Post #337848 by Scottes on Thu, Oct 11, 2007 7:22 AM

On 2007-10-11 06:45, The Gnomon wrote:
I can't imagine ever grinding before washing the dirt off.

Yep, you are very most likely correct. So I'd rinse the dirt, crush, rinse out the micro-particles, and milk.

Hmm. OK, then here's another possibility. I've been planning on picking up one of these things to dry off the almonds after their initial bath, instead of hand drying with a small fan.
Next time (tonight), I will simply pat them dry with paper towels and then chop them in the processor. A salad spinner, for $10, is probably even easier. But I just don't think that a full drying will help, and would not do anything more than either patting or spinning.

I don't know how efficiently the filter bags drain, but if they drain pretty well,
They're efficient, but I think the mash still needs a serious squeezing to get the best - and most - liquid out of the mash.

maybe we could use the salad spinner to throw the milk out with centrifugal force. Do you think the filter bag with the mash will fit down inside one of these spinners?
If I remember correctly, don't these spinners have a "central drum" like a washing machine? If so, the bag would be difficult. If the bowl is wide open with no obstructions then the bags would fit very easily.

But I'd still squeeze.

Right now I am leaning toward going back to blanching my own almonds to get maximum flavor.
Yep. I got some non-organic blanched slivers at the local StupidMarket and I'm not happy. I'll be stopping at Trader Joe's for some organic whole almonds tonight, and will blanch and peel.

Note to others - we're crazy, and blanching your own whole almonds is on the edge of sanity. But it is one of the steps that ensures the highest possible quality in the final product.

Doing so also eliminates the need to wash off any dirt. As soon as they're blanched they're ready to roll.
Excellent point.

In that case, I'd... Does this sound viable?
An excellent, slightly crazy, highly analytic, mildly obsessive plan.

And I can't wait to try it myself. :)

But I'm still for squeezing since I won't think a salad spinner will provide the speed necessary to generate sufficient centrifugal force.

As for Sgirl's method, its greatest virtue is making almond milk in a matter of seconds (or minutes if you include the blanching of the almonds). Her challenge is merely a filtering issue, but a formidable filtering issue at that because her VitaMix probably creates more ultra fine microparticles than any other method outside of making almond butter.
I have to agree. If I did it the Vitamix way I'd want a centrifuge capable of spinning 10 pounds, or a filter fine enough to strain the particles but large enough to not get glogged by the emulsion. That would be tough to find I think.