What Does Oat Milk Taste Like?
Oatmeal is a breakfast staple. It also makes for some great cookies and if you want to give your meatloaf some body, it fills the bill perfectly. But oat milk? That might leave you scratching your head.
You’ve probably seen it on your grocery store shelves or maybe you’ve participated in discussions about it in vegan groups. With more people turning to a plant-based diet, various types of plant milk are becoming more and more popular. And while you would have to be living under a rock in Siberia to not be at least somewhat familiar with soy milk and almond milk, you get a pass if oat milk is new to you.
It’s been around for a while, but until recently it’s been the wallflower of plant milks. Slowly though, it has emerged as a lovely swan that is now invited to eat at the cool kids’ table – not unlike those makeover movies of the 80s.
What’s the Big Deal About Oat Milk Anyway?
The truth is, many plant milks are pretty thin and watery. They might be white like milk, but for the most part, it ends there. Most don’t really make you think of milk. And putting it in your recipes (or over your breakfast cereal) can be quite disappointing.
We won’t even talk about watery plant milk in your coffee.
Sure, some companies add stuff to thicken their plant milk up, but who wants all that? There has to be a way to get the creaminess of dairy milk without the dairy, right?
Actually, yes, there is.
Oat milk is smooth, creamy, and tastes a whole lot like cow’s milk. It is a fairly dense plant milk with carries many of the nutrients from its oat base like iron, protein, and fiber. And here’s a surprise. When you stack up plant milks to compare protein, the only one that surpasses oat milk is soy.
Just as with any plant milk though, if you have any special dietary requirements you do need to read the label. For instance, some companies process oats on the same machines that they use to process wheat. So, if you are gluten free, you probably want to avoid those. Some brands will also add flavors and sweeteners so If you have a sensitivity to something in particular or you are avoiding sugar you should look for a different formulation or a different brand.
What are the Health Benefits of Oat Milk?
Surprisingly (or not – maybe you are very nutrition savvy), oat milk carries many of the same health benefits that oats do. A study published in the Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism looked at men who had high cholesterol. A group in the study was given oat milk and their cholesterol levels dropped. The conclusion was that the oat milk was beneficial in lowering elevated cholesterol levels.
Another study from the Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry and Pharmacology of the University of Lund in Sweden found similar results when testing healthy men and women. So, what we’ve been hearing all this time about how great oatmeal is for your health can also be applied to the milk of the oat.
So…How Do You Milk an Oat?
Well, you get a tiny little bucket, and…
Actually, it’s much easier than that. Oat milk is made from oats. Not a big surprise. Often, it’s from steel cut oats but can be whole oats as well. The process is simple. You add water to oats and mill it. Some brands add enzymes to break down the starch in the oats. Then the mixture is strained so that just the liquid remains.
You can find it on your grocery store shelf, usually with the other plant milks in the cooler section. But if you are feeling adventurous you can make our own. It isn’t all that difficult.
Mix filtered water and oats together then transfer to a blender. You want one that’s pretty powerful to really do a good job. Blend the mixture for about 30 seconds or so until the water becomes white and gets creamy. Don’t over blend though because it will affect the creaminess of your oat milk.
Place a cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer over a large bowl and strain the mixture so that the liquid goes into the bowl and the oat product is left behind. Avoid squeezing to get all the liquid out. This will make your oat milk gritty and lumpy – and nobody likes lumpy oat milk!
Strain twice if you’re OCD – or is you just like really smooth, creamy oat milk. No judgment here!
Then you have oat milk that you can store in the fridge and use to your heart’s content.
What can You Do with Oat Milk?
You can use oat milk just like you would dairy milk:
- Pour it over cereal
- Add it to smoothies
- Use it in your baked goods creations
- Pour some in your coffee
- Make creamy, delicious sauces
- Enjoy it as a delicious, healthy dairy free beverage with cocoa and stevia for chocolate milk, vanilla, and stevia for vanilla milk, or just as it is
There are so many uses for oat milk the possibilities are endless. So, get creative!
Have some fun.
Best of all, though, oat milk makes the best dairy free chocolate ever!
Oat Milk is the Basis of Our Creamy Dairy Free Chocolate
SuperMajor dairy free chocolate is an oat milk based milk chocolate that is almost indistinguishable from actual dairy based milk chocolate. It is creamier and has a very nice consistency. Of course, that is our top reason for using this amazing plant milk in our delicious dairy free chocolate products, but it sure doesn’t hurt that oat milk production is better for the environment. It ticks all the boxes for keeping our planet healthy such as water use, land use, and carbon emissions.
It’s a win-win for all of us.
So, when you grab your SuperMajor dairy free chocolate bar you aren’t just indulging in incredibly delicious, impossibly creamy milk chocolate without the milk, you’re also making the planet just a little bit healthier and happier.
Grab yours today!
