This is a really just a quick addition to a couple of prior non-dairy milk 'blog entries (see previous posts from November 6th, 2012 and August 27th, 2010). I have pretty much been drinking almondmilk (with the occasional foray into coconutmilk, or even an almond-coconutmilk[1] blend) for the past several years now. And this has absolutely nothing to do with being either lactose intolerant or adhering to a strict Vegan diet (truth be told, I think that I am starting to become a bit Vegan-intolerant myself ~ I mean what is up with all this nonsense about not consuming either milk or honey? That all sounds rather a bit Muslimist and anti-Semitic if you ask me. However, I really have no problems whatsoever putting up with lactose and all of its snide ways.); I just like having the option to drink alternative milks from that which comes specifically from bovines.
The other day I saw some flaxmilk in the same refrigerated dairy-free section in the store where I normally buy my almondmilk and decided to give it a bit of a go. It was okay, I liked it well enough, and I think it is better than soymilk[2], but just barely. It has a much better texture and flavour than soymilk, but it is made from flaxseed oil (also known as linseed oil ~ you know, the stuff that linoleum is made from) and that just does not seem right to me. I think that the best thing to be said for flaxmilk is that it seems to have matched the colour of real milk the closest of any of the non-dairy products that I have tried; while I love the actual flavour of almondmilk (it is really only faintly almond-tasting, and it tastes just as good in a bowl of cereal for breakfast as it does in a tall glass to drink along with cookies), the off-putting tannish hue really did take some getting used to. Another plus about flaxmilk is that, like all of the other non-dairy milk products, it has an extended "Use By/Enjoy By" date on the carton; this is usually two to three months out (however, once opened, it really should be used up within one to two weeks).
The actual brand that I tried was Good Karma™. I had their "Original" flavour. It is sweetened with cane sugar as one of the main ingredients and it seemed to be a little bit too much on the sweet side for me; it is also available in an "Original Unsweetened" version, but I did not try that one and I probably never will get around to trying it, either.
http://www.goodkarmafoods.com/products/flaxmilk/original/
Anyone that knows me, knows that I do not cook much and have never actually ever baked a thing in my life (maybe with the exception of those cookies from a tube when I was a kid, but, even then, I do not think I did it all by myself) ~ I honestly only have one decent baking sheet (or is it technically called a "baking pan"?) and the only reason I have that is because I use it as my "Pizza-reheater thingy". So, I have no idea how any of these non-dairy milk products would perform as a substitute ingredient in baking. They all seem that they would be a bit too watery to work well.
Conclusion: If a person happens to be lactose intolerant (we shall not speak of those obviously Muhammad- or Vishnu-loving Vegans again) and also allergic to either tree nuts (I have seen non-dairy milks now available made from almonds, hazelnuts, and cashews) or coconuts, I suppose that flaxmilk could be seen as a viable option over either ricemilk (it always seemed a bit chalky for my tastes) or soymilk.
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Flaxmilk ~ 6.7 (whereas: Almondmilk ~ 7.2; Coconutmilk ~ 7.0; Ricemilk ~ 6.5; Soymilk ~ 5.8; and real organic Cow milk ~ 8.0)
1. Almond Breeze® makes a very nice version.
I do not know why they do not offer a Chocolate variety of this, too. It seems to me that it would be a natural for anyone that likes Hershey's® Almond Joy® candy bars.
2. Of course, "Better than soymilk" is like saying, "She is the prettiest of the Kardashian sisters.", it is not really that much of a compliment.
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