Non-Dairy Milk ~ Part 8

Forager® Project

Organic Cashewmilk ~ Unsweetened Plain

https://www.foragerproject.com/cashewmilk


While shopping at my local grocery store last week, I came across another new(-ish) non-dairy milk product: Forager® Project Organic Cashewmilk ~ Unsweetened Plain. I really like cashews[1] and figured this might be another good bovine-milk alternative. Well, sometimes ya just plain figures wrong...

This was not truly 'orrible in any way, it was just very disappointing. I normally like most anything to do with cashews, so I think that I might have set the bar too high for this cashew-based product.

My two major tests for any of these non-dairy milk products are how it works and tastes "in a tall glassa with cookies" and "on cold cereal in the morning". I tried a coupla glassas with a few different cookie types and on at least three different breakfast cereals (two flake-type cereals and one Cheerios™ flavour). Sadly, 
it really did nothing to enhance either cookies or cereals. It actually tasted both kinda bland and off at the same time.

Additionally, I even gave it a go in a cuppa hot Chocolate (just your boring ol' Nestlé®-brand powdered junk ~ I used this cheap stuff 'cause I did not want to waste a test on any of my superior Bettys product [I only have a little left from Christmas]), and it really did not add anything special. I suppose I  coulda just used hot water in the mix and it woulda tasted just about as good (or bad). Plus, when heating up this kinda faux-milk, you really have to watch it while it slowly boils. The ingredients in it tend to break down a bit and you have to constantly stir it around.

Forager® Project offers their cashewmilk line-up with four different options: (the one I tried) Organic Cashewmilk ~ Unsweetened Plain; Organic Cashewmilk ~ Original; Organic Coconut Cashewmilk ~ Unsweetened Vanilla; and Organic Coconut Cashewmilk ~ Unsweetened Plain. Unfortunately, I did not think enough of the flavour that I did try that I will be bothering to try any of the others. I have had other brands of cashewmilk before and seem to remember liking them much better.

On the plus side, Forager® Project also offers a line of cashewmilk-yoghurt, which they are marketing as "Cashewgurt®" (these d*mn companies and their completely madeuppery words!). Now, I have had several of their flavours of Cashewgurt® and have actually liked them a lot. They are very creamy, but not quite as good as αυθεντικό ελληνικό γιαούρτι (and I do not think that anyone would ever try to make a good Τζατζίκι outta this stuff). I did not even put the two products together when I first bought their cashewmilk, and did not realize they were the same company until I checked out their web-site recently while researching this 'blog-episode. (Hmmm?! Could that be a new portmanteau "'blogisode"?)

In conclusion, do not let the sound of "cashewmilk" fool you into believing it might actually taste as good as cashews in milk form. I mean, pistachios happen to be one of my favourite "nuts"[2], and I generally love all thing pistachio, too (Ice Cream, Kulfi, plain/roasted, etc.); however, I think that even I would possibly have to draw the line at pistachiomilk... maybe...


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:
Forager® Project Organic Cashewmilk ~ Unsweetened Plain ~ 5.8;
(however,) Cashewgurt® (various flavours) ~ 6.7

(Whereas: 
100% organic Bovine juice ~ 8.3;
Almondmilk ~ 7.0 - 8.2 [depending on the brand and/or flavour];
Coconutmilk ~ 7.0;
Hazelnutmilk ~ 6.9;
Cashewmilk ~ 6.8 [other brands]; 
Flaxmilk ~ 6.7; 
Ricemilk ~ 6.5; 
Soymilk ~ 5.8;
ripple™ Unsweetened Original Nutritious Pea Milk ~ 5.2; 
Hempmilk ~ 5.0 [ugggh! and I am only including it here on the list with the rest of these because I did try it... once... never again])

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1. Of course, the cashew is not truly a "nut"; it is actually the seed of the cashew apple (fruit).

Stupid, useless cunning linguist (etymological) pointer of the day:

Its English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree caju (Portuguese pronunciation: [kaˈʒu]), which itself is derived from the Tupian word acajú, literally meaning "nut that produces itself". The generic name "Anacardium" derived from Greek άνά (aná), meaning "outside", and καρδία (kardía), meaning "heart", refers to the unusual location of the seed (the heart) outside of the fruit.

2. Pistachios are also not another true "nut" botanically, but another tree seed, and, surprisingly, also a member of the cashew family.

And just for the h*ck of it, here is another stupid, useless cunning linguist (etymological) pointer of the day:

"Pistachio" comes from late Middle English "pistace", from Old French, superseded in the 16th century by forms from Italian "pistacchio", via Latin from Greek "pistakion", from Persian "pesteh".