The Oat Milk Trend (or How I started Loving Matcha Lattes again)

Elixr, a really cool coffee house, is just five minutes from my home, and that alone is very good news. Odd, don’t you think that it took my kids visiting from Bucks County recently to let me know about this terrific place. My first time there, I wanted a matcha latte and asked if they served Oatly, the oat milk sensation from Sweden. Indeed they do, and I enjoyed a delicious matcha Oatly oat milk latte! More recently I’ve had an iced matcha latte as well—on one of the (too) rare warm days so far in Philadelphia.

Today, after two workouts—Yes, I did!—I came home wanting a matcha latte, but the rain was pouring down, and I didn’t want to go outside again. Then, I remembered I’ve made oat milk a couple of times and really liked how quickly it is to make,  and how creamy the resulting milk.. I  decided to start with 1/2 cup instead of a full cup of oats, because instead of using rolled oats, as usual, I used steel cut oats. Why steel cut? Well, that’s what was in my pantry. “Use what you have if possible,” is my motto.

Homemade Oat Milk

I have updated the ratio for the oats to water in this recipe to 1:6 now after making oat milk many times. I have seen the formula for oats to water range from  1:4 to 1:8 and after many batches, I settled on this one. You can add less water and whisk in, don’t blender it in, more water.  With the oat milk in this orginal post, I I tasted no difference in the resulting creamy oat milk between the batches I’d made with the rolled oat and today’s steel cut oat milk. The difference was in the prep, or as we say at the Rouxbe Cooking School in all of the courses (Plant Based Professional, Essential Vegan Desserts, Culinary RX), the mise en place.  I had not soaked rolled oats, ( I do now for 10 minutes and then strain and use fresh water) but I did soak the steel cut for 20 minutes in just boiled water. Next, I strained the oat milk through a fine mesh strainer, and added the resulting oat cream to add to my morning oatmeal. I expected the oat milk to be bland, so I added, as I normally do, some vanilla extract and maple syrup. Delicious. You can add any sweeter or flavoring you like.

I made what I consider to be a half recipe, as I was not sure of the final result. Scroll to the recipe and increase it to make a larger amount.  You can certainly soak the steel cut oats longer in room temperature water and I am sure you make oat milk from oat groats. Those will need a much longer soak. Per my usual, I started the blender on low and quickly increased the speed to high. Boom. Creamy oat milk.

Oat Milk Matcha Latte

The baristas at Exlir have nothing to worry about, but I saved money and didn’t have to go out in the rain. My frother is on the fritz so all I could do was heat and aerate the milk. The milk aerated a lot less than almond milk and soymilk, but still, it made a fine oat milk latte. Oat milk is a good plant to use in baked goods too I learned this in Italy during my Vegano Italiano Tours, where I first found oat milk in markets.

Oats are very healthy, as is matcha, so this is a win-win! According to Mother Jones, oat milk has three times the protein of its almond-based rival and at least twice the fiber.

Some of the health benefits of oats include:

• • Oats are rich in antioxidants

• • They contain a powerful soluble fiber called beta-glucan.

• • Oats can lower cholesterol levels and protect LDL cholesterol from damage.

• They can improve blood sugar control.

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Homemade Oat Milk- Updated

After making many more batches of oat milk, I updated this recipe by increasing the ratio of water to oats as well as the method. This oat milk comes together quickly and tastes great! Enjoy it in your morning latte. What is key here: Don't blend any longer than it takes to make the milk, or you risk having gummy oat milk. Whisk more water into the oat milk if you want it to be thinner. Do not blend the oat milk again. 

Yield: about 2 1/2 cups creamy oat milk

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword oat milk

Author Fran Costigan

Ingredients

• ½ cup steel cup oats with enough just boiled water to cover by 3 inches or more
• 3 cups filtered water room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, or to taste darkest maple
• Pinch sea salt

Instructions

1. Place the oats and enough boiled water to cover the oats by 3-4 inches in a container and allow to soak for 20 minutes. If you’d prefer to use room temperature water, allow the oats to soak for an hour. 

2. Drain and rinse the oats in a strainer. Spoon into a high-speed blender.  Add 3 cups of filtered water. Start the blender on low and quickly increase the speed to high. Blend only until the oats are creamed, not longer. Try to keep the blending to 2 minutes.

3. Strain through a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag. Save the oat cream that is strained out to add to your cereal. 

4. Add the vanilla extract, maple syrup, and salt. Taste and add more sweetener, or spice- like cinnamon, if you like. If you want to add more milk, whisk it in, do not reblend. You can whisk in date paste too.
   

5. Oat milk, like other homemade plant milks will separate, so just shake it. It lasts 3-4 days in the refrigerator.