Milk is special. It is such a nutrient dense, energy intensive, resource intensive substance, that calling it a beverage wouldn’t do it justice. Milk is expensive, in the literal meaning of the term.
There has been a battle in the food industry about whether plant milk marketing groups should even be able to call their products milk. Some dairy lobbyists have suggested terms like nut juice for almond and cashew milks. But I’m not really here to talk about semantics.
I’ve been thinking about potato milk for a while and had heard of a company in Sweden that has brought it to market. But like all commercially available plant milks, it has a pretty long list of ingredients to make it homogenized and create a longer shelf life. In my view, I think that milk, whether coming from an animal or plant should be taken when fresh to respect the preciousness of milk.
I am not advocating for potato milk to replace your current favorite. Cow’s milk is a really important part of my life - in all of it’s amazing forms - cheese, cream, yogurt, ice cream, butter. But I am keenly aware of the dairy brands I source from. And I think we should have awareness for all of our milks. If we are drinking milk from nuts, beans, grains or animals, these are all liquid extractions that take a lot of energy from land, water resources, human labor, and, in some cases, animals.
This Maple Potato Milk is great for baking, hot cereals, and golden milk lattes. I used both a yellow variety as well as a purple variety. In my first batch, my daughter Mischa and I tried straining the milk but our cheesecloth was too finely woven so we added the “pulp” back into the milk. If you want a thinner milk, you can add the straining step but be sure to use a loosely woven cheesecloth. This was a very experimental process and Mishca and I had a lot of fun. We would love to hear what you think about potato milk.
~Jonnah
MAPLE POTATO MILK
Makes approx 5 cups milk
4 medium potatoes - I used Yukon Gold and Adirondack Blue
3 cups water
3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 pinches of salt
Peel potatoes and roughly chop. Boil in a pot until easily pierced with a fork. Remove from water and bring to room temperature. Put two cups of packed potatoes into a food processor or bowl + immersion blender. You will likely have left over potatoes to eat however you like:) Begin pureeing potatoes. Slowly add 2 cups of cold water. Continue adding water until milk consistency becomes liquid. OPTIONAL: staring through loose weave cheesecloth.Puree in maple syrup and salt.
Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week. Shake before using.