Several weeks ago I was contacted by a company called Hopps & Woolf and asked if I would like to try out their innovative Milk Maker. I always like to try new things and so I agreed. I've also been really interested over these last few months in non dairy alternatives to milk. They can be really pricey however. This was another reason that I was interested in trying this machine out.
The Hopps & Woolf Milk Maker is an innovative machine which enables a person to make pure and natural nut or soya milk using raw ingredients with no added preservatives or flavourings.
This unique machine is the result of the creative endeavours of two young Bristol Uni graduates, Alex Hoppenbrouwers and Thomas Woolf. Inspiration struck when Woolf, who studied engineering, was tasked with coming up with a business idea as part of a project. He says: "A girl in the group was saying 'I find it annoying, I can't buy the soya milk making machine I use in China in the UK'." Woolf mentioned the idea to Hoppenbrouwers, who was president of the university entrepreneur society, and the rest is history. In July their Milk Maker, which makes milk out of soya beans, almonds, and hazelnuts, was launched, and they also supply ingredients available through a weekly subscription.
It's a very attractive machine, not much larger than a kettle. This is important to me. I don't have a lot of room in my kitchen and I have come to learn through the years that things which take up a lot of space usually get relegated to the bedroom closet or the shed and end up only ever rarely being used.
It came with a simple to read and easy to use instruction manual, a handy cleaning cloth, a step by step instruction card, a strainer to strain the resultant meal from the milk . . . and . . .
Two 120g bags of one each organic soya beans and whole California almonds.
The machine itself has a very attractive brushed stainless steel body, high grade stainless steel blade, an 800W heater and a 250W motor.
You measure out your ingredients and then let them soak in water over night.
The next day you just place them into the milk maker with the requisite amount of water, put the lid on and press a button. The Milk maker automatically gently heats the ingredients and blends and pasteurizes them to a pre-set program. It takes about 25 to 30 minutes. The 25 minute cycle slowly releases nutrients to achieve great flavor.
This is what you find at the end of that time.
You simply then strain out the meal with the handy strainer which is included and presto chango . . .
There you have it . . . a lovely big jar of almond milk (in this case) or soya milk. All natural and additive free, and it will stay fresh in your refrigerator for up to five days!
And it costs pennies in comparison to most factory made alternative milks . . . and contains many more nutrients. Did you know that most nut milks are created by only using about 4 nuts? How nutritious can that be? And all those flavourings and chemicals, stabilizers, preservatives, etc. they add. How good can that stuff really be for you?
I love that this is all natural. I love knowing that it has been made in my very own pesticide free/clean kitchen.
You can also use it to make simple soups and or use it a a blender.
To find out more about this machine and how to get one of your own, do check out the Hopps & Woolf site.
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Many thanks to Hopps & Woolf for sending me this machine and making me a believer! The milk is tasty and so easy to make. I have been truly converted. (It's great on cereal, etc. YES IT IS!)