Review of Milk Alternatives

By Gwende1yn

There are dozens of alternatives to dairy milk on the market these days. They are not all created equal! If you don’t like one, don’t let it turn you off from all of them. When I first started drinking soymilk over four years ago, I thought most of them tasted horrible. Fortunately, the first one I tried was actually pretty good and so when I had a bad one, I wasn’t turned away easily. Like many Americans, I hated the taste of soy (not soy sauce, just plain old soy). If that sounds like you, I recommend you start with 8th Continent Soy Milk, Blue Diamond Almond Milk, or a rice milk of your liking.

The biggest downfall to all the tasty milk alternatives (and many of the not-so-tasty ones) is that they contain carageenan (a form of MSG) and/or other hidden sources of MSG. There are a few varieties of soymilk on the shelf that are just water and soybeans, but they definitely take some getting used to. Since I am extremely sensitive to MSG and had to avoid even these minute sources, I opted to purchase a Vita-Mix and make my own nut milks. For me, they taste better than soymilk, but with a Vita-Mix, you can make your own soymilk, too, if you want.

For beginners, I recommend experimenting with various shelf brands, so here’s some specific info to help you out.

Soymilk Brands

• 8th Continent (found in the dairy case) is by far the best brand for those timid of soymilk. It doesn't really taste like soy at all; not even the original flavor! It’s great for both cooking and drinking. The vanilla flavored has a rather strong vanilla taste, but try both the original and vanilla to see which one you like best. The only downfall to 8th Continent is that it uses carageenan.
  
  
• Silk Soy (found in the dairy case) is, in my opinion, the second best tasting. It has a little bit of soy flavor, but not terribly much. The vanilla is better for cereals and sweets, but the original will work for mashed potatoes and similar non-vanilla type foods. Silk seems to be a little thicker than others, as well. All the Silk I’ve seen also contains carageenan.
  
  
• Better Than Milk (found in the health food section) is a powder that mixes easily with water to make a nice white soymilk that looks and even tastes more like regular dairy milk. It doesn't have the slightly brown tint that most soymilks have. It contains maltodextrin (another form of msg).
  
  
• Sun Soy (found in the dairy case) tastes like soy. It's the worst I’ve ever had, though I admit I haven’t had it again since getting used to soy.
  
  
• Westsoy (found in the health food section) varieties are all over the spectrum in terms of taste. They all have a bit of a soy taste, some more so than others. Fortunately, they do make one variety that does not contain any sources of MSG. Look for a variety that only contains soybeans, water and possibly calcium carbonate.

Rice & Grain Milks

• Rice Dream (found in the health food section) is rather odd tasting, in my opinion. I tried rice milk a friend had several years back and liked it, but don't recall the brand. This one has a slightly more dry taste I don't care for.
  
  
• Pacific (found in the health food section) makes a number of grain milks, including Oat, Multi-Grain, and Rice. I had the Oat Milk once and it was ok, but not amazing.

Nut Milks

• Blue Diamond (found in the health food section) makes an Almond Milk that is really yummy, but very sweet and also contains carageenan. If you don’t like soy, it’s an excellent alternative.
  
  
• Pacific (found in the health food section) makes both Almond and Hazelnut milk. I didn’t like their almond at all and so I stayed away from the hazelnut. Their almond milk was much less sweet than Blue Diamond brand.

Coconut Milk

• Coconut milk (check the Asian foods section) comes in cans and is typically used in Thai foods and curries. If you're going to make something coconut flavored that requires milk of some kind, just use coconut milk instead. It's great for chocolate coconut pudding. Make sure to use the regular, rather than the lite variety, for any recipes that need heavy cream. The regular is increadibly creamy; the lite is just a watered down version of the regular. Unfortunately, coconut milk is high in fat.

Sour Cream

• Tofutti Sour Cream is a reasonable substitute for sour cream, but you can tell the difference. If you've got lots of other flavors in the recipe you're using it for, it should work fine for you. It, also, contains hidden sources of msg.