There's been a lot of discussion about almond milk lately. Food writer Tom Philpott of Mother Jones pissed off a lot of people when he told "ignorant hipsters" to "lay off the almond milk" in an article published on July 16. Philpott took issue with the environmental impact -- specifically the water used -- in its production. He also criticized the price of the stuff, the inferior nutritional value compared to raw almonds, the potential additives and the watery taste.
On Slate, Maria Dolan came to almond milk's defense, saying that the product doesn't use as many almonds as one might think because people probably consume less than one serving of almonds when they use almond milk. Thus the environmental detriments are not nearly as dire. On Gawker, Hamilton Nolan shot down Philpott but simultaneously took himself down too when he wrote, "If I puked up almond milk it probably wouldn't even taste that bad relative to other kinds of puke." Philpott's article unintentionally caused such a stir that he wrote a follow-up piece a week later, in which he stated that his original story might have been his most-read piece on Mother Jones.
As Philpott pointed out in what he called his "opus," sales for almond milk are surging. FoodNavigator reported that WhiteWave Foods CEO Gregg Engles said it makes up two-thirds of plant-based milk sales in the U.S. As Kara Cutruzzula put it in Newsweek, "a perfect storm is brewing" between soy milk's decreasing popularity surrounding health concerns, and the decline of milk consumption. Philpott cited the USDA and reported that daily intake of .9 cups per person in 1970 declined to .6 cups per person in 2010.
Whether you're friend or foe of the product, it's clearly here to stay -- at least until the next non-dairy milk supersedes it. As fans of almond milk at HuffPost Taste, we've rounded up some great recipes using this hotly-disputed alternative. Not only can you pour it over your cereal and granola, but you can also sneak it in to baked goods, oatmeal and smoothies.
Here are 14 recipes to please the fans out there and persuade the haters to give it a chance.
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