Best milk alternatives?

[Hannah01x]

Hello!
I’ve been veggie for 5 years and recently turned vegan, only problem is I can’t find a milk alternative that I like to have with coffee and cereals I’ve tried soy(sweetened and unsweetened), almond, coconut and oat. I just don’t like the taste of any of them for some reason, almond milk I didn’t like the texture and it didn’t mix very well with coffee, not sure what else I can try really :/ any suggestions?
Thanks!

 

[Lou]

Try vanilla-flavored soymilk. That is what Starbucks uses in their Soy Lattes. and what I use mostly. Although I can use any alternative milk in coffee or cereal or smoothies. I can't tell the difference. It's only straight that I can tell the difference.

In NY and London, the cafes have been going thru a lot of oat milk. In the UK I think Oatly is now the biggest seller.

Oat milk is popping up in coffee shops everywhere — here's why baristas love it

Oat milk is the latest obsession among non-dairy drinkers, and craft coffee shops across the country are taking note. Baristas prefer it to other milk alternatives like soy for the way it steams and froths in lattes. Here's how oat milk is made and where to buy it.

www.businessinsider.com

Here in the US, we have some plant milk companies that make "creamers" just for coffee.

I don't know if you have Califia over there but they now make a Oat Barista Blend. And three different flavors of Almond/coconut milk creamers. Ripple makes a dairy-free half and half... and dozens of others. You probably have several choices in your stores. Here is an article.

8 Dairy-Free Coffee Creamers on the Market You Must Try

Don't take your coffee black? No worries — there are plenty of dairy-free coffee creamers on the market!

www.onegreenplanet.org

Anyway, there is this too. At first, I didn't like the taste of soy milk. Now I like it better than dairy milk. So you will probably not only become accustomed to it - but you might ever grow to like it.

 

[Rebecca68]

My favourite dairyfree milks are almond, oat, coconut. But keep in mind how different brands can have quite different taste for example there is only 2 brands of almond milk I like and I dont like any other brands I have had. So sometimes it can take time to find the right brand and type that you enjoy. Good luck

 

[Whoa182]

You could try the same milk products but with or without different gums that are used to thicken up the milk. I personally love having almond milk with oatmeal and I use soy milk (natural, unsweetened) for hot chocolate.

 

[Lou]

Yes, the variety of plant milks is both a blessing and a curse.
Recently the little upscale market I go to increased the number of shelves for plant milks. Both in the refrigerated section and the shelf-stable area. The variety is very impressive. However, all those different flavors of Silk ( a major brand in the US) have squeezed out the plain vanilla soymilk form Wildwood (a smaller label). And they were my favorite.
Some of the big supermarket chains even have their own brands and I like them too.

I'm very tempted to try some of those new coffee creamers that seem to be the new trendy item. but Vanilla Soy is just fine for my coffee. And i tend to have at least a quart of unsweetened unflavored something in the frig at all times for cooking purposes. I don't like the plain stuff for drinking plain - but for smoothies its fine.

Even for me, there is a limit to how many different kinds of soy milk I can have without anything going bad.

Last winter I became a big fan of Califia's chocolate-flavored coconut almond blend. I thought it made the best hot chocolate.
I think my favorite for cooking is plain coconut.
And plain soy is a good choice for cereal and smoothies.

 

[Celibataire]

When I first tried soya milk back in the day I found it to be an acquired taste but I have long since got used to it. I generally just buy the supermarket own-brand unsweetened cheap stuff, Tesco's now being called 'Grower's Harvest'.

 

[cooljuicer]

soya milk is the best......

 

[innerwealth29]

Walnut, oat and hemp milk are my favorites

 

[Nekodaiden]

Hello!
I’ve been veggie for 5 years and recently turned vegan, only problem is I can’t find a milk alternative that I like to have with coffee and cereals I’ve tried soy(sweetened and unsweetened), almond, coconut and oat. I just don’t like the taste of any of them for some reason, almond milk I didn’t like the texture and it didn’t mix very well with coffee, not sure what else I can try really :/ any suggestions?
Thanks!

