The theme of plant drinks in the modern lactose intolerant world is now becoming more widespread. Almond milk is distinguished by the absence of cholesterol and, accordingly, lactose, is an alternative to milk of animal origin, can withstand a long time without the need for refrigeration. It contains vitamins, various nutrients such as iron, potassium, magnesium, zinc and phosphorus and much more.
In the production of almond milk, after decanting and filtering, what remains is the so-called okara. It is often used in cosmetology, for example, for skin cleansing cosmetic preparations.
Okara or almond pulp after being pressed is usually dried to make almond flour/powder. Therefore, the production of plant drinks from almonds is practically waste-free, since during processing it becomes possible to produce by-products from processing residues.
The most important process in the production of almond milk is grinding and creating a stable emulsion with dissolved particles of fat and protein found in almonds. During production, it is recommended not to overheat the product so that the almonds do not lose their beneficial properties. To complete the taste, various flavors and stabilizers can be added so that, for example, at a low concentration (percentage of almonds), the drink does not separate.
In industrial production, all plant-based drinks, including almond milk, undergo a pasteurization process to prevent microbial contamination.
The Internet is overloaded with recipes for the production of almond milk using a kitchen blender, all the functions of which, during industrial production, are transferred to special homogenizers-disperses for creating suspensions and emulsions, which "soy cow" Veggie Milk machines do.
These units are distinguished by the fact that they can operate periodically, cyclically and in batches, in contrast to industrial lines with continuous operation. Kettle for plant milk production is a working tank with a bottom homogenizer-disperser, equipped with a circulation circuit for continuous recirculation through the homogenizer, which makes it possible to achieve a raw material fraction size of up to 100 microns.