Non-dairy milk

Non-dairy milk (aka plant milk) is a cloudy, white beverage with a visual semblance to milk, but made from plant material rather than obtained from animals.

In many jurisdictions, owing to dairy marketing regulations, the term “milk” cannot be used and another term such as “drink” or “beverage” must be used instead, though additional text on the package can describe them as “milk alternatives”. In Europe, some companies have attempted to argue in court that a distinguishing word showing origin such as “almond milk” should be enough to avoid any confusion in consumers’ minds as to what isn’t dairy milk, but courts have rejected their arguments:

“Purely plant-based products cannot, in principle, be marketed with designations such as ‘milk’, ‘cream’, ‘butter’, ‘cheese’ or ‘yoghurt’, which are reserved by EU law for animal products…. The Court explains that the addition of descriptive or clarifying additions indicating the plant origin of the product concerned, [Editor: such as tofu butter or soy milk] has no influence on that prohibition.” ^[1]Court of Justice of the European Union. PRESS RELEASE No 63/17. Luxembourg, 14 June 2017. Judgment in Case C-422/16. Verband Sozialer Wettbewerb eV v TofuTown.com GmbH

The inclination today is to think that these are new products, or that trying to call them “milks” is new, but in fact these products go far back in time in our kitchens, and have historically been called milks. Almond milk is a frequent ingredient in European medieval cooking, particularly in Lenten recipes.

The nutritional benefits will not be the same as milk. Those that are grain derived, for instance, will largely be a carbohydrate beverage, with little to no protein and no calcium, though some commercial brands may be fortified in an attempt to match the nutrition in actual milk.

Not all types of non-dairy milk will have the same cooking properties, either. Oat milk, for instance, will thicken in cooking; rice milk will not.

See also: World Plant Milk Day

Types of non-dairy milk

Almond Milk

Almond milk is a "milk-like" liquid that is made from water and almonds. The almonds are crushed, then soaked in water, then blended into the water, after which any remaining almond pulp is strained out leaving just the almond "milk." It is sometimes...

Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is a liquid made from water and coconut flesh. It is not, as most people might guess, from the water or juice drained out of a coconut. Instead, coconut milk is made by infusing water with grated coconut, just as almond milk is made by...

Oat Milk

Oat milk (aka oat drink) is a solution of water and finely ground oats. It has no real flavour, either pleasant or unpleasant. It thickens up in cooking, like cow's milk. It can even be used in custards and cakes, mashed potatoes, etc. You can buy...

Rice Milk

Rice milk is a white liquid that looks somewhat like milk, but which is made from water and cooked rice and has no dairy in it. The flavour is slightly-sweet from sugars naturally present in the rice.

Soy Milk

Soy milk is a white liquid made from water and soy beans. There are different techniques of making it. In the Japanese way of making soy milk, uncooked soy beans are soaked in water overnight. In the morning they are drained, then mashed with some...