For many things, Taste is an acquired taste . In other words, we can get used to, even start to like, things we previously did not. Now if you're looking for an alternative that is so like cow's milk you don't know the difference, I can't help you, maybe someone else can. I like a lot of plant milks, but that being said, I usually make my own so as to both save money and control the strength. Currently I use Tahini milk...it's a simple process of mixing Tahini with water in a blender. Lots of calcium in this too. Just beware it has a fair amount of fat if shedding weight is a concern...

 

[Andy_T]

As always, tastes are different and all I can say is keep trying out different versions. There are "Barista" versions, e.g. of Alpro and Silk milk that come very close to regular dairy milk in coffee.

Another suggestion, however, for improving you coffee, is to get a milk foamer. I love to have my coffee with foamed milk - I mix 50% of almond milk for the taste and 50% of soymilk because it foams nicely and foam it in an induction milk foamer - the result is an awesome cappuccino similar to one I would get at Starbucks.



I have a very capable espresso machine that makes nice milk foam, but this little device is even better.

MILK FOAMERS’ TEST - Coffee Nation

MILK FOAMERS’ TEST, In this milk foamers’ category, I like the ScanPart device. It is simply inexpensive and prepares good milk foam. Honestly,

coffeenation.co

 

[Frederic Lavender]

I normally use almond milk in my tea, usually from Aldi as it's cheap and we get through a lot of it. Sometimes I fancy coffee and that is where I use Oatly Barista! Smooth like silk and won't curdle. Can be a little pricey though!

 

[nobody]

I am excited about next-gen plant milks Eclipse and Perfect Day but they aren't available yet.

Eclipse Foods Wants to Become the Impossible Foods of Plant-Based Dairy

When it comes to plant-based alternatives, the dairy sector is lagging woefully behind: there’s a plethora of pretty amazing plant-based sausages and burgers, but most plant-based dairy produ…

thespoon.tech

Perfect Day Partners with ADM to Scale up Production of Cow-Free Dairy

Perfect Day, the startup which makes milk without the animal, today announced that it has entered into a partnership with global food processing company Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). The two forged…

thespoon.tech

 

[Lou]

Good stuff. but the first article started off with "When it comes to plant-based alternatives, the dairy sector is lagging woefully behind:"

I don't think that is true on any level.

Just on sales, PB meat is 2% of the meat sales. PB diary is 13% of the dairy market. PB dairy has made bigger dent in cows milk sales. Oh, PB meat is growing at a faster rate but that has a lot to do with they started with a much smaller number.

Just on price, PB dairy is much less expensive than PB meat. Maybe just 10 - 30% more expensive than cow's milk. And if you compare organic plant milk to organic cow's milk it is about the same price. Meanwhile, PB meat is still pretty expensive. For instance, an Impossible Whopper costs $4 more than a regular one.

As far as taste goes, a lot of people buy almond milk because they like the taste. Coffee shops in NYC and London have run out of oat milk.

U.S. Plant-Based Retail Market Worth $4.5 Billion, Growing at 5X Total Food Sales - Plant Based Foods Association

New data released today by the Plant Based Foods Association and The Good Food Institute shows U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods have grown 11 percent in the past year, bringing the total plant-based market value to $4.5 billion. The total U.S. retail food market has grown just 2 percent in...

plantbasedfoods.org

Beyond Meat and the Limits of a Tesla Strategy at the Grocery Store

Maintaining the current price premium for vegetable-based protein is important for alternative meat stocks like Beyond Meat. But it could slow demand growth for faux-meat products.

www.barrons.com

 

[nobody]

Good stuff. but the first article started off with "When it comes to plant-based alternatives, the dairy sector is lagging woefully behind:"

They are saying it's lagging woefully behind as far as technological progress compared to fake meat, which has been advancing.

 

[Lou]

They are saying it's lagging woefully behind as far as technological progress compared to fake meat, which has been advancing.

Well, that might be what they meant. not what they said.

