and soups. Thanks to the tendency of the nut
proteins to coagulate, cooks can thicken nut
milks with acid into the equivalent of yogurt,
and cook them into a cross between a pudding
and custard. Almonds with their high protein
content produce the most easily thickened
milk. Other nut milks can be boiled to
coagulate the proteins into curds, then the
curds can be drained of excess fluid, blended
until smooth, and heated gently to thicken
them further. To impart more flavor to the
milk, a small fraction of the nuts can be
roasted before grinding.
Characteristics
of Some Common Nuts
Almonds Almonds are the world’s largest
tree-nut crop. They’re the seed of a plum-like
stone fruit, or drupe; the tree is a very close
relative of the plum and peach. There are
several dozen wild or minor species, but the