually spread across the world over the intervening centuries".

 

[Jodie]

Right.. I've got my ground almonds and explained to the shopkeeper why I'd bought them
(he thought it sounded an excellent plan) and am going to combine two heaped dessert
spoons and half a pint of warmish water as per Toddy's post below and report back
tomorrow when I've drunk it - and if palatable (to me) I might even let it loose on my
puffed spelt breakfast cereal

 

[Toddy]

If you leave it overnight it'll seperate into three layers, just give it a good stir and it'll be *milk* again.
I had never left made up nut milk sitting for any length of time before, but I thought I'd better try since I was busy telling folks how good it is. Three days it's been in the fridge and it's still good.
The oatcakes were eaten hot though

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Jodie]

How long do you leave it to mask before straining? I think I might (a) have to get a finer
sieve and (b) leave it a bit longer. I've put the strained liquid in the fridge to see what
it tastes like once cool. Having never had anything other than chilled milk before it was
a bit peculiar being warm.

It looked SO thick and creamy after about five minutes stirring with warm water that I
assumed it must be all done.

I made it in my forestry research mug

 

[Toddy]

Five or ten minutes is all I usually wait. If the water isn't that hot it can take bit longer to leach out the milk though. You can add a lot more almonds but tbh I don't feel it needs it. I only use more if I want a much creamier milk.
Use a kitchen towel to line the sieve and that'll strain out more of the ground almonds.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Jodie]

Thanks Toddy

 

[clcuckow]

EDIT: My vegan friend has also told me that in Mexico there is a drink called Horchata which is made from rice, nuts or other grains cooked with spices and sugar and blended up which is commonly sold in cafes and restaurants. There are several recipes online for this.

Horchata de Chufa is spanish and is based on the 'milk' of the tiger nut which was introduced into spain by the Moors. It is widley avalible in spain normally servered very cold and VERY SWEET. I have tried it and did not like it but that is not suprising as I don't like sweet drinks and I don't like milk

Out of interest another name for the tiger nut is in english "earth almond".

 

[Nagual]

What a very interesting thread. Personally I love milk, but to have the options available to enjoy other milk substitutes is great too. Except soya, can't abide that - tis evil.


Nagual.

 

[Neolithic]

What a great thread!

I've been vegan for about a year now, and have been really unhappy about drinking soya milk so much, partly because it's so unnatural to our diets, and partly for environmental reasons. Unfortunately I have a coffee (ahem) 'problem' (read: addiction!) - these provide some great home made alternatives!

Thanks to Toddy and Match for the recipies, and all for the tips!

*Goes off to find some nuts and oats...*

Hmm...any ideas on how to make this into a thicker cream..maybe just skim less off?

 

[xylaria]

What a great thread!

I've been vegan for about a year now, and have been really unhappy about drinking soya milk so much, partly because it's so unnatural to our diets, and partly for environmental reasons. Unfortunately I have a coffee (ahem) 'problem' (read: addiction!) - these provide some great home made alternatives!

Thanks to Toddy and Match for the recipies, and all for the tips!

*Goes off to find some nuts and oats...*

Hmm...any ideas on how to make this into a thicker cream..maybe just skim less off?

SOD GETTING IT THICKER, EAT THE PULP IN BAG, ITS SCRUMY, when i did coco me and kids fought over the choco-almond pulp. It did make me wonder why things labelled up as vegan have to taste like cardboard. If I cook stuff with completely wild foods it tends to end up vegan, as I don't hunt. OK the insect protein is hard avoid when eating fungi or seeds, but that's nature for you. I am in the process of making acorn flour and I want to see if that makes a good milk.

 

[Toddy]

Creamier almond milk is made just by adding more ground nuts.....but I'm a housewife and, "enough will do," fits most budgets
I've never managed to make really creamy hazelnut milk, it just gets nuttier tasting

Xylaria was right about the hot chocolate made from it though, that's stuff is gorgeous.

I had ago at Match's recipes and they're very good too. I liked the oat milk, even if it was a bit of a skiddle to strain.
Old fashioned barley water strikes me as possibly a suitable substitute as well; it used to be used to nourish invalids and weakly infants.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Neolithic]

Mmmm...almonds and chocolate...I think I'll fight along with you...lol!

Barley water...was reading about that the other day, does seem to have been used for a lot of ailments...wonder about the taste though...barley with coffee....hrm...lol

Going to try oat milk now...will give an update when I've finished!

 

[Neolithic]

Ah crumbs, just realised our blender's broken...have to wait till we can get one. Pah.

Unless anyone has any innovative ideas...? lol

Jeez..I'd *milk* you dry, wouldn't I?

 

[xylaria]

Ah crumbs, just realised our blender's broken...have to wait till we can get one. Pah.

Unless anyone has any innovative ideas...? lol

Jeez..I'd *milk* you dry, wouldn't I?

my sympathies my oven has just died, so i am having fun drying out my acorn flour. I used ground almonds from the shop.

 

[big_swede]

Anybody got nutritional values on the milk alternatives suggested here?

Cowmilk weighs in at a hefty 5.6 grams carbs and 3.4 grams hi-quality prots per 100 grams (the fat content varies of course). With this in mind I think it is hard to find any equivalent in this aspect.

I wouldn't last long without milk I guess, I have it for the morning latte, the müsli or porridge, drink it to lunch and dinner, usually have a whey-shake after training. Sorry, I will have to give the paleostyle life the boot. No can do! I tried being vegan but the milk and cheese thing was what made me go back to ordinary vegetarian diet (was a veggo for 6 years, now I'm back on the steak train again, ahhh, steak...).

The variants suggested here couldn't be considered wild, could they? As for wild equivalent I guess you could catch a mother and calf of some species of mammal (pretty much any sort really). I hear seal milk is packed with fat and proteins. Imagine acorn latte with moose milk, now that's suave wilderness living!

 

[big_swede]

Going to try oat milk now...will give an update when I've finished!

Weren't you a vegan?

 

[xylaria]

Anybody got nutritional values on the milk alternatives suggested here?

Cowmilk weighs in at a hefty 5.6 grams carbs and 3.4 grams hi-quality prots per 100 grams (the fat content varies of course). With this in mind I think it is hard to find any equivalent in this aspect.

I wouldn't last long without milk I guess, I have it for the morning latte, the müsli or porridge, drink it to lunch and dinner, usually have a whey-shake after training. Sorry, I will have to give the paleostyle life the boot. No can do! I tried being vegan but the milk and cheese thing was what made me go back to ordinary vegetarian diet (was a veggo for 6 years, now I'm back on the steak train again, ahhh, steak...).

The variants suggested here couldn't be considered wild, could they? As for wild equivalent I guess you could catch a mother and calf of some species of mammal (pretty much any sort really). I hear seal milk is packed with fat and proteins. Imagine acorn latte with moose milk, now that's suave wilderness living!

i am attempting acorn flour at the moment and that seems reasonable simerlar in nutrition to milk. i don't know if a milk drink can be made from it yet. I know a coffee like drink can be made from acorns but it is a differant process to make flour. Acorn cafe latte could be possible without the need for the moose .