I thought they mostly tried to make the point that there needed to be better tasting plant-based milks. I'm not against that idea but I don't think they are coming from a valid premise. Lots of people like PB milk. More than like PB meats. And lots of people who buy PB milks aren't vegan - they buy them because they like the taste (oat, almond, etc). Or for health reasons (soy and menopause).

And the PB milk market place has lots of alternatives already. Maybe they are low tech alternatives but they are also competitively priced alternatives.

But sure. the more the merrier.

 

[nobody]

Well, that might be what they meant. not what they said.

Yes it is. It's exactly what they said:

When it comes to plant-based alternatives, the dairy sector is lagging woefully behind: there’s a plethora of pretty amazing plant-based sausages and burgers, but most plant-based dairy products still taste like a compromise.

Also, not only has fake meat been advancing, but eggs and egg products, such as those made by JUST, Inc., have been too. Nothing in the plant milk world has been revolutionary enough to cause a lot of excitement. With advancement, there is the possibility of completely replacing real milk in the food system, rather than it just it just being a fringe thing.

 

[Lou]

They said, "still taste like a compromise".

Not " lagging woefully behind as far as technological progress compared to fake meat, which has been advancing." - Your words

Just Eggs is way too expensive for now. Pretty much only vegans buy it. PB meat and dairy are popular with non-vegans. Especially PB diary which is now firmly out of the novelty experience and has a real fan base.

Meanwhile just saw this headline. Is this going to be a thing now?

Inside the Seattle Company Plotting Lab-Made ‘Coffee’ Without Beans

Atomo is trying to do for coffee what plant-based brands Impossible and Beyond did for burgers

seattle.eater.com

 

[nobody]

You mentioned sales, price and taste but not molecular structure of these next-gen plant milks, which allows ice cream for example to be creamy as opposed to having the icy quality that most plant ice creams have when compared to dairy ice cream. That is the trick and it's why this is not a "well almond milk tastes fine but the more the merrier" situation. This stuff is nothing like almond milk because of the..

micelles, “the magic spheres” that are the molecular structures of milk proteins.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2019/10/01/this-high-tech-vegan-ice-cream-may-be-good-enough-to-fool-even-die-hard-dairy-lovers/

...in the case of Eclipse.

 

[Lou]

I have had pb ice cream that has that "icy quality" you mentioned. In fact, I have some Open Nature almond milk frozen dessert in my freezer that I don't like at all (although it might be a result that it melted and I re-froze it - Twice).

But there are already so many conventional alternative ice creams on the market that are really really good. So Delicious, Ben and Jerry, and Hagen Daz to just name a few. BTW, Trader Joe has just brought back Chocolate Cherry Soy Creamery, which is about 1/4 the price of Hagen Daz.

I'm not saying I'm against these innovative PB Dairy products. in fact, I'll probably try each and every one of them. I just disagree with the premise of that first article that the PB dairy business is "lagging". Not that long ago I commented right here at the forum that my favorite little upscale market just added more shelves in the non-dairy dairy section. They added a couple of shelves just in the non-dairy coffee creamer section. And there are lots of new brands, plant bases, and flavors. Way more choices than in the plant-based meat section of the store.

In my opinion its the PB meat market that needs to play catch up. No one buys an Impossible Burger cause it tastes better than beef. They buy it because it tastes almost as good. But there are people who buy almond milk or oat milk for their coffee because they like it better. And one should buy a Beyond Burger because it's healthier than a burger. It isn't. At least not by much. But some of these Plant-Based milks are bought because they are at least as healthy if not healthier than dairy.

Oh. Just thought of this and it probably ruins my whole argument. About half the pop is lactose intolerant so the PB dairy business has a built-in advantage. they should have 50% of the market.

 

[nobody]

I just disagree with the premise of that first article that the PB dairy business is "lagging".

I will join you in disagreeing with the premise that PB dairy is lagging in business but I do not see any evidence that the author was suggesting PB dairy lags woefully behind in business rather than technology, when considering the context established in say the first 4 paragraphs of the article.