April is Earth Month, and there's no better way to celebrate than by surveying your single-use container waste. An average of 8 million metric tons of plastics end up in the ocean each year (and that's not even counting the 150 million tons that already live in the ocean), so we should all do our part to cut back on plastic.
We already know that swapping plastic water bottles for reusable ones is a good start to becoming more sustainable, but another way to cut back is by ditching cartons — namely, milk and milk-alternative cartons. That's where the Almond Cow comes in.
The Almond Cow is a super-efficient plant-based milk machine that self-strains and makes almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, and more in under a minute. It can help you cut back on single-use milk jugs and cartons, and lets you make drinks free of preservatives, thickeners, and oils.
How does the Almond Cow work?
The Almond Cow includes a large stainless steel base, a detachable filter basket, a top piece that is essentially a high-powered immersion blender, a collector cup, and a power cord.
To make milk, just fill up the base with water to the inner MIN or MAX line, based on the recipe you're following. Nuts, grains, sweeteners, and anything else you want to flavor your plant milk is placed in the filter basket, which is then screwed onto the top. Then, secure the top to the base, press the cow button on top, and you'll have fresh plant-based milk in just under one minute. Remove the top after the Almond Cow has finished blending, and the milk can then be poured directly out of the base into a container (Almond Cow sells their own cute milk jugs, but during testing, I noticed that the top wasn't very secure).
To clean, just unscrew the filter basket from the top of the Almond cow and remove the pulp that's leftover from blending the nuts. Almond Cow has a ton of recipes for what to make with the pulp, so don't throw it away! It can be used for everything from granola to a protein-rich ingredient for smoothies.
The filter basket and the stainless steel portion of the top can be rinsed under water to clean, but the base should be wiped, since you risk wetting the inside of the power cord adapter if you try to wash it like a normal dish. The top of the Almond Cow shouldn't get wet either, and while that makes cleaning a little more involved, if you rinse and wipe everything down right after blending, cleanup takes just a few minutes and is mostly painless.
What can you make in the Almond Cow?
You can make pretty much any kind of alternative milk under the sun in the Almond Cow. I first tried out Almond Cow's signature CocoCash milk without presoaking the nuts or the coconut shreds, and it was a great milk for smoothies, oatmeal, and baked goods. It was subtly sweet from the coconut flakes, and I ended up adding a little maple syrup and a pinch of salt for extra flavor. This milk was a tad on the thin side, but was definitely on par with other almond and cashew milks on the market.
Almond Cow offers recipes for creamers which use less water, and this method resulted in super thick, creamy milks, similar to the barista style plant milks that are ideal for lattes and other cafe drinks. I preferred this texture for eating with cereal and for adding to my morning matcha, since it's a lot thicker and creamier than the large batch recipes.
I made a cashew and pecan creamer with a bit of added honey and salt, and it was some of the best tasting dairy-free milk I've had. Most store-bought milks taste artificial and aren't great to drink on their own, but I would sip this in a glass or make a hot drink out of it in a heartbeat.
Ingredients don't have to be soaked before putting them in the Almond Cow (with the exception of whole-grain oats), but if you do decide to soak them for a few hours, you'll be met with a slightly thicker, creamier result. I soaked a cup of cashews for four hours before making a batch of milk, and when compared to the batch that I hadn't soaked, it was a bit thicker — but honestly wouldn't be that noticeable if you weren't directly comparing the two.
These drink options are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what you can make in the almond cow. You can make milk out of pretty much any nut, seed or grain (including rice milk, hemp milk, and coconut milk) and you can add any sweeteners or extras of your choosing. There are also Almond Cow recipes for non-nut milk drinks like lemonade, mocktails, and more.
How long does the Almond Cow take to make milk?
The Almond cow is super speedy, and can make up to six cups of plant-based milks in about 55 seconds. Because it features a fine-mesh strainer compartment inside the machine, there's no need to use cheesecloths or nut milk bags to separate pulp from milk, making the cleanup fast and easy, too. If you have all the necessary ingredients, you can make a batch of cashew milk, almond milk, or oat milk faster than it would take you to run to the store and buy a carton.
Does the Almond Cow help reduce waste?
If you're strategic about your usage, the Almond Cow can definitely help you reduce waste in a few different ways. First, the production of alternative beverages like almond milk, soy milk, and oat milk create far fewer greenhouse gasses than their dairy counterparts, so just choosing non-dairy alternatives is an eco-friendly choice.
Second, the Almond Cow can help you ditch plastic milk jugs and cartons for good. We all know that single use plastics are bad for the environment, so switching from packaged milks to the Almond Cow is a no-brainer. What's a little more surprising though, is the impact of cartons that alternative milks typically come in.
According to in-house data calculations based on a few different sources, Almond Cow estimates that the average family uses about 144 plastic cartons each year. In the brand's 2022 sustainability study, it cited the 2018 United States National Postconsumer Plastic Bottle Recycling Report to say that "only 28.9% of all plastic bottles sold were actually recycled, including those for dairy and non-dairy milks." Additionally, TetraPaks, another common container for milk and milk alternative products, had just a 26% recycling rate, per the same report.
These two types of drink containers are often made up of some combination of cardboard, plastic, and aluminum, which can make them hard to recycle since the materials have to be separated. Many local recycling facilities now take in and recycle cartons, and the paper portions of these cartons go on to be used to make a whole host of consumer paper packaging. But even when they are recycled, cartons can leave a mixed aluminum and plastic byproduct that has limited uses.
In addition to helping you ditch single-use packaging, making your own plant milks at home removes the amount of waste that typically goes into the production and transportation of commercially made milk and milk alternatives. And finally, if you make plant milk in the Almond Cow using nuts, grains, or seeds bought at a bulk store using your own reusable containers, you can avoid single-use packaging completely.
In terms of the carbon footprint of the Almond Cow itself, according to the 2022 sustainability study, the production of the gadget generates around the same amount of CO2 as using 2.7 gallons of gas. In this same study, the brand claims that heating an electric kettle one time uses the same amount of electricity as making 25 batches of milk in the Almond Cow.
Almond Cow vs Nutr
One of Almond Cow's biggest competitors is Nutr, the single-serve nut milk machine. For reference, Nutr costs $169, while the Almond Cow costs $245.
Mashable tested Nutr and it came out with a 4.5 out of 5 overall rating, but the biggest downside is that it only makes about one and a half cups of milk at a time. This is a great size if you only use alternative milks for your morning coffee, but if you need more than 1.5 cups of milk at a time, the Almond Cow is your best bet.
Nutr features more settings than the Almond Cow — hot, warm, and room temperature heat settings, plus a boil and self-clean button. While Almond Cow only has one setting, the milk and creamers it makes are fantastic, so we don't think the lack of extra functions puts Nutr above it. Where Almond Cow really shines, though, is how fast and energy efficient it is. Nutr's longest setting takes about 20 minutes to make, according to reviewer Michelle Rostamian, while Almond Cow takes under a minute to make both milk and creamers, therefore using much less electricity.
Is the Almond Cow worth the money?
A side effect of all this waste reducing is that even though there's a high upfront cost, you'll eventually save money using the Almond Cow, since you're cutting out all the middleman manufacturers.
As an example, three pounds of almonds from Almond Cow cost $22.95, which yields about nine cups of almonds, and will make up to 54 cups of milk. A common almond milk brand costs $3.67 for a 48-ounce container, so the same amount of milk bought from a store would cost you roughly $33, saving you $11. Over time that can really add up. If you're an oat milk lover, making oat milk is cheaper than making nut-based milks, so you'd save even more.
The only downside to this particular example is that Almond Cow's ingredients are currently packaged in plastic. This packaging is recyclable through How2Recycle at select drop off locations, but the brand told Mashable in an email that they're working on creating fully backyard compostable packaging. If you truly want to ditch single-use packaging, you'll be better off heading to your local bulk grocery store and packing your nuts, seeds, and grains in reusables until Almond Cow releases their compostable packaging.
I was originally a bit skeptical of if the Almond Cow would be worth the $245 price tag, but considering how fast it makes milk, how it can help reduce your carbon footprint, and how delicious the results were, I wholeheartedly recommend it — for folks who are already religious plant milk drinkers. If you're planning on switching from dairy milk to plant-based milks, I recommend you try a few store-bought alternatives first before diving in on the Almond Cow. But lactose intolerant folks, vegans, and eco-friendly shoppers should run to add this gadget to their kitchen appliance arsenal.
