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I-Inch Vanilla Bean
2 QUARTS MILK I CUP SUGAR Parboil almonds to remove skins easily, then pound the slippery blanched nuts to paste, plop them right into the milk and boil slowly. Slit vanilla bean so seeds will spice drink and add, with sugar. Stir; heat again to just below the boiling point and your drink's done. But you must strain it into a pitcher or jar and tuck it away "out of sight, out of mind" in the cool spring or icebox to ripen and chill. Then drink it ice cold.
A boiled almond milk flavored with vanilla bean and sugar, strained and chilled — essentially a rich orgeat served cold. The technique is sound; the quantities are only partly given.
- Missing almond quantityNo weight or measure for the almonds survives in the text. For 2 quarts of milk, a cup to a cup and a half of blanched almonds (about 5-7 oz) gives a pronounced almond flavor without turning the drink gritty.
- Blanching"Parboil" here means 30 to 60 seconds in boiling water, then drain; the skins slip off between finger and thumb. Do this before pounding, since the skins will not break down and will make the strained drink muddy and tannic.
- Pounding to pasteA mortar was the original tool. A food processor does it faster, but add a few spoonfuls of the milk to keep the nuts from packing into a dry oily mass at the sides of the bowl.
- The hinge: heat, do not hold at a boilMilk with almond solids in it scorches on the bottom of the pan very readily. Keep it at a bare simmer with frequent stirring, and on the second heating stop just below boiling, roughly 190-205F, as the recipe says. Scorched milk cannot be rescued.
- Vanilla beanA single split bean about an inch long is a small amount for 2 quarts; a whole bean (5-6 in.) split lengthwise, seeds scraped in, is closer to what a modern palate expects. Steep it in the hot milk rather than adding it at the end.
- StrainingPour through two layers of damp cheesecloth or a fine nut-milk bag and squeeze the solids; a plain sieve leaves too much almond meal suspended. The spent almond paste is still good stirred into porridge or cake batter.
- "Cool spring or icebox"The refrigerator. Give it at least 4 hours and preferably overnight — the "ripening" is real, as the almond and vanilla flavors continue to bloom in the cold milk. Keep it covered and use within three days.
- Yield and servingAbout 2 quarts, or eight to ten glasses. One cup of sugar makes it noticeably sweet; scale back if serving alongside dessert rather than on its own.