Can I use almond milk when making the Indian cheese, paneer? How do I do it differently than animal milk?
9 Comments
Aanand S.May 20, 2016
http://jennshaggy.blogspot.com/2010/01/saag-paneer-with-home-made-vegan-paneer.html?m=1
beyondceleryJuly 15, 2011
Well, I've often wondered how hard it would be to make paneer with a nondairy milk, so this seemed like a good reason to test it out. It wasn't so gelatinous until I put the psyllium husks in; but it still wasn't anything near the curds needed for paneer. The whole thing ended up in the garbage. Oh, and it tasted awful. I have actually had an almond cheese from a store before, but it wasn't great. Now that Daiya is out there, the weirder vegan cheeses are disappearing. (Good riddance!)
PanfusineJuly 15, 2011
syronai... wow, hats off to your enthusiasm.. I kinda hypothetically assumed that the end result would be a crumbly collection of protein (the stuff I had at home was an almond 'beverage' rather than milk so did not attempt).it would not have worked, but eeew,.. gelatinous goo, that I did not imagine. but considering that almond milk is made from crushing almonds & then synthetically emulsifying it, I guess thats why you do not see almond cheese sold in stores..
A Whole Foods Market CustomerJuly 15, 2011
I make home made paneer, Indian cheese by heating the milk and after the milk is hot enough I add some sour curd about 1/2 cup and lime juice. We can even use white vinegar. In few minutes it will show you results..i mean the whey will start getting separated. There is no harm in trying it with diff type of milk.
beyondceleryJuly 15, 2011
Alright, so I was fascinated with this possibility and tried it after work. I'm pretty certain the resounding answer is NO. I brought 2 cups almond milk and 1 cup high-fat coconut milk to a near boil in my pot, added 1/3 cup fresh lime juice, and waited for the curds. It foamed up nicely, but no lumpy curds and only some separation. In an effort to get curds to come together, I added 1 Tbls psyllium husks (random idea) and that certainly gave it some thickness, but still no curds. I'm currently hanging it in cheesecloth to strain it. It's giving off a fair rendition of whey, but it's still doing its best impression of a ball of gelatinous goo. I don't have much hope for it, though I'll post more if it does anything interesting. Chalk one up to a fun, random unsuccessful experiment!
A Whole Foods Market CustomerJuly 14, 2011
No, almond milk won't be a gud idea. Because making paneer form real animal milk would be the best way to do so.
beyondceleryJuly 14, 2011
I'd love to know this answer! Though I suspect almond milk wouldn't curdle the same way at all.
PanfusineJuly 14, 2011
depends on whether almond milk can curdle under heat & lime juice.. this is one question I'd love to get an answer as well..
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