Infuse Your Milk With Your Favorite Spice And Taste The Magic
Since humans first domesticated animals, the humble drink we call milk has played a prominent role in our diets. With time and increased awareness, our choice of the source of milk may have changed, but it remains a staple for most of us. Whether that means drinking it straight up or using it for milk cooking tricks, we're still fairly reliant on milk in our diets. There are, after all, many recipes that use a lot of milk. The only problem, perhaps, with this ubiquitous drink is that it can taste pretty bland when consumed on its own.
Here's an easy solution to beat that problem: Infuse your milk with your favorite spice and taste the magic! Spices and herbs lend a subtle but distinct flavor to your milk drink that will allow you to enjoy drinking it on its own or even use it as a flavorful additive in other drinks or desserts. Keen to know more about this process? Here's the lowdown.
How to infuse your milk with spices
The procedure for infusing your milk with spices is a very simple one. You can start by picking the spices or herbs of your choice and whichever milk you prefer. This trick works with all kinds of milk, including whole-fat, skimmed, almond, soy, oat, or any other you wish to use. However, the higher level of fat in whole-fat milk helps the infusion happen faster and better, creating a stronger flavor. Some of the spices you could use include cinnamon, lavender petals, citrus fruit, vanilla, mint, and turmeric for healthy and delicious golden milk.
To start the process of infusion, you need to first warm the milk in a pan on low heat — you want to avoid bringing it to a boil. Then you can add your chosen fresh or dried herbs into this warm milk, and let it sit for a minimum of 15 minutes and up to an hour. You can taste the concoction till you are satisfied with the flavor and determine the time required for steeping the spices. Once you feel it is ready, simply strain the spices out and enjoy your delicious milk.
How to enjoy your spice-infused milk
On a cold winter's day, this spice-infused milk is sure to hit the spot when drunk on its own. However, if you'd prefer to take it another way, it also makes a great additive to other drinks or meals. You can pour it over cereal for an elevated breakfast experience. It's wonderful with oatmeal as this dish acts like a blank canvas that can be enhanced with whatever is added to it. You could even add it to desserts like rice pudding or panna cotta to balance the sweetness with subtle spicy notes.
It can also easily be added to several drinks. Swedish coffee really benefits from the addition of cardamom-infused milk, and hot chocolate tastes great with cinnamon and vanilla-infused milk added to it. You could also add your spice-infused milk to your morning brew to make a delicious masala chai and enjoy the pep of energy it brings. At night, keep the caffeine away and drink the spiced milk on its own to help you relax and ease you into a better night's sleep.