How to Make Your Own Rice Milk

The price of everything is going up these days, and that includes at the grocery store. Anyone who has tried to buy groceries recently knows there are more and more things we just cannot afford anymore. And for some, that includes milk.

Yet enjoying a glass of cold milk does not have to become a luxury. For a fraction of the cost of cow's milk you can make rice milk at home and still be able to enjoy a favorite beverage. Homemade rice milk is also wonderful for cooking with, giving soups or desserts that creamy milk flavor without costing a lot of money. Making your own rice milk is also great if you have vegans or vegetarians in your home that prefer not to drink cow's milk. Making a batch of rice milk for them is a snap!

Here is all you need to make your own rice milk at home:

• 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
• 8 cups water (additional water later varies)
  
• large pot
• blender
• strainer
• large bowl or jar for storage
  
• optional - 1 tsp vanilla extract

In the large pot bring your water to a boil, add rice, and turn down heat to low heat. Let the rice simmer for about 3 hours, stirring often to prevent clumping. The rice should be the consistency of runny rice pudding.

Pour some of the rice mixture into your blender, filling the blender about half way. Add water to your blender to fill it to the top. Blend the rice and water until very smooth, then pour through the strainer into your storage container. Repeat this process several times until you ahve worked through all of the boiled rice in the pot.

Add in the vanilla extract to the entire batch and rice milk and stir. You may want to taste often here as some people prefer their rice milk sweet and some do not. If you are going to be cooking with this rice milk you may not want to add the vanilla extract. For milk to drink or eat with, however, some people enjoy the sweeter flavor. If your rice milk seems too thick at this point stir in more water, 1/4 cup at a time, until it reaches your preferred consistency.

Unlike fortified cow's milk or store purchased rice milk, the rice milk you make at home does not contain an abundance of vitamins. You should not attempt to maintain your daily supply of calcium and vitamins through homemade rice milk. If that is a concern for you seek out other foods that will supply things such as Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Iron, and Calcium in your diet.