oatmilk: almond milk's cooler, hotter cousin

by abigail thielen

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This dairy milk alternative is environmentally friendly and extremely delicious!

​At the beginning of March, Starbucks finally launched Oatly oat milk as a dairy alternative along with some crazy-good specialty oat milk drinks: the Honey Oatmilk Latte and the Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso. The launch was so successful that it’s selling out at many locations, including the Strozier library cafe. Unlike Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts has offered oat milk for quite a while, and they charge a lot less (I absolutely adore their iced matcha lattes with oat milk).

Credit: USA Today

Oat milk tastes great in cereal, smoothies, and lattes; it’s even being used in dairy-free yogurts and ice creams by brands like Oatly and Trader Joes. Because it is a newly available alternative in most stores, oat milk’s prices tend to run higher than most almond and soy milk brands. Price aside, here are some of the biggest reasons to switch over to this option:

1. Oat milk is environmentally sustainable.

According to BBC News, oat milk requires about one eighth of the amount of water needed to produce almond milk. It also emits far less carbon emission than cow’s milk and rice milk.

2. ​Oat milk is nut-allergy and soy-allergy friendly.

For those who want to go dairy-free or vegan but experience nut or soy allergies, oat milk is a great option.

3. Oat milk is simply delicious.

​This milk has a slightly nutty and naturally sweet flavor with a creamy, light consistency. From my experience with dairy alternatives, it has the closest taste and consistency to cow’s milk out of most options you’d find at the grocery store.

Credit: Downshiftology

If you aren’t willing to go for ready-made oat milk in stores, it is ridiculously easy (and cheap) to make at home. Here’s a recipe I adapted from several different TikToks on the subject:

Ingredients:
1 cup rolled of oats
6 cups water
Sweetener to taste (Options include maple syrup, dates, sugar, brown sugar, etc.)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)
¼ teaspoon of salt

Steps:
1.     Blend the ingredients in a blender for 30 seconds. Avoid over-blending to get the best texture.
2.     Strain the milk with a cheesecloth or mesh strainer. Discard the pulp and strain the mixture again for a smoother consistency, but do not squeeze the cheesecloth.
3.     Refrigerate and enjoy!

As far as dairy alternatives go, oat milk is near perfection. You’ll be seeing a lot more of it in the coming years, so you might as well add a carton to your shopping cart on your next grocery trip just to see what the hype is all about. See you next week!