Homemade Sesame Milk

Today I discovered a way to make a non dairy milk substitute, that unlike most milk substitutes, is insanely easy to make, contains more calcium than regular milk, is a good source of protein, and works out to be cheaper than regular milk, at least based on the prices where where I live.

Sesame milk!

Ingredients
1/2 cup pure dark sesame paste/tahini (made with unhulled sesame seeds)
1 tablespoon water + 4 cups water
1 teaspoon honey/sucanat/sugar (or to taste)
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)


Instructions
1. With a fork or whisk, mix together tahini with 1 tablespoon of water. It should thicken considerably, to the point that it's hard to mix.

Tahini paste. It's quite liquidy to start.

But once you add a bit of liquid, it gets really thick!
Be careful not to add the whole amount of water at once;
if you do that, it won't work.

2. Add the rest of the water and mix well. A whisk will ensure to take out all the clumps.

3. Add sweetener or salt to taste.

4. Use as you would milk or cream in any recipe. Thin out more if you want, but I like it this thickness. There is just a barely discernible sesame taste.

As for nutrition facts- how does it compare to milk?
In 1 cup of whole milk, there are:
150 calories
8 grams of protein
8 grams of fat
And 30% of the RDA of Calcium

In 1 cup of sesame milk, there are:
250 calories
8.81 grams of protein
23 grams of fat
and 36% of the RDA of Calcium.

So how does it compare? Higher protein, higher calcium, but also higher fat. Not that I mind- sesame fat is a healthy fat.

As for the price, this recipe makes a liter of sesame milk for 92 cents.
Whole milk, where I live, costs $1.32 for that same liter. And if you thin this out even more, you get more than a liter for 92 cents.
I assume you can also make this with light tahini, made from hulled sesame seeds, and it would probably be cheaper, though lower in calcium.

This sesame milk tastes good in any recipe that calls for milk or cream, especially "Cream of Whatever" soups. I used this to make cream of celery/mushroom soup. Absolutely delicious!

Cream of celery and mushroom soup. Sluuurp!

Just a note- this milk tends to settle, so just give it a milk or a shake before using if preparing it in advance.

If you like this recipe, you might also like my instructions for another non soy, non dairy milk- chickpea milk.

Have you ever made any mock milks at home? Which ones? Do you think you'd try this recipe?


Linking up with Vegetarian Foodie Friday, and Frugal Friday, Pennywise Platter, and Friday foods.