Ever wonder which vegan milk would work best in your coffee or in a curry? If you aren’t sure what you’re looking at (or for) when you hit the supermarket, worry no more – here are some recommendations on how to use plant-based options:
Oat Milk: Coffee and Tea
Oat milk is making a big splash on the café scene, and it’s easy to see why. It generally steams and froths better than other vegan milks and has a consistency that works well in hot drinks. Its versatility, slight natural sweetness, and neutral flavour seem to blend seamlessly with the taste of coffee and tea – Oatly even makes a Barista Edition!
This coffee-friendly milk is available in several hundred cafés around the country and some major coffee chains.
Almond Milk: Cereal
Almond milk has the ideal consistency to complement your cereal in the morning. It has a very light texture and a crisp flavour with nutty undertones – and it’s commonly fortified with calcium and vitamins D, E, and B12. This vegan delight will definitely help kick-start your day.
Coconut Milk: Curry
With its richness, sweetness, and wonderful aroma, tinned coconut milk can add magic to many a dish, but its creamy texture is perfect for curries. And it’s packed with iron, vitamins, calcium, and all sorts of other goodness. See for yourself just how you can make the most of it by trying out our recipe for Red Thai Curry or Thai Green Curry. Bon appétit!
Also, coconut milk from a carton is great to drink – it’s a tasty way to stay hydrated throughout the day.
Soya Milk: Baking
If you’re passionate about baking, soya milk’s the one for you. It can be substituted directly for cows’ milk (bonus, no pus!) so makes for an easy animal-friendly option. Rich and creamy, it’ll give you the texture and consistency you want in your baking with about half the fat of cows’ milk, a third of the calories, and none of the cruelty.
You can find soya milk anywhere – from your local off-licence to major supermarkets.
Cashew Milk: Ice Cream
Cashew milk is creamy and satisfying, so when it’s frozen and churned, it has a wonderful, luxurious mouthfeel that no other milk can match. Try Booja-Booja’s cashew milk ice creams – they’re raw, organic, and seriously decadent.
Why Ditch Cows’ Milk?
Milk production is cruel. On dairy farms, cows are forcibly impregnated via artificial insemination, only for their beloved calves to be torn away from them so the milk that nature intended for their babies can instead be consumed by humans. Both mother cows and their calves are emotionally traumatised when separated from each other. For days afterwards, the mothers bellow in desperation and the calves bawl in distress – all in vain.
Male calves – who are viewed by farmers as “by-products” – are either shot at birth or destined to be raised for veal. Females, like their mothers, face a lifetime of repeated forcible impregnation and anguish over their lost babies. Their bodies are strained to the limit in order to squeeze out every last drop of milk. Today, cows on British farms typically produce 10 times more milk than they naturally would in order to feed their calves.
By choosing to drink plant-based milks instead of cows’ milk, you’re preventing mothers and babies from being subjected to the misery of separation and other forms of abuse. Find out more about the benefits of going vegan by downloading our free vegan starter kit and reading more about dairy alternatives:
