Product links on this page go to Amazon. If you buy through them, Milk the Nut earns a commission. How we pick and earn
Nut meal dries to plaster in about an hour. Everything in this guide follows from that.
The habit
The moment the milk is poured, the filter goes under the tap. On a no-strain machine that is the basket: knock the meal into a container, rinse, done. On a heated maker it is the jug and the filter mesh: fill the jug with water, run the self-clean or just swirl and pour, then rinse the mesh under running water with the brush that came in the box. On the blender route it is the bag: inside out, meal out, rinse, hang. Two minutes, every time, and the machine stays on the counter. Skip it once and you are scrubbing.
What “self-clean” does
A self-clean program on a heated maker is a hot rinse: the plate warms the water, the blade spins it around the jug, and anything stuck to the walls loosens. That is all it does. The mesh filter still needs the brush, the lid gasket still needs a wipe, and a drop of dish soap in the self-clean water does more than the program alone. Run it with the lid on; the jug is hot.
Heated multi-cooker, 32 oz, eight programs
Kidisle 8-in-1 Nut Milk Maker, 32 oz
Kidisle 8 in 1 Nut Milk Maker Machine, 32 oz
The household size of the Kidisle line: a stainless jug on a heated base with eight touch-panel programs covering soy, almond, oat and coconut milk, rice paste, boil water and a self-clean, plus a delay start and a keep-warm of up to two hours. It ships with a fine mesh strainer and a nut milk bag for the people who want their almond milk smoother than the grinder leaves it.
- Batch
- 32 oz (listing)
- Programs
- Soy, almond, oat and coconut milk, rice paste, boil water, self-clean; delay start; keep warm up to 2 h (listing)
- Heats
- Yes
- Touches the milk
- Stainless jug, 10 stainless blades (listing)
- Power
- 800 W, 120 V (listing)
- In the box
- Fine mesh strainer and nut milk bag (listing)
- Size
- Listings disagree: 5.1 × 5.1 × 11 in or 7.8 × 7.8 × 12.8 in; about 4.2 lb
Suits: A family that drinks soy or oat milk by the jug and wants it cooked, warm and ready at breakfast on the delay timer.
Weigh: Kidisle publishes no spec sheet; every figure here is from the listing, and listings disagree on the size. The jug is rinsed by hand, never in the dishwasher. The grind is not a filter: strain for smooth almond milk.
Dishwasher
No-strain makers: the Almond Cow and Nama say which of their parts are dishwasher safe, and the motor head never is. Almond Cow’s own pages disagree (the basket on one, every removable part on another), and Nama says warm soapy water and the brush. Plan on hand washing both.
Heated makers: the jug holds the heating plate and the motor contacts, so it is almost never dishwasher safe; it is rinsed by hand. The lid and filter sometimes are, and the cards quote what each maker says.
Bags: a hot wash by hand with a little soap, or the top rack in a mesh laundry bag. Never bleach them; they hold the smell.
Cold no-strain maker, filter basket, one button
Almond Cow Milk Maker
Almond Cow Almond Cow Milk Maker (120 V)
The machine that made the category: a cup of nuts goes in a stainless filter basket under the motor head, water in the jug, and one press of the cow button spins a pitcher of milk out in about a minute, by Almond Cow's account. Soaking is optional, there is no bag to wring, and nothing heats. The meal stays in the basket and comes out as almond flour.
- Batch
- Up to 1.5 L, about 5 to 6 cups; dry ingredients to the 1-cup line of the basket
- Cycle
- About one minute ("Fresh in 60 Seconds"); soaking optional
- Programs
- One cold cycle, one button; no heating
- Touches the milk
- 304 stainless interior (international page); "food-grade stainless steel and plastic" (US page)
- Motor
- 240 W, 120 V; Almond Cow says 10,000+ rpm
- Size
- 12 × 9.5 × 6.5 in; 4.6 lb
- Warranty
- 1 year, parts and motor
Suits: A household that drinks almond, cashew or oat milk daily and wants the biggest cold batch with the least handling.
Weigh: It makes cold milk only, so soy has to be cooked afterwards on the stove. Almond Cow's own pages disagree on which parts are dishwasher safe (the filter basket on one, all removable parts on another); plan on hand washing. One-year warranty.
Descaling
A heated maker boils water, so it scales like a kettle. Once a month, or when a white film shows on the plate: half water, half white vinegar, run a boil-water program, let it sit ten minutes, pour, rinse twice. Hard water areas, twice a month.
The sour bag
A nut milk bag that smells sour was put away damp. Boil it for five minutes with a spoon of baking soda, rinse, and dry it completely before it goes in the drawer. If the smell survives the boil, it is a new bag.
Nylon nut milk bag, 200 micron, drawstring
Ellie's Best Pro Quality Nut Milk Bag
Ellie's Best Pro Quality Nut Milk Bag, 12 × 12 in
The bag most blender-route recipes assume: fine Italian nylon mesh at 200 microns, triple nylon seams, a drawstring, and a rounded bottom so the meal doesn't pack into corners. Ellie's Best says it is built for milk with no pulp in it and to be squeezed hard.
- Mesh
- Fine Italian nylon, 200 micron
- Seams
- Triple nylon
- Size
- 12 × 12 in (listing)
- Closure
- Drawstring
- Cleaning
- Rinse and hang; hand wash
Suits: The first bag, and the one to keep as a backup when a machine arrives; also cold brew, juice and yogurt straining.
Weigh: Nylon holds smells if it is put away damp: rinse at once and hang. Ellie's Best doesn't publish dishwasher advice; retailers say hand wash.
Mold
A milk maker that is rinsed every time doesn’t mold. One that was used on Friday and found on Monday will have a fuzz on the meal in the filter. Scrape, wash in hot soapy water, rinse in a weak vinegar solution, dry fully. The rubber gaskets on heated makers are the hiding place: pull them off, wash, dry, refit.
The machines compared, with the dishwasher column, are on the no-strain and heated pages